Tuesday, January 4, 2011

New attraction for food lovers - The Star

THE site of the former Yau Tet Shin bazaar in Ipoh will be developed into a hawker centre selling the city’s best food, Datuk Bandar Datuk Roshidi Hashim said.

He said the project would be implemented this year.

He said Ipoh was not only famous for its white coffee but also items such as salted chicken, bean sprouts and chicken kueh teow.

Roshidi also said the council would upgrade the night market on Jalan Dato Tahwil Azar and resurface Tong Sui Kai (Dessert Street) off Jalan Sultan Idris Shah to make the area more pleasant for the people.

He said this when launching the Perak leg of the Fabulous Food Malaysia Street Food Carnival which was held along Tong Sui Kai for two days recently.

Tong Sui Kai is located near the site of the Yau Tet Shin bazaar which was demolished in 2001 after it was deemed unsafe.

More than 100 hawkers took part in the carnival which was a resounding success.

Th event drew more than 30,000 people who eagerly sampled the various Ipoh specialities.

A downpour on the first day of the carnival failed to deter people from turning up in full force.

Event coordinator Tony Khoo said the haw-kers reported brisk sales and wanted the carninal to be held annually.

Khoo said the organising committee would speak to state Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Hamidah Osman to apply for more funding so they could organise the event on a bigger scale in the future.

He said such events could promote Ipoh as a food haven.

“We will also liase with the Tourism Ministry to put more focus on Ipoh in their tourism calendar,” he added.

The Fabulous Food Malaysia Street Food Carnival was a nationwide event by Tourism Malaysia from Dec 16 to Dec 31. Ipoh hosted the event on Dec 20 and Dec 21.

The event in Ipoh was organised by Ipoh City Hawkers and Petty Trader Association on behalf of Tourism Malaysia.