IN the midst of the crowded neighbourhood of Kampung Simee in Ipoh is a little corner where one can enjoy a variety of traditional Perak Malay dishes. Gerai Makan Mak Su as it is called is a 15-year old eatery that is popular among the residents in Taman Merindi.
This wooden stall has a steady following of regular customers who come here looking for its tasty traditional fare such as “pucuk ubi masak lemak” or tapioca shoots in coconut milk gravy and special “laksa”, a soft noodles and thick, delicious fish gravy.
Open weekdays from 10am, Mak Su or her real name Halaliah Yahya, 45, said she started business with the idea of supporting her family for a while but on seeing the good reception towards her culinary spread, she decided to continue till today. The mother of three from Kampung Tapah in Selama said she even expanded her stall to cater for more customers and also to serve a wider variety of local Malay food. One of her hottest selling dishes is the “Asam Pedas Keladi” which is a piquant dish made from the stems of yam leafs. A local residents Norazlin Abdul Muin, 26, who has been frequenting the stall since two years back said the food prices are right and she needn’t worry about finding parking spots. "Everyone who loves traditional Malay food from this area would know this stall but even though it’s not over varied in choice, the price is cheap,” she said, adding that it’s nice to see the proprietor and her team preparing food and to know this is done quite cleanly..
Another regular customer, lorry driver Tan Chek Kong, 55, said he is amazed at the owner’s kind heart as for the past five years he had seen Mak Su donating all her unsold food to an old folk’s home nearby. "Sometimes this kind-hearted lady will even cook fried rice, pack some drinks, and tell her husband to send the stuff over to the old folk’s home,” he said Whilst enjoying his rice and free range local chicken curry, he said Mak Su never recycle any food for the next day and praised her for being selfless to people from all backgrounds. Mak Su also does food catering and can be contacted at 018-579-0483.