The Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur.
By Foong Pek Yee
HAPPILY he hopped on to a bus to go home, only to realise that his schoolbag was missing.
The teenager dashed back to the stall where he had his favourite Indian rojak earlier.
And his schoolbag was there, recalls Jerry Ng, 69, who was born and bred in Kuala Lumpur.
A walk down memory lane: (front row from left) Jerry Ng, his wife Jeanie Yap, Maggie Yap (Jeanie’s sister) and Eugene (Jerry’s son); and Don Lim (Maggie’s husband) in Petaling Street.
Don Lim, in his early 70s, remembers the taste of his favourite beef noodle soup at the Lai Foong Coffeeshop in Petaling Street.
Growing up in Pudu which is nearby Petaling Street, he was a regular at the coffeeshop.
Really good: (from left), Don, Maggie, Jeanie and Eugene enjoying their lunch at Lai Foong Coffeeshop.
And last Thursday , Jerry and Don got to enjoy their favourite food in Petaling Street.
They and their family returned from Australia for a holiday recently.
Local delights: Fruit stalls are popular in Petaling Street.
Buying experience: Visitors enjoy browsing and bargain hunting
Once the pulse of Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Street used to be the landmark and meeting place with Puduraya – a station for outstation buses- just a stone’s throw away.
And Petaling Street was the place to have a cheap and nice meal like street food, and do some shopping for traditional Chinese snacks.
The place was simply vibrant all day long.
And those were the good old days .
Retro: A traditional Chinese sundry shop specialising on dried food stuffs for Chinese cooking.
In the mood for celebration: Traditional lanterns on sale in the run up to the Mid – Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar ( September 10 this year).
Today Petaling Street is still an attraction during Chinese festive seasons like Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival.
