Penang Food Street Culture
UMT 11th International Annual Symposium on Sustainability Science and Management 09th – 11th July 2012, Terengganu, Malaysia
Sustaining Penang Street Food Culture and the Reasons for Its Popularity
M.Shahrim Ab Karim, K’ng Yee Wen, Mohiddin Othman, Hazrina Ghazali and
Nurhasmilaaalisa Abd. Halim Department of Food Service Management, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
Corresponding author’s e-mail: shahrim@putra.upm.edu.my Abstract Penang street food culture has been one of the main tourism attractions in the country. This unique food culture that can be found along the streets has been popular amongst locals and foreigners. Surprisingly, there is limited research conducted on the street food culture in Penang. The purpose of this research was to identify factors for its popularity, ways to sustain and how it can be improved in the future. The perception of the people towards the history and development of this unique culture were examined. The different food culture and recipes that had made up the Penang street food was identified. Interviews were conducted with the customers and also street food hawkers in the Penang Island as well as the mainland of Penang. Results revealed that majority of respondents were not sure about the exact history of Penang street food. However, the respondents were able to give their opinions on the reasons for the street food’s high popularity and also opinions on how to improve the environment and condition of Penang street food. In conclusion, this research will enrich the literature on Penang street food culture as well as to provide guidance for sustaining and further enhancements of the popularity of the food heritage in Penang. Keywords: Penang, Food Culture, Street Food, Tourism Introduction Penang or Pearl of the Orient is one of the most popular islands among tourists in Malaysia. It is located on the northwest coast of Peninsular
Sustaining Penang Street Food Culture and the Reasons for Its Popularity
M.Shahrim Ab Karim, K’ng Yee Wen, Mohiddin Othman, Hazrina Ghazali and
Nurhasmilaaalisa Abd. Halim Department of Food Service Management, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
Corresponding author’s e-mail: shahrim@putra.upm.edu.my Abstract Penang street food culture has been one of the main tourism attractions in the country. This unique food culture that can be found along the streets has been popular amongst locals and foreigners. Surprisingly, there is limited research conducted on the street food culture in Penang. The purpose of this research was to identify factors for its popularity, ways to sustain and how it can be improved in the future. The perception of the people towards the history and development of this unique culture were examined. The different food culture and recipes that had made up the Penang street food was identified. Interviews were conducted with the customers and also street food hawkers in the Penang Island as well as the mainland of Penang. Results revealed that majority of respondents were not sure about the exact history of Penang street food. However, the respondents were able to give their opinions on the reasons for the street food’s high popularity and also opinions on how to improve the environment and condition of Penang street food. In conclusion, this research will enrich the literature on Penang street food culture as well as to provide guidance for sustaining and further enhancements of the popularity of the food heritage in Penang. Keywords: Penang, Food Culture, Street Food, Tourism Introduction Penang or Pearl of the Orient is one of the most popular islands among tourists in Malaysia. It is located on the northwest coast of Peninsular
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