2023 - MARKET STALLER

Around 1992, we started the Markets under the shade of the huge Tamarind tree.

I did Lumpia – a traditional Filipino spring roll snack. My late husband and I created that menu, we started from scratch. I used to make the spring rolls about a foot long, with extra pastry and sell them for $2.00. I made 150 and they went, just like that! That’s how it started. There was me and Maryani, then Sanga rocked up then Esa and Sabre came. We loved it, we all laughed.

I had two varieties, and then we tried the banana fritters with my own special fillings, It was an experiment, but it went off!

For Shinju, we would dress up the stalls with bamboo, banana leaves and coconut fronds. I won! I won $500. I won a few times.

Then we upgraded again, Sanga’s husband made me a van, it was still all open, beautiful, with fresh air. We used to pay $5 for the fee.

During the ‘old days’, local people would bring in fresh fish and mud crabs. We would swap, it was so good. They were selling for $20 a crab and they were huge! I miss those days, when everyone brought homemade stuff.

I raised my kids at the markets, they are ‘Market Kids’ as we used to call them. My family came over from the Philippines and they all helped. I have lots of good memories. Just meeting and serving those people with different walks of life from all over the world has made me kept going. That’s how it started and I enjoyed every moment of it.