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The Street Market

I always call this, Jalan Gembira, my haven, as it has been my home for the

past 17 years. It is in the centre of town and bustles with noise and sounds and

smells every hour of the day until slightly past midnight. The sights and sounds are

so familiar that I know that I will miss all this when we move to a quieter

neighbourhood. The place I will always remember is the market place.

The place that attracts any first-time visitor is the car park cum market at the

end of the street. Yes, the car park is a market from morning to noon. It is a thriving

market that caters to the residents in my neighbourhood. With 30 or so stalls, it has

everything from fresh meat, fish, dried foodstuffs, vegetables to cooked food. The

colourful mix of fresh and cooked food caters to the needs of housewives and taste

buds looking for local breakfast delights.

My favourite food stall is the Pak Ayub nasi lemakstall. There are two other

nasi lemak stalls but Pak Ayubs could be the best judging by the queue every

morning. If you are here between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. get in line to enjoy a delectable

plate of nasi lemak. The taste is in the rice and the sambal. It is different from the

other two stalls. A basic portion costs RM2.00 with additional charges for the fried

chicken, curries or sambal squids. Other breakfast delights at the other stalls include

economy fried noodles, chee cheong fun, laksa, capati and thosai just to name a

few. The aroma of these mouthwatering food assails your nose when you step into

the market place.

Mother buys all her fresh food from Uncle Ravis vegetable and meat stall. A

friendly, always cheerful man in his 50s he entices customers with, Fresh and

green, cheap and good,come and I give you good price Auntie, hows your bab y?

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Good? What do you want today? It never fails to bring a smile to his customers as

they flock to his stall to pick and choose.

Ah Pengs fruit stall is another attraction. He sells local and imported fruits.

His punch line is, Cheap and sweet, oranges very sweet, mangos very sweet too,

apples very crunchy. Try this and he will cut a slice for anyone willing to try. His

attraction is his willingness to skin and cut up pineapples and papayas, wash them

and pack them for his customers.

There is a corner of the market with stalls that appeal to younger people with

their chic accessories and colourful interesting cloth and straw bags at affordable

prices. The accessories vary from earrings to hairpins and scarves ofall hues and

colours. Whenever I go to these stalls, Ill tell myself that Ill just take a look only. But,

I always walk away with a piece of something. Who can resist the attractive colours

of the rainbow?

This noisy, delightful street market is there every morning. By noon, the place

is cleared and cleaned and it becomes a car park. The colours are replaced by drab

uninteresting machines.

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The Street Market

Thesis statement : The market is the most memoriable place.

Topic sentence :

i. My favourite food stall is the Pak Ayub nasi lemakstall.

ii. Mother buys all her fresh food from Uncle Ravis vegetable and meat stall.

iii. Ah Peng sells local and imported fruits.

iv. There is a corner of the market with stalls that appeal to younger people with their

chic accessories and colourful interesting cloth and straw bags at affordable prices.