T.G.I. Pekan Rabu

"Why Wednesday? Why not Thursday, or Friday?"

I think I asked those questions to my parents, when we came to to 'Pekan Rabu' (or literally means ‘Wednesday Market’) for the first time. There were those questions, plus a few more; “Are we there yet?”, “When are we stopping?”, and “I’m hungry”. Ok, the last one was a statement.

Now, to make things clear, ‘Pekan Rabu’ is open to all daily. It can be a tricky to reach for a first-timer, due to the road flow. What I would do is to travel from the ‘Teluk Wanjah’ roundabout towards the city, till you find another roundabout with Ambank and Maybank in view. Then proceed to your 12 o’clock direction, exit to your right after the second exit, and go to the right for the next two junctions. You’ll find the KFC restaurant on your left, and a police station in front of you throughout the journey. There’s a river beside ‘Pekan Rabu’.

If you find this confusing, then perhaps a GPS navigator is more of your ‘thing’.

Anyway, the place should be in a tourist’s ‘must-see list’, whenever you visit the Alor Setar. It has no fast food chain, nor an air-conditioned facility, but it has lots of unique things that are not available in most modern shopping complexes. There’s a selection of traditional clothes; ‘Baju Melayu’, ‘Baju Kurung’, plus others. If you’re planning a Malay engagement ceremony, this is one of the places to go to for your ceremonial gifts. You can also find traditional medicines like ‘Gamat’ oil (sea cucumber), herbal medicines and pure honey. You won’t find Johnson’s Baby Oil here tho….that’s corporate-backed.

But the best part of the complex is actually the food section. No kid.

 The food section from the first visit, with Irtiza in view

Snacks and dried food

Our 'official' store for 'Gamat' oil

Plastic toys...strategically-located at places parents would go to

Apparels and stuffs

Don't have to wait for 'Raya' to get these

Sweet delicacies, dried food, and preserved fruits are some of the many things that you will find here. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also try the ever-famous ‘Pekasam’ (a kind of fermented fish); a salty dish that can complement your meal of rice, plus other side dishes. But if you have serious HBP (High blood pressure), eat moderately, or that fish could be the last thing that you’ll ever eat.

I think I tasted my very first ‘Pekasam’ from this place. Prior to that, anything close to the delicacy would be the cartoon illustration of a guy struggling to take the fish at the bottom of a stone barrel, with the traditional proverb; “Alang-alang menyeluk pekasam, biar sampai ke pangkal lengan”. It basically means ‘If you wanna do something, do it whole-heartedly till the end’.

I guess that’s why I’m blogging again after the long hiatus. The recently-purchased ‘Pekasam’ was an indirect source of inspiration.

 'Pekasam' for you and me

What you will see in front of 'Pekan Rabu'

You can't see this kind of setting at Cold Storage supermarkets

 The left side...or, is it the right side?

 Err...the other side.

The parking area for Pekan Rabu visitors. This was taken before PRU 13 election

A very famous clinic.

I’ve visited ‘Pekan Rabu’ twice this year, during my recent two visits to Alor Setar. We didn’t buy much during the first visit, but we bought lots of things in last weekend’s visit. Having extra pocket money for the month was a factor. Wifey’s mood was another.

In most visits, we would usually buy things like the ‘Gamat’ oil, ‘Mak Bee Kuah Rojak’ (A kind of sweet, peanuty condiment for fruits and veges), some preserved fruits and sweet traditional snacks, pre-mixed spice packets, and ‘Pekasam’. The goods were later divided for office folks, and for our very own consumption. As it’s pretty much impossible for me to give my office colleagues London keychains or Australian koala pen hugger for now, I gave them calorie-inducing snacks instead.

 From the last visit. Beautiful, ain't it?

For bruises and headaches

Hidden 'Pekasam' and salted fish

We are not sure when we will be going back to Alor Setar again. But when we do, you can be sure that ‘Pekan Rabu’ will be one of our pit stops :)

P/s: To my office colleagues who managed to read this entry, hope you guys won't go crazy with the orders for the next visit. My car is a sedan from inside out...not a lorry in disguise...'kapish'?