Ruling gets thumbs up from Malaysians online

PETALING JAYA: The Penang government’s move to ban foreign cooks from being the “main chefs” at hawker stalls has drawn some support.

An informal survey on The Star Online Facebook page showed that 80% of 55 respondents supported the ban.

Only 9% disagreed, while the rest did not mind whether their food was cooked by a local or foreigner.

Facebook user Rubz Loh said the ban was a great move to retain the consistency and special flavours of Penang food.

KS Chen believed that the ban was necessary to preserve our national heritage.

“What if you see a hawker stall owned by foreigners claiming to sell original Penang char koay teow or original Ipoh chicken rice? The future generations and even tourists will be confused,” Chen said.

Ho Xiaojun agreed with the ban because she believed that “the essence of food comes from the culture”.

“How can you expect a Bangladeshi who may have never tasted char koay teow to cook as well as a local?” she questioned.

Rais Redwan said authenticity was the key and only a local would know the taste.

Harry Oh said he could taste the difference in the local food cooked by foreigners.

“In Selangor, if a hawker is a foreigner preparing local food, especially bak kut teh, char koay teow and Hokkien mee, I can tell the difference,” he said.

“They sort of bastardise the ingredients,” he explained.

Kien Seng also agreed with the ban and believed that it should be carried out nationwide, rather than just in Penang.

However, some netizens felt that it did not matter if the cook was a local or foreigner.

Mei-Xian Shee said she did not mind if a foreigner was the main chef, just as long as the food was good and authentic.

“Food can only taste authentic when it comes from the heart. It’s more than just kitchen and wok skills,” Shee said.

Zoey Vz believed that if a foreigner had the talent to match a local cook, he or she should be allowed to take up the position as the main chef.

Nehru Sathiamoorthy did not agree with the ban and felt that the best man should retain the position as a main cook.

“May the best man win. But under the Penang meritocracy, to be the best you must obviously speak Hokkien and be born and bred in Butterworth,” Nehru said.

Wong Seh Ho had this to say: “The point is the quality of the food. If foreigners can cook as good as the locals, then why not.”

While Susan Lim preferred locals to cook her hawker food, she said she had eaten hawker food prepared by foreigners and it was not too bad.

“But given a choice, I would choose food cooked by a local,” she said.