THE opening ‘Supper at Batu Lancang’ received a fairly good response at the open-air car park of the Batu Lancang market last night.
Batu Lancang assemblyman Ong Ah Teong said the organisers estimated 4,000 people attended the food truck pasar malam for either dinner or supper on the opening night on May 18.
“It will be held every Saturday night from 7pm to 12 midnight for a trial period of three months,” Ong said.
“This is the first food truck pasar malam in Penang. And for every Saturday night, we will also have a performance or singing to liven up the atmosphere.
“The response is quite good. A few trucks had their food sold out. There are a lot of car parks in this area. It is also strategically located, near the highway to the bridge.
“We want to create something special in Batu Lancang. We will try this out for three months until August. We hope it can also attract tourists. If business is good, we will continue and will ask the state tourism office to include the event in their diary.”
A total of 26 food trucks – 10 halal and 16 non-halal – were there. Not every food truck will be operating every Saturday but the organisers, TLM event company and Taman Ghee Hiang Village Community Management Council (MPKK), will maintain at least 20 food trucks on every Saturday to ensure there is always good food to enjoy.
Also present were TLM executive director C.K. Ewe and Taman Ghee Hiang MPKK chairman Lee Kean Loon, and Taman Sri Damai MPKK chairman Mohamad Hidir.
Apart from local food like fried chicken, burger and laksa, there were Japanese, Vietnam, Taiwanese, Korean and Thai food.
Robin Tai F&B, selling Liang Sandwich (with Jay Chou as its brand ambassador), pulled in quite a crowd. Another popular one was the truck selling Mr Eggie. There was even a truck selling Starbucks drinks.
Stylo Heaven operator Siti Salwa Zakaria, 36, and her husband Ahmad Rahimy Anuar Hamidi, 40, were glad to take part.
“We’ve been operating the food truck business for a year at Patani Road, selling beverages like chocolate, mocha, coffee and tea. We also sell ‘roti bakar’. Business is challenging here as there are several trucks selling beverages.”
Two female artistes – a singer and a guitarist – provided some entertainment by singing a variety of songs.
Not far away, caricature artist Azmi Hussin, who set a record in the Malaysia Book of Records by drawing 320 caricatures in 24 hours in 2017, was at work too. As he did a drawing on the Batu Lancang assemblyman, a large crowd gathered to watch.
Retired schoolteacher P. Kanagarajah, 78, who is living in one of the apartments nearby the market, also dropped by to check out the food.
“I expected the usual hawker-style pasar malam. This food truck pasar malam is beyond my expectation.
“It caters to the young generation. It is very nice and orderly. It also gives the young entrepreneurs the opportunity to do business. I would say the organisers have raised the bar.”
Story by K.H. Ong
