By all accounts, Thanaletchumi Govindasamy - better known online as “Mek Kelate Mek Manis” - may be amongst the most recognisable gastronomic social media personalities from Kelantan.

With her fluent Kelantanese accent and a knack for enthusiastic reviews, the 48-year-old Tamil influencer has amassed an online following that stretches way beyond the East Coast state’s borders.

Yet behind the viral videos lies a lesser-known story.

Long before she became an influencer, Thanaletchumi spent 19 years working as a...