Popiah stall still draws the crowd despite new location (The Star)

Friday August 5, 2011

By Stuart Michael
metro@thestar.com.my

EVEN THOUGH the popular popiah basah (wet popiah) stall at the Ramadan Bazaar in Section 14, Petaling Jaya has moved place, it still packs in the crowd.

The stall that used to be at the entrance of the bazaar is in the middle of the bazaar this year.

This was due to complaints of the stall being responsible for the traffic jam in the area.

The best: Mohd Kassim preparing the popiah basah at his stall while customers line up patiently.

However, stall owner Mohd Kassim M. Ismail, 53, has no issue with his stall’s location because people could still be seen lining up as early as 3pm just to get their hands on the popular popiah.

Rain or shine, nothing can stop Kassim’s loyal customers from queuing up for his popiah.

A visit to the stall on Monday revealed a staggering line stretching about 20 metres and Kassim’s was the only stall in the bazaar to have such a long queue.

Also generating a lot of interest were stalls selling traditional kuih, satay, murtabak, burger, nasi kerabu, nasi lemak, laksa, meehoon sup and nasi campur.

Kassim said the popiah was still sold at RM1 each

“I have been trading here for the past 20 years and I have never increased the price once.

“This is how I show my appreciation to my loyal customers,’’ he said.

According to Kassim, he learnt to make the popiah from his late grandfather, the first to start selling it in the family.

Even though Kassim was equally baffled by his popiah’s popularity, he conceded that he was grateful to still be in business after all these years.

“I am proud to continue my family’s legacy and hopefully it will always be popular, especially during Ramadan,” he said.

This is second post of popiah basah at Section 14, you can view Bazaar ramadan, Section 14 PJ for more information