Vendor delights on a Sunday

Last Sunday, we could not decide  what lunch would satiate our appetite but short of tossing the coin, we headed to Ampang village opting for yong tau fu. We arrived  there  in a mere 20 minutes. The place was  already a hive of activity . Parking  came without any hassle. Phew! Then it  was decision time - which shop should we pick to  eat the famous yong tau foo when 3  are standing in a row and blogged about so deliciously. Well,  hungry stomachs couldn't  wait and  we settled for Foong Foong.

 In the heartland of Ampang yong tau fu.  Business bustled at the  3 yong tau fu restaurants, one of which is hidden from the view. We were at Foong Foong.  Overall the food was good though I would have liked less oil  in the dishes cooked.

As we  weaved our way among the traffic and people, I heard  a familiar sound - ting, ting ting... I trained my ears to the sound. It rose above the hustle  and bustle of the cars honking . There he was, as expected, chisel in hand and knocking the bits of candy away from the main block in the pan. Excitedly I  reminisced the days when  the ting ting tong  man was a familiar figure in  the town when I was growing up. The main ingredients in this delight are sugar and sticky molasses. 

Chisel away and bits fall away from the main block. Will the ting ting tong man be around for long? - a dying breed  rarely seen.

Ready to be sold, the candy is wrapped in small packets. Wonder who with a sweet tooth will come along?

As we waited for our orders, our table was near  the vendors selling their delights  - just outside the shop and by the roadside juxtaposed among motor bicycles and  cars - a commonplace scene in a village setting. 

Our conversation turned to the nangka/jackfruit  vendor. Somehow, my hubby said it was 'a Ceylonese thing' to relish nangka! We laughed . He was referring fondly  to his late father who was from Sri  Lanka. He  enjoyed the nangka. And there's our neighbour, also Ceylonese. They  have a big tree sporting  huge fruits hanging on the trunk. The fruit is versatile and finds its way in the cuisines of India, Sri Lanka , Indonesia, Vietnam and  Cambodia where the  nangka is grown abundantly. The wood of the tree  is used to make musical instruments.

Selling the nangka/jackfruit  has been his business for the past 50 years since he was 17 - right inside this village! The fruits  are harvested  from Seremban.  It is a challenge to cut the fruit as the sticky latex gums up the hands and knife. To prevent this, the vendor rubs oil to make the job easier.

The exterior of the nangka has a spiky look.  Note the white fibre  clinging round the yellow  fleshy pods. Inside them are   seeds which look like chestnuts. These  can be boiled or steamed.

There's the roasted chestnut vendor  a few yards away. I paid special attention to him as I enjoy roasted chestnuts and later bought some.Seeing him reminded me of  our holiday in Lisbon  in 2009. In the train station behind the closed doors, we cracked  the hard outer hulls and shared some plump, golden  chestnuts, away from the cold wind. My other favourite way of eating chestnuts is to find them soft and moist in a turkey stuffing. Ymmm, they are simply gorgeous.

Can you smell the chestnutss roasting? The man was working hard turning the chestnuts over and over again in the huge wok. Even as I spoke to him to say I was taking a picture of him, he just nodded . Under the shade  and the sun was a scorcher by 1 pm, the heat did not seem to bother him.

A lady was attentively looking after her  pickled  pickled mango and papaya delights. Those who have a penchant for sourish  and sweetish  snacks will find this tantalising.  Occasionally  the pickled  papaya  finds it way at dinner tables as appetisers before the the start of  the meal proper . As for me, to make a choice, I prefer the pickled papaya.

Pickled mango and papaya to whet your tastebuds. I remember the  many stalls  during my childhood days. The full grown but green fruits are sliced and marinated in a mixture of vinegar, sugar and water.

On the streets where you live

First of all, I have to express my heartfelt thanks to these lovely people (though I've already thanked them in person) for sharing their stories with me. I was a total stranger to them but not for long as I think my smiles won them over!

Surprisingly, they weren't afraid when I told them it was for the internet. That people would get to read about them. Yes, IT (Internet Technology) is here to stay. Though hardly involved in it, they want to be part of the 'action' too. Bless them for their trust in me and I'll try my best to be their friend too.

Vicky the milkman - I bumped into him when I was looking around the Raja Rajeswary temple, Ampang, where I got married. He was delivering milk to the temple and having just a short break. Vicky hails from Delhi and is happy doing his delivery rounds around Ampang and Bangi areas.

It's been two years since he got himself this job and he lives in Semenyih. 'My boss owns 90 -100 cows. I do not milk the cows as I only concentrate on the delivery.' Admitedly, rain or shine, he has to service his clients, so work is hard but it's better than not having a job. True industrious spirit ! The huge milk canister can hold 50 litres of milk. Happily, he showed me a sample of milk packet, ' It costs RM3.00and I keep the milk cool with ice in the canister. ' Vicky takes Monday off and the rest of the week, he zooms around on his motor bike , faithfully calling on homes.

I bade him good bye as he rested under the spready shady trees. Come to think of it, he looked pretty tanned as the sun was beating down.

Sussela, the itinerant vendor - I met Suseela in one of the quieter streets in Brickfields. Her regular clients were already buying fish and vegetables. I too bought some long beans as I had planned to make a curry that evening. Work starts from 7.30 am and her day finishes at about 2.30 pm after she has finished her rounds in Brickfields and Bangsar. 'I have 50 houses to call on.' Housewives look forward to hear her horn as they know she's here with fresh supplies and what a time saver for them as they cannot spare the time to do regular shopping. That's true service - right at one's doorstep!

As for me, I've availed myself of such a service before when the children were young and time factor was an issue. In my opinion, I think we tend to overlook the excellent customer service they have up right up their sleeves. People like Suseela have always been a boon - reliant whatever the weather.

One of the customers was interested to know why I was taking pictures and I told her why. She then asked if I could give English tuition classes to some children. I declined and directed her to some possible places where she might have some success.

Malik, the cendol and rojak seller happily serves his customers near Medan Damansara. Under the shady foliage , he dishes out his cool bowl of wriggly green cendol (strings of green pea), tops it up with layers of ice shavings, lashings of gula melaka and a generous scoop or two of creamy coconut milk to make it yummy and so inviting. When the weather is hot and sunny, business picks up as that's when a bowl of delicious, mouth-watering cendol is a treat!

Encik Abdul is a migrant from Taiping town. We soon got talking as I told him it is my hometown too. He has been operating this business of serving drinks, fresh-cut fruits and nasi lemak to the office workers nearby for the past 5 years. Business is brisk at lunch time as the regulars seek him . He takes care of this side of the business while his wife does some private cooking for clients. They bring the herbs for her to cook for a small fee. 'It's to control their blood pressure problem.' Just as we were talking, a car passed by and a lady dropped some herbs into her hands.

I asked Encik Abdul if permit was difficult to obtain and he replied in the negative. That everything would be in order as long as rules and regulations issued by DBKL ( CityHall) were followed.

Ah Lim, the wirecraft man busies himself at his craft daily within the compound of the National Museum. When I saw him he had a big group of school children admiring his craft. He did not mind talking about himself. Ah Lim picked up this skill of wiring from the Beautiful Gate for the Disabled in Petaling Jaya. He learned it well within two years and now he's self -suficient to stand on his own. He even makes them for his fellow disabled friends to sell in other venues. 'I can make about 30 a day, big and small items.' I was curious to know how long the dragon takes to complete. ' 25 minutes thereabouts, ', and that's because he's adept at it now.

Ah Lim gets his supplies of wire which are specially coated to give the shiny look from a supplier in Setapak. The wire comes from Italy and it is pliable for the twisting . As we talked, Ah Lim adeptly twisted the wire with a small pair of pliers to make another item.

Life became more interesting when he decided to operate in the open market instead of being cooped up in the confines of his abode. I enjoyed talking with Ah Lim. He's such a pleasant man and seems to be the gallant type to take things in his stride, come what may.

Anak, in Gombak, helped me to choose some rambutans which she had in her stall. She told me she sells to earn extra income while her husband does construction work in the vicinity. The bamboo for the lemang comes from the jungle. Anak showed me the fire where she cooks the lemang and how she has to keep a watch on the fire as she turns the bamboo around to prevent burning. She doesn't keep the lemang for more than 2 days.

These vendors continue to etch a living, in good and bad times and they are part and parcel of the hardworking, economic fabric of KL-ites . Admittedly, life is challenging as they face congested roads and relentless traffic as KL grows. The question is how long will they be around plying their trade if they can find an alternative to find another source of living that offers them more attractive returns.

Do join me in saluting this humble workforce of ours .