Penang's Ban On Foreigners Cooking These 13 Dishes Will Now Cover Private Hawkers Too
Currently, the ban only covers hawker centres and food courts under the Penang Island City Council (MBPP).
By Sadho Ram — 18 Jul 2024, 01:11 PM
Penang is planning to expand a ban on foreigners cooking local dishes at hawker stalls and food courts, ostensibly to preserve food quality and encourage youngsters to continue their family hawker business
First introduced in 2014 and enforced in 2016 at hawker centres and food courts under the Penang Island City Council (MBPP), the expansion will now also cover privately owned coffee shops and hawker centres.
According to MBPP councillor Tan Soo Siang, the proposal is currently on paper.
"It is about 90% complete, so once it's approved [in the next MBPP meeting], it will be added to the city council by-laws to be enforceable," Malay Mail quoted her as saying during a press conference.
The council plans to enforce this by the beginning of next year.
According to Tan, they have received numerous complaints by locals that foreign cooks do not meet hygiene and taste expectations
"Ratepayers have questioned why we were not taking action so we decided to extend this ban," she said, adding that the ban applies to 13 specific local dishes.
Meanwhile, Jason H'ng, the Penang state executive councillor for local government, town, and country planning, stated that the they want to preserve the authenticity of Penang food.
"The extension of the ban can create more job opportunities for locals and reduce our dependence on migrant workers," said H'ng, as reported by The Straits Times.
The 13 local hawker dishes are:
Nasi lemak
Asam laksa
Pasembor
Mee sotong
Char kuey teow
Koay teow th'ng
Hokkien mee
Curry mee
Wantan mee
Loh bak
Chee cheong fun
Char koay kak
Oh chien
