FOOD IN KAMPONG BARU DURING 60S

During the late 60s in kampong Baru, pedlars and hawkers usually market their food along the streets as there are limited number of food outlet at that particular time. As I can recall, food outlet operated by local, can be found in Pasar Minggu (Sunday Market), in front of Masjid Jamek beside the now Kampong Baru Medical Centre, opposite UniKL/DBKL, opposite HKL towards now bulatan Pahang and Chow Kit Road.

Those pedlars have distinct identification either from their own sound producing gadget or simply their shouting, which more or less likened to a jingles.

Notable among those pedlars are:

1.    Rojak Mamak, pedlars on foot.

2.    Mee Goreng and Mee Rebus, using tricycle.

3.    Roti using bicycle.

4.    Ice Cream using bicycle – with fortune wheel.

5.    Kacang Putih  (beans of various type) on foot.

6.    Stone Candy (cut using chisel) on bicycle.

7.    Soft Candy on bicycle (using special gadget attached to the bicycle pedal to act as wheels to produce the candy).

Whenever we are being ask by our parent to stop this pedlars, those selling rojak or mee, we often bring our own plate, hence it was an unwritten rule that the pedlars would give us more since they do not need to use their paper for packaging. On some occasion, we simply request the food pedlars to exclude the eggs or the veggies as we have our own to add. (cost saving in today’s term).

The ice cream pedlars were cunning with their wheels of fortune, where whenever you buy, you have an opportunity to spin to gain more than one ice cream. There was even a prize for six ice cream but on closer look, the stopper is closely planted and as such rather impossible to win. But on one particulars instance, I and my naughty colleague manage to fool the pedlars. When I spin the wheel, one of my friend distract the pedlar, and I have cheated to place the pointer on the magical six, and four of us share the reward.

Today I hardly see this pedlars or hawker anymore except for the ice cream seller. As time passed by, we now experience different mode of business model. Now every fast food outlet have personal delivery on bike. You no longer wait to hear their sound or jingles by the roadside to stop to buy the food but everything is just a call away.