Street hawkers are the backbones of the local
Penang economy. Some hawkers have been carrying out their business their whole
lives and some have even passed down to their next generation to continue
serving the locals. With modernization comes the creation of food courts that
have relocated some of these hawkers off the street into a centralized building
for control and hygienic reasons. One good example will be the Gurney Drive
hawkers who used to be running their business along the entire stretch of the
sea facing promenade.
However, street hawkers can still be found in
many places around the island. One of my favorite is located at the Jelutong
Market. This is one of the places in Penang that never sleep. Everyday before
sunrise, the whole stretch of Jalan Penaga and Lorong Ipoh will be closed to
vehicular traffic and are converted into a huge network of morning market. Only
until around noon will the streets be opened up for traffic. Then in the
evening another group of hawkers and vendors will again occupy the stretch
along Jalan Penaga and the street then becomes a night hawkers paradise.
This place has maintained its identity for
decades and survived the encroachment of modern development. These are some of
the remnants of unique places on the island that still stand tall today due to
the needs of the local people. And it is places like this that need to be
preserved and upgraded to further strengthen its importance role within the
community.
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| The newly refurbished Jelutong Market building. |
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| Get your beetroot juice from this stall! |
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| Refreshing beetroot juice |
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| Penang Char Koay Teow |
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| Penang Hokkien Mee |
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| Night view of street hawker stalls along Jalan Penaga |
