changes to the pasar malam scene

photo from national archives of singapore

pasar malam (night bazaars) have been around from as early as the 60s. maybe, even earlier. in those early days, the hawkers set up everything themselves. they set up their own portable tables or just lay a mat on the ground to display their ware and they provided their own lighting, using those kerosene pressure lamps or even carbide lamps. before the generator made its appearance at night markets, some would also use those florescent lights that ran on batteries.

in the old days, most pasar malam were a one-day affair. the pasar malam were scheduled according to location. ( i think, they still have this system for small towns in malaysia.) so, for example, on monday night it would be along a certain stretch of thomson road, tuesday night, it would be held at balestier road and so on.

because it was a one-day happening, the stall-holders could be seen packing up slightly after 10 p.m. when the crowd would have thinned considerably. nowadays, the stall-holders either sleep at the site or they just cover everything with the blue and white tarpaulin sheet and leave for home.

in the early days, there was no protection offered from the elements. they did not have the canvas or tarpaulin shelters put up by the contractors for the present day stall-holders. in those bygone days, when it rained, the wares would be hastily bundled up and the pasar malam would come to a close. today, when it rains, business can go on as usual although takings will definitely be affected as most potential customers will stay away.

photo from national archives of singapore

today, the stall-holders at pasar malam (night bazaars) are still itinerant: they move from one location to another location. after a few days' stay at one part of an estate, they will move on to another part, in the same estate or to another estate. depending on the lucrativeness of the location, today's pasar malam may last from 3 days to 2 weeks. (we are not talking about those housed under one huge tent or those at chinatown, geylang and little india prior to the respective festive seasons; those go on for one month or longer.)

these days, the pasar malam is not really the place to seek out cheap bargains because the stall-holders have to pay a fee to the residents' committee or the town council for the use of the place and for the facilities that are provided for them. lately, these facilities include the installation of wash basins and provision of fire extinguishers at the site. i observe that the wash basins are meant only for the stall-holders to use.

today, this banner - advertising the ramly burgers - can be seen at every pasar malam. the stalls manned by malays are mostly food stalls. besides the very popular ramly burgers, you can also get other popular malay food like nasi lemak, epoh epoh, otah and goreng pisang. other stalls managed by malays are those selling clothing and health tonic or ointment. so far, i have come across one manned by indian - two indian ladies selling vadai.

the prices are comparable to those at neighbourhood food courts and the stalls outside some shopping centres. a beef or chicken burger is priced at $2.80, a canned drink cost $1.00 and otah costs 30 cents a piece. one large mango cost about $2.00 and durians are at $10.00 for three fruits.

one type of snack food sold by the chinese, which can be bought at pasar malam only, is the tea egg. i have never tasted one and i do not think i will ever do because i am put off by the smell.

tea eggs are simply hard-boiled eggs that have been further stewed in a salted tea liquid. other flavourings such as soy sauce and the five-spice powder are often added as well.

the name 'pasar malam' does not seem appropriate in these modern times; it seems like a misnomer. since they pay rent, the sellers try to maximise the opening hours and some actually start operation as early as eight o'clock in the morning. (these pictures were taken at bangkit road in bukit panjang at about 9.00 a.m.)

although, much has changed over the years, the fact remains that the pasar malam is the place to go to savour local delicacies and to buy accessories, clothes, cds (tapes in the past) and toys.

like in the past, there are still game stalls where the children can have some fun fishing for artificial fish or frogs, spin a numbered wheel or throw balls to knock down some objects (toys) for them to take home.

taken for a walk

when something is offered for a song, be prepared to be taken for a ride. i bought this pair of sandals for $20 because the pasar malam vendor was 'trying to clear stock and this was his last pair'. i congratulated myself for my good fortune because the pair i had bought in johor bahru a few months ago gave up on me.

i first wore them when i went for dinner at eastern restaurant at centrepoint. while waiting for the food to be served, i found out that one of the sandals was without its sole. i checked the other sandal and found that its sole was also coming apart. the dropped sole was beside my chair. i detached the loose one and put both pieces in a plastic bag i had with me.

a few days later i sought my friend, the handyman, for his advice on how to fix the soles. he told me to get a new pair. anyway, he said if i really wanted to try and mend it, i should use contact glue or cow glue from the hardware shop or paint shop. hardware shops do not sell cow glue. when i checked with a paint shop, i was told it was an offence to buy or sell cow glue as a result of glue sniffing.

so i went to the hardware shop and bought a tube of contact cement. they do not call it contact glue but you can tell from the smell that it is glue. i followed the instructions and wore the sandals again after letting the cement to take hold for one day. the soles came unstuck again after i completed my one hour nature walk.

i decided that a professional would be able to do the job and do it better. i sent it to a cobbler at toa payoh. when i went back to collect the sandals, the cobbler told me he gave up after his third attempt at trying to glue the two parts together. they just would not stick. he did not charge me for the failed repair job.

i should have listened to my handyman friend's first advice. my advice: be wary of special offers, especially at pasar malams.

tried fixing the base again using cement glue. the man at the hardware shop explained to me that the rubber cement was not the fast drying type. you would have to apply the glue liberally on both sides, wait until they are almost dry and then press the two pieces together. you also need to apply pressure; in other words, you have to step into it for a while to help the glue to set.

the things they sell @ pasar malam

the 'pasar malams' at my place are appearing more frequently and the interval between one pasar malam and the next is getting shorter. long ago, i heard there was a ruling about not repeating the pasar malam along the same stretch of road within a six month period. so, the organiser got around this ruling by locating the pasar malam to the opposite side of the same road. it seems to me that this restriction is no longer in place.


we had a pasar malam, which usually lasts about a week, at my place about a month ago and now there is another pasar malam along the same stretch of road. each time, after a pasar malam, the grass would all be dead/pale yellow because the planks had been placed over the grass patch, thus depriving the green grass of sunlight.


in singapore, one pasar malam is no different from another because the same vendors are moving around. these are staples at all pasar malams: ramly burgers, sugar-cane juice, seasonal fruit, musical dvds, handphone covers, malay stall selling fried food and otah, furniture and mattresses, potted plants, toys and stationery, pop corn, chinese stall selling tea egg, groundnuts, muah chee and taiwanese sausage, clothings and socks, school bags, japanese takoyaki and game stall.

one thing you do not expect to be sold at a pasar malam is a car. i am not talking about toy cars or match-box cars but hondas, suzukis and toyotas. yes, there is one stall that has these japanese cars on display. these are brand new cars, not used ones.