Memories from Malaysia - Part 2

What I love about food is that it brings people together.  Whether it's with family, close ties, friends, or even strangers, eating is vital to our well-being.  The memories I have back at home, a lot of the time revolve around food, like making a special dessert with my mom that she's especially known for.  I recently called her the other day and she had told me she made some (oh the pain of not being able to eat it!).

Family is so important and the traditions that are brought along are equally so.  In my visit to my friend's hometown of Sitiawan, in the province of Perak, Malaysia, he brought me to this street corner shop.  It was run down but that didn't stop the shop from producing a wonderfully executed biscuit snack called kompiang.

This was already the 4th generation of family members who ran the shop.  Though there are 3-4 different locations in town, this one was known to be the best ones with an average waiting time of 20-30 minutes.  

The history behind it is that it was the food soldiers took with them in the 1500's because of its trans-portability.  The hole in the center allowed the soldiers to place it on a string and carry it around with them easily.

The man pictured above is placing each kompiang biscuit in the clay oven.  Meanwhile, I tried to sneak one because they smelled so good!  But alas, I waited and it was all worth it to hear the story and eat the kompiang biscuits.