12. 🍧 Growing Up in Taiping: Food Memories (Part 2 – Or Bah’s Tumblers & Ah Leng So’s Daughters)
- Malaysia Raja
- Sep 7, 2025
- 2 min read
This is the second of a 3-part series on the food memories of a schoolboy fromTaiping - of simple dishes in simple stalls, but remembered for a lifetime.
After playing sports in school in the late afternoon or evening, many of us would go to the side street off Jalan Idris near the hospital, where Or Bah kept his little Ice Kacang stall. His cart was nothing fancy, just a wooden frame with a hand-cranked ice shaver, and jars filled with treasures: red beans, sweet corn, leong fun and cendol. But to us, it was magic. Or Bah had a signature way of serving. Instead of the usual bowls, he used tall glass tumblers. The cost: just ten cents.
He scooped the ingredients into the bottom, carefully layering them, then piled a mountain of finely shaved ice on top. He then drizzled coconut and evaporated milk. But what made his version unforgettable was the final flourish: a ladle of thick, smoky Gula Melaka. On scorching afternoons, nothing tasted better than that first cooling bite. Some of us sat on the curb, others leaned against our bicycles, all sharing laughter between our spoonfuls.
Another memorable Ice Kacang stall was the ever-popular Ah Leng So’s in the casual market. Hers wasn’t just a stall; it was a gathering place for schoolboys and girls, a spot where laughter and gossip mixed with the scrape of ice and the clink of glass bowls.
Ah Leng So herself was a stout, cheerful woman. But part of the popularity among schoolboys wasn’t just the Ice Kacang, it was her pretty daughters. They helped their mother with quick smiles, passing out bowls to eager customers, collecting coins, and sometimes joking with the schoolboys who lingered a little longer than necessary.
Even now, when I think of childhood in Taiping, I can still picture that stall, alive with color, flavour, and the warmth of people who made something ordinary unforgettable.
Wong Chee Wah
7th September 2025
(Part 3 coming soon – The Comfort of Kakak's Kai Si Mee)
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