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PENANG’S BEST HAWKER FOOD FOR ME INCLUDES kueytiaoteng, laksa, prawn mee and fried kueytiao.
From 2016, the requirement for street hawkers to employ only local cooks will be added as one of the criteria in their licence application. It will apply to all street hawkers and food outlets in shopping complexes. Restaurants will be exempted from the policy.
It seems to me that, as long as the taste remains great, it doesn’t matter who cooks the food.
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January 2016
In 26 October 2014, it was reported that there would be a ban on foreign cooks from 1 January 2016.
Yes, 1 January 2016 has finally arrived, so what’s happening?
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4 January 2016
Malay Mail Online
Association: No excuse for hiring foreigners as main cooks
GEORGE TOWN, Jan 4 — Hawkers who do not adhere to the ban on foreigners as main cooks have themselves to blame if action is taken against them.
Penang Hawkers Association vice-chairman Ooi Thean Huat said all hawkers should be aware of the ban as the announcement was published in newspapers and notices.
“There is no excuse not to acknowledge the ban. Moreover, they were given a one-year grace period, which is more than enough time to hire Malaysian cooks,” he said.
“Those who fail to comply will have to take full responsibility if action is taken by the local council because we have done our part.”
Ooi said this when responding to a Sunday Mail report that many hawkers were still hiring foreigners as their main cooks.
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Chowrasta Market Traders Association chairman Mohamed Nasir Mohideen said Penang was on the verge of losing its main attraction of producing delicious cuisine as foreigners were taking over the job of cooking the dishes.
“It is acceptable if these workers are recruited to assist the hawkers but please do not make them the main cooks,” he said.
Those penalised for hiring foreigners as the main cooks only have themselves to blame, says the Penang Hawkers Association.
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3 January 2016
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Pearl Lee 
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Penang food lovers say ban defiance distasteful
A Myanmar worker is seen grilling satay but the owner claims that he is not actually cooking. Photo: MalayMail
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GEORGE TOWN — They expect to taste authentic food made by locals at hawker stalls. Yet, customers at Penang’s many hawker centres are left disappointed as foreigners continue to cook local fare at the eateries.
This is despite the state government’s move to ban foreigners from cooking at stalls, which came into effect on Friday.
Malay Mail visited several hawker centres yesterday (Jan 2) and saw foreigners cooking and manning several stalls.
Lor Jun Ren, 25, who visited the hawker centre at Times Square Mall on Jan 1, saw foreigners cooking.
“The state government has given the traders fair warning prior the implementation of the ban. What more excuses do they have?” said the accountant.
“The authorities should check hawker centres. Such disregard is unacceptable.”
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A curry mee stall operator, who also ran a drinks stall at Jalan Macalister, said he did not have enough staff and had to rely on his Myanmar national worker to man the stall.
“He is helping me for awhile as it is lunch hour and I am busy at the drinks counter,” said the operator, who declined to be named.
“If Penang City Council conducts a spot-check, I will just tell them he is not cooking.”
At the New World Park food court in Lorong Swatow, at least seven stalls had foreign nationals as their cooks.
The stall owners were quick to say their workers were “merely assisting” while others said they were not cooking but “merely preparing the food”.
http://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/penang-food-lovers-say-ban-defiance-distasteful?page=
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HAPPY NEW YEAR! The Penang City Council (MBPP) will be coming around to take away your foreign cooks and your licence…
Star
1 January 2016
Penang City council to revoke licences as ban on foreign cooks takes effect
GEORGE TOWN: The ban on foreigners from cooking local hawker fare takes effect today and the Penang City Council (MBPP) will revoke licences of errant traders who refuse to comply.
MBPP Licencing and Public Health Standing Committee alternate chairman Ong Ah Teong said there would be no more warning as the education process had already begun since October.
“We have issued numerous warnings to most roadside hawkers, operators at complexes, coffee shops and temporary hawker stalls,” he said.
Ong said they would carry out spot checks at the 37 food complexes and 49 temporary hawker stalls on the island from today.
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3 November 2014
Penang hawker groups support ‘no foreign cooks’ move http://bit.ly/1wZc3MW #prejudice #discrimination
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26 October 2014
Penang’s chief minister defends decision to ban foreign cooks in hawker stalls http://tdy.sg/1oJNzrZ
Foreign workers are indifferent towards cooking
State has taken a ‘touch pro-active’ decision to preserve the unique heritage of its street-food, he says.
KUALA LUMPUR — Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today (Oct 26) defended the state’s decision to ban foreign cooks in hawker stalls, saying the workers are forced to do so by stall owners rather than on their own initiative.
Mr Lim insisted the ban does not deny foreign workers’ rights to cook, since the workers are indifferent to whether they cook or wash plates as the decision ultimately lies with their employers.
“Telling foreign workers that they can not cook in hawker stalls is not denying their rights or depriving them of their passion for cooking because they are indifferent – it is a job not of their choice, but the decision of their employer.”
“Further, any culinary skills these foreign workers acquire would be lost because foreign workers will have to return home after a period of time,” Mr Lim said in a statement.
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The Penang Government’s ban on foreigners from being the main cooks of local hawker fare is effective from Jan 1, 2016.
Ban on non-locals as main cooks of hawker food in Penang will begin in 2016 http://dlvr.it/7Jhnt8
Culinary hotspot: Locals and holiday makers enjoying local hawker delights in Gurney Drive, Penang.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the move was to preserve the authenticity of the state’s local flavours.
Lim added that all hawkers operating at coffee shops, hawker complexes, shopping mall food courts and roadside stalls should do away with employing foreigners as their main cooks and ensure that “only locals or Malaysian citizens” cooked their fare.
“Foreigners can still be hired to do the washing, handle orders or assist in preparing ingredients, but not to do the cooking,” he told a press conference in Komtar yesterday.
Lim said hawkers would be given a one-year grace period starting from Jan 1 next year, to enable them to adjust to the new regulation.
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WHAT IF I PREPARE EVERYTHING MYSELF BUT MY FOREIGN WORKER BOILS THE NOODLES AND ADD THE SOUP? Would that be cooking?
Hawkers unsure if food can be prepared from home http://dlvr.it/7JhkN2
GEORGE TOWN: While some hawkers are receptive towards the state government’s move to ban foreigners from cooking local delicacies at food stalls, a few are wondering if the move includes those who plate up a dish.
Curry mee hawker Bok Siew Peng, 37, questioned if the food prepared by locals at home could be sold by foreign workers at hawker stalls.
“For example, can the locals prepare the main ingredients for noodles such as the soup and broth at home first, with the foreign workers then boiling the noodles at the stall and just adding the soup and broth?
“I prepare everything myself and I see this being done by a lot of hawkers in Penang,” she said when met at her stall in New Lane here.
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The survey: 86% of 14,810 people can’t be wrong!
Malaysiakini
2:18PM Oct 24, 2014
Penang finally imposes ban on foreign cooks
The Penang government has decided to ban foreign cooks for street hawkers, after 86 percent of respondents in its survey supported the proposal.
The Penang Municipal Council survey showed that 14 percent of the respondents disagreed with the ban, which proponents say will protect the authencity of Penang food.
State executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow, who chairs the Local Government committee, said the survey was based on face-to-face and online interviews conducted with 14,810 people from July 25 to Aug 31.
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Chow (holding forms in picture) said the respondents comprised 8,272 Penangites, 6,493 local tourists and 45 foreign tourists.
“According to the survey, 86.02 percent agreed with the Penang Municipal Council withdrawing the licences of hawkers who employ foreign cooks, and only 13.98 percent rejected the idea,” Chow told a press conference today.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/278496
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Toon Seri Anthraxxxx Penang McDonalds restaurants say only Americans can cook Big Macs http://bit.ly/10rusId
Submitted by Racially Profiled Cooking Editor,
GEORGETOWN: Penang McDonalds restaurants released a statement today, saying it would no longer allow Malaysians to cook burgers in its restaurants to protect the cultural authenticity of its American cuisine.
“We will be sending covert fast food kitchen inspectors to ensure nobody from Asia cooks Big Macs,” said a McDonalds spokesman, “We cant risk foreigners messing with our food. Better to ship over frozen American cooks from Idaho in zip lock bags instead. What is it with all these little cili sos packets? If ketchup is good enough for Americans, then people here better get used to it. What were Malaysians thinking when they invented the prosperity burger with black pepper sauce? Kiss that nonsense goodbye. The buffalo ranch chicken burger is the way to go!”
“To many, our food is just stuff to shove into the biggest hole in their faces, but to Americans, it’s our cultural heritage, our identity, and our culture. Who are these Asians to deprive Penang customers of the right to enjoy authentic Chicago fast food? Sure if they didn’t like Big Macs made by non-Americans they could eat elsewhere, but don’t you think it’s better we authorities make this decision for them?”
http://fakemalaysianews.com/2014/07/23/penang-mcdonalds-restaurants-say-only-americans-can-cook-big-macs/#sthash.VzRdNzTH.z9DRF15o.dpuf
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Does it matter if Penang hawker food was cooked by a local or foreigner? #hawkerban Story here http://bit.ly/1wtmzvG
GEORGE TOWN: Penang has confirmed the ban on foreigners being employed as “main cooks” for its renowned hawker fares to retain the unique local taste and flavour.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said hawkers would be given a one-year grace period starting Jan 1, 2015, to enable them to adjust to the new ruling which would be effective on Jan 1, 2016.
“This will be done in stages, not immediately,” Lim told a press conference.
The ban on foreigners as cooks was an effort to ensure the unique local taste and flavour of Penang’s hawker fare is retained, said Lim
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weehingthong 