Salted egg churros, fried Oreos, rainbow bagels, Nutella balls — millennials just can’t stop inventing newfangled atas snacks. To the elation of Snapchat-fueled kids across the country, the humble pasar malam has become a sort of bastion for young upstarts selling their Instagram-worthy wares — and none have been hit harder than the annual Geylang Bazaar.
The country’s largest night market comes by every Ramadan, and every year the volume of pretentious edibles just keep expanding. Geylang Serai Bazaar has become such a bulwark for millennials that even The Smart Local and major food bloggers are extensively covering it.
Obviously, the hipster revolution of the pasar malam can be a wee bit annoying to the many folks — including us — who’ve been enjoying sloppy Ramly Burgers, crisp keropok lekors, grilled otah and nutty apam baliks for years (yeah, yeah, we liked pasar malams before it was cool). Others are simply bummed that their favourite prawn vadai stall is being replaced by kids who think that putting candy floss in Ribena is a legitimate innovation.
On one hand, it makes for a more vibrant, inclusive atmosphere and effectively attracts bigger crowds for the market. On the other, it’s basically gentrification, with stalls hawking traditional fare and items suffering from record-high rental rates and difficulties in turning in profits. Not to mention the loss of the bazaar’s cultural roots and the fact that most of the gimmicky grub offered often turn out to be mediocre, overpriced nonsense.
Thanks to the National Archives of Singapore (and the purloined republishing of their images on Facebook), we get to appreciate some pretty nostalgic pictures of Geylang Bazaar from the ’80s and ’90s. See how it was when lepat, lontong, and ketupat ruled the tables at the iconic street market. Way before it became the overhyped spot it is today.
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