[PHOTOS] OMG! Pasar Malam In The States Looks Exactly Like The Ones In Malaysia
See if you can tell the difference!
By Tang Ruxyn — 16 Jan 2016, 02:34 PM
Night markets, or as we call it in Malaysia, pasar malam, has always been part of our unique Malaysian culture. So when NBC News reported that the night markets have been mushrooming around the United States, it caught our attention.
Since about 2010, night markets have opened in Chicago, Cleveland, the Los Angeles metro area, New York City, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Several were started by young Asian-Americans who wanted to recreate the frenetic, fast-paced spectacle of an Asian night market in their families' adopted hometowns.
During the past five years, similar night markets have popped up in major cities throughout the United States, a byproduct of both the nation's expanding Asian-American population — the country's fastest growing racial minority, numbering some 19.4 million — and a growing culinary curiosity for authentic East Asian flavors.
In the U.S., the emergence of night markets — some of which attract tens of thousands of people — is seen by organizers as a reflection of how Asian-American communities have assimilated to local culture while also reinterpreting their own.
So as we read the news with interest, we came across this night market called 'Little Saigon Night Market' in Westminster, a city in Orange County, California
Asian Garden Mall owner Frank Jao started the Little Saigon Night Market in 2011 after seeing similar markets in his travels to Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Back then, he was lucky to draw 1,000 people a night.
"It was kind of hard for our city to understand in the beginning," said Kathy Buchoz, the former mayor of Westminster and a consultant for the Asian Garden Mall's management company.
"They understand farmers markets."
Buchoz said officials were skeptical about how many people the market would bring in, but it quickly attracted 3,000 people a night each weekend.
Soon enough, we can't help but to notice all the similarities between the night market there and in Malaysia! See for yourself:
PS: Pictures of Malaysian night markets are on the left.
There's always that one person who's blowing bubbles at you while you walk by. Looks like it's the same over there.
It's quite normal to find people selling clothes in night markets, but look at those classic price tags on top!
More familiar scenes:
