My grandfather came from Guangdong, China. You see this pole? This was the pole he used, a hundred years ago. Rice would go in front, and in the back, pork and condiments. He would sell his food walking along Jonker Street and nearby areas. He would carry a small table, and chop the meat up while the customer waited. It was less crowded than now, but still crowded, with rice-sellers and all sorts of other tradesmen. 

When my father grew up, he took up a spot in this place [today’s Medan Makan Boon Leong Bunga Raya]. That was before the war. There was no roof then. If it rained, they used canvas. Later, Gan Boon Leong {a Malaccan bodybuilder, politician and philanthropist] sponsored the roof. At that time a plate of char siu rice cost 30 cents, maybe twice that with extra meat. Now it’s much more, RM6 a plate. 

We’ve been here ever since. We don’t pay rent, we only pay for a licence. I sell char siu rice, the guy in front of me sells curry rice. I also sell roast pork, home-made sausages, and I used to sell roast duck, but no longer, because they say it causes pain in the legs. We’re closed on Thursdays. 

Though Malays don’t eat pork dishes I learned to speak Malay, because many Babas talk to me in Malay. When I was young, they would ask me for a spoon and I wouldn’t know what they were saying. 

There are nine of us, I’m the eldest. I’ve lived in the same wooden house in Bunga Raya since I was three years old, till now. Hopefully my nephew will be the fourth generation to continue this business.