Hawking

8 Feb 2011 - Malaysia is famous for its hawkers. To "hawk", according to the dictionary, is to "sell food on the street or at doors of houses, especially while moving from place to place". Hawker or street food is therefore the fare commodity sold by such vendors. In Malaysia, hawker food was first offered by petty traders who carried their fare from house to house, in a basket or ray balanced on the head. In two baskets, one in each hand, or in two baskets slung across a pole heaved upon the shoulders - such as was practised by the nasi kandar vendors - or in baskets and other receptacles fastened onto bicycles, tricycles and later, motorcycles. Some hawkers carry along a stove to cook their food, and s stool or a small bench for their customers to sit on while chowing down. Today, the food may also be sold from the back of cares or vans. When  the habit of buying food from vendors became entrenched in the culture, the hawkers could afford to lessen their burden by becoming less mobile, setting up stalls in a fixed spot which allowed the business to expand and the variety of food to increase.