Don’t you miss the good old days of going back to school and stopping by a kedai runcit to buy some candies or snacks while you walk back home with your friends?
The snacks we have now in convenience stores are a little too mainstream. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great! But old Malaysian snacks just hit differently, you know?
So I say we bring back these old-timey snacks and reminisce about the times when the worst thing to ever happen was us not doing homework and kena rotan (and then balik rumah kena rotan lagi sebab kena marah dengan Cikgu).
1. Hard Plum Candy
If you’re lucky, these beauties are sold in your nearby kedai runcit. Otherwise you’d have to buy them online. This candy is what my mum used to give me whenever I did a “good deed”. Also because why I think my mother preferred this to any other candy was that it kept my mouth busy for a longer period of time as a kid. It’s a shame she didn’t continue giving me candy when I’m an adult. Think of all the good deeds I would’ve done now that I’m older and employed.
Price: RM3 per pack
Where To Get: Online shopping platforms (Shopee, Lazada, etc) or a kedai runcit near you.
2. Horlicks Malties
These are a hit or miss for me but the nostalgia’s still there. I used to hate it when I was younger. My teachers would give us this as a reward for doing well on tests and honestly, it felt more like I was punished.
And they wonder why I purposely get Bs.
But now I sort of crave the slightly medicinal flavour of the Malties and find myself looking for them whenever I’m in a supermarket or a store.
Price: RM8
Where To Get: Online shopping platforms and supermarkets
3. Nini
My friends and I would fight each other for the last tube of Nini whenever recess came. They’re almost always sold out and whenever they are, the aunty that sells them won’t stock up until the end of the week.
But no matter who got the last one, we would always share them anyway because sharing makes it taste better for some reason.
Price: RM14.50
Where To Get: Online shopping platforms
4. Apollo Layer Cakes
I always went for layer cakes whenever lunch time came around instead of eating real food because it’s easier to cram them in your mouth so you can play longer. It’s not necessarily the most filling but was feeling full important at that age? I didn’t think so.
Price: RM6 per box
Where To Get: Supermarkets or online shopping platforms
5. Nano Nano
Nano is one of those candies that never get old. I was first introduced to this when the aunty that runs the kedai runcit down the street from my house gave it to me for free because she thought I was cute. It’s been 20 years since and I still get free Nano Nano every once in a while when I visit her store.
Price: RM0.80
Where To Get: Supermarkets or online shopping platforms
6. BigFoot Lollipop
I recently bought these on Shopee when I went on one of my “when I was your age” tangents to my 6-year-old niece. She was showing me her Pokémon cards and asked if that’s what old people collected during the old ages.
First of all, rude. Second of all, I was very proud of my Pokémon card collection, thank you very much.
So that led us into a conversation about snacks and other trinkets I used to collect when I was younger. And yes, I did use to collect BigFoot Lollipops. Mainly because I liked sour things and I thought it was funny that it was shaped like a foot.
Price: RM8.96
Where To Get: Online shopping platforms
7. Great Monster
My cousins and I used to pretend our mouths were bleeding or that we had some sort of disease because the candy would turn our mouths different colours. Our parents hated the candy. If it got on our clothes, it wouldn’t go away for quite some time. You can find these candies in old kedai runcit or as usual, the ever trusted Shopee.
Price: RM15.50
Where To Get: Online Shopping platforms and kedai runcit
27-year-old me enjoys the snacks and sweets of today’s era but I also miss the old ones. They have certain nostalgic feelings attached to them that make me feel like home whenever I take a bite. It also brings you back to when you were a kid and your parents tried out home remedies on you before going to the doctor’s. Good times.
That being said, what’s your favourite Malaysian snack?
