Penang banned foreigners from cooking assam laksa, hokkien mee and CKT in 2016

File photo of the famous Siam Road char koay teow in Penang run by Tan Chooi Hong, 76.

Penang: The Human Resources Ministry’s call to have all restaurants in the country to only recruit Malaysians as cooks is not new for Penang as the state government had imposed a ban on foreigners from cooking local hawker fare from Jan 1, 2016.

Penang first proposed the ban in 2014, aimed to preserve the authenticity of hawker food.