When Shirley Boucha was young, her cousins called her "fat girl."

Now she's all grown up and they're calling her boss. For Boucha, manager of Ria Malaysian restaurant on Grand River Avenue in East Lansing, that doesn't sound too bad.

On Tuesday afternoon, she worked alongside her family in the new eatery that opened Oct. 7. As she rang up two customers, she explained how Malaysian food is a fusion of Chinese, Indian and ethnic Malay cuisine.

"The food represents different races," she said.

Boucha said she has been working nonstop since Ria Malaysian opened. She had to stop to realize it has already been 10 days.

"Usually, yeah, you're tired, but it's like, I can't wait until tomorrow. You see different people, you get excited when someone comes in and said they tried a sample and decided to come back."

One of the popular items on the restaurant's menu is the crab Rangoon. Boucha said the customers enjoy it so much because it's crispy and cheesy.

Customers also can get the crab Rangoons from Ria Malaysian & Oriental Restaurant, 2800 E. Grand River Ave. in Okemos, which Boucha said this is the main restaurant between the two.

"We're more of an express style. Over there, it's more causal dining," she said.

Boucha, who grew up in Australia, said working with family can have its ups and downs.

"Oh yeah, there are some problems when you're working with family," she said, laughing. "Half the time you want to kill each other, but at the end of the day, you're sitting around laughing about it."

Asked if her family teases her about her weight, Boucha responds, "I'm still the fat girl."

But she doesn't mind.