Malaysian food stalls

[peteloud]

This evening I was browsing through the many photographs that I have taken in Penang and realised that I had failed to capture the significance of street food and hawkers centres. I have a few photographs, when I took them I was not thinking artistically, but as a social historian. (I do not believe that all photos must be arty-farty).
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One of the greatest aspects of Malaysia is the food. Your mixed cultural backgroung means that you have a wider national menu than almost any other country. This is made more interesting because your 'mixed menu' is available to everyone, not just in posh, fashionable restaurants as in London. What I would like to see is this being recorded before you all become too rich and too snobbish to eat in such places and they disappear. (I am half joking, but half serious). In a few years, increasing prosperity and western influence will mean that many of the superb foodstalls will be replaced by KFC, Costa Coffee and twee, fashionable cafes and restaurants for the newly afluent Malaysians.

Alas, I live in England and only get out to Malaysia for occasional winters, so I would like to throw open the project to you guys who have it on your doorstep.

So there it is. Next time you have a club outing, or a personal creep around with your camera, record street food. It needn't be HDR with strange colours, it needn't be arty-farty, just life as it is in 2012. By the time you are as old as me ;-( , your children, grandchildren and many others will be very appreciative of your capturing an age gone-by. And as I have said a few times before, "Nostalgia sells photographs". Alas, your fame and fortune may not come for many years.

If anyone follows up my suggestion I would like to suggest that you capture images that include prices. In decades to come, when inflation has kicked in, and Char Hor Fun costs MR300, not MR3, people will be doubly fascinated with you old images.

Ooops, Sorry, I tried tpo replace image 2 with a slightly edited version but the earlier version wouldn't go away :-(

Pete
http://www.peterloud.co.uk/photos/Penang/Penang.html

[noordin]

This is a good series to do. You're right, sometimes it's recording of life, customs, etc through photos is so important. Take Life magazine for instance.

[ijam9292]

i like no 2...the 1st one nampak signboard saja....

[peteloud]

"nampak signboard saja...."

I agree with you, but you are missing the point.

What is common and ordinary in 2012 might be very unusual and interesting in years to come. Becak are a classic example. Once upon a time rickshaws and becak were everywhere in S.E. Asia, now they are tourist novelties in Singapore and Penang. Last time I had a winter in Penang I popped over to Yogya to photograph becak, saja before they too become nothing more than tourist novelties.
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Of course it is easier for me, an outsider, to appreciate these fascinating aspects of Malaysian life, for most of you things are so normal you don't notice them.

[daniel_lkk]

An interesting write up you have there Pete. Real food for thought there (no pun intended). I totally agree with you. It is because we live here that we grow accustomed to all these and fail to see the value in them. My mother use tell me of the satay man who carried everything on this shoulders in 2 baskets. I remember when I was a kid, they use to cook "char kuey tiow" using charcoal stove and a fan blower. Now most people use a gas stove but I doubt many will take notice or see how time has changed things. People from different countries will see it differently compared to locals; the same way how we stare in awe of the London Tower Bridge and House of Parliament in UK or the 12 Apostles in Australia but to the locals it's like "meh, it's just a bridge/building/rock formation".

[lamkc]

A local sight that is fast disappearing these days. All these will become - nostalgic soon. Nowadays we mostly dine in airconditioned mamak joints or large foodcourt.

[peteloud]

. . . My mother use tell me of the satay man who carried everything on this shoulders in 2 baskets. . . .

You reminded me of a photo that I took in Yogya a couple of years ago. When I went to look for it I came across this contact sheet that I had forgotten about. The theme was meant to be Jl. Malioboro, not food stalls.
Contact Sheet Yogya Gerobak-1.jpg
Can anyone tell me the Bahasa Indonesia for the shoulder carried kitchen in the middle.

[Templar]

Some of us in Penang call Wan Tun Mee as Kok Kok Mee. Why ? Wan Tun Mee used to be sold by one carrying two baskets on his shoulders and hitting his bowl with spoon, hence producing sound like "kok, kok (or tok tok)". Hence, kok kok mee (or tok tok mee).

[peteloud]

. . . Kok Kok Mee .. . .

Ahhh!, you have reminded me of all those different sounds from the itinerant food sellers I would hear when I worked and lived in Indonesia. They are another aspect of everyday life that needs to be recorded, along with photographs. There were similar sounds when I was child in England in the 1950's. They are now long gone.

[ijam9292]

hehe nice man now i c..what you mean ....till now i love food stall...still got some of this stall around malaysia...nice food..man it make me hungry...

[tulip]

I saw to these stalls when I was going toward my friend, well I saw diffent types of utensils and home appliance. At that time i just deny it and don't think more about it. In fact I didn't aware about it at that time.

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