Whatever fast foods that our youngsters take for granted
nowadays, those were very unheard of during my childhood. Growing up in
Taiping, most of the time I had my mother’s home-cooked meals and the monthly
dinner of satay with fried koay-teow at the Casual Market (Dad’s treat after
pay-day). In that bygone era, Taiping would be a quiet town after 10.00 PM,
even 24 Hours mamak restaurants were not in existence yet. Except for one
establishment, the Lake View Night Club. I am sure many of the older generation
remember this night club well. It was one of the typical old night clubs with a
band and a songstress, accompanied by a “troop” of dancing girls. Patrons would
have to purchase tickets to dance with them.
Alright, back to the story of the main topic – fast food,
steaks and chicken chops.
The first ever burger stall in Taiping came in existence
sometime mid 1970’s. It was located beside the Chinese coffee-shop opposite the
Kwantung Association Building (near Taiping Land Office). In that coffee-shop
also, there was an Indian Muslim who sold very delicious murtabak. Those were
the times before “Burger Ramly” and the burger patties were bought from the
supermarket in Taiping. Once, I bought a
packet of the burger patties to cook my own burger at home. Somehow, my own
cooked burger did not taste as good as the ones made at that stall. It was only
in the 1980s, that more burger stalls began to sprout around Taiping and
Kamunting. By then, the supplies could be obtained from “Burger Ramly” outlet.
As for steaks and chicken chops, the Yut Sun Restaurant was
famed for its Hainanese style steaks and chicken chops. The restaurant still
exist today and the beef and chicken chops are still tasty. The Western style
of these food items was introduced in Taiping when the first ever coffee-house
was opened in 1970s- the Comfy Corner Coffee House. Amazingly, that coffee
house also has one of the tasty “nasi lemak and chicken rendang” that I had ever
eaten. Of course, the price can be termed “expensive” for the people of Taiping
in those days.
Back then, Comfy Corner Coffee House was considered a
“First Class” establishment. Even the late Sultan Perak, Sultan Idris Shah, would
patronize this coffee house whenever he was in town. Comfy Corner was known for
its delicious steaks and chicken chops. I remember it was tagged with “The Best
Steaks In Town” on its advert. Entertainment was provided by a one-man singer
with the Yamaha organ. That time, no karaoke yet. This coffee house is now
called the Nagaria Steak House.
The first ever fried chicken restaurant opened in 1978.
It was the McDota Fried Chicken, a Malaysian franchise chain. It was located opposite the Lido cinema. MacDota
introduced the crisp fried chicken to the Taiping folk. The restaurant was always
quite full when it was newly opened. Two of my classmates worked there while
waiting for their MCE results in 1979. That establishment lasted for several
years until KFC came to Taiping in the 1980s. Of course, where there is KFC,
there would be its partner, Pizza Hut and its rival, MacDonalds.
Nowadays, not only there are KFC and MacD restaurants.
There is a MacDonalds Drive-Thru near the Taiping Lake Gardens (opposite the
Library) and KFC opened its Drive-thru outlet near Simpang.
Despite the “invasion” of these fast-food chains, the
local food scene like the Casual Market and "Bomba Padang" in Taiping remains resilient and survives. Even the sprouting
of “kopi-tiam”s just add more choice to the growing populace and the younger
generation who return to their beloved hometown. These places would become the
meeting point for a good makan, coffee or tea and to chit-chat until past midnight.
And yes, Taiping now has several 24-hours mamak
restaurants.
