Mr Amirthaalangaram Moorthy, probably Singapore's last kacang puteh seller, says his business is slowly picking up again.This may well be Singapore’s last kacang puteh stall, and the Covid-19 pandemic nearly finished it off.But this Indian trade that came over to Singapore still survives, in a tiny rented space on Selegie Road.Except for Mr Amirthaalangaram Moorthy, who sells his peanuts, chickpeas and other snacks from the space marked out at the entrance of Peace Centre.
In 2018, the Michelin Guide called his pushcart “the last bastion of Singapore’s yesteryear snack culture”.His grandfather came to Singapore from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where hot roasted peanuts sold in paper cones has for long been a popular street snack.Later, Mr Amirthaalangaram’s father picked it up, selling the snacks outside the Hoover Theatre in Balestier. After the cinema was demolished, the stall moved to Peace Centre.Mr Amirthaalangaram himself took over in 2004.
“Last time, there were many kachang puteh sellers outside cinemas in areas such as Yishun and Ang Mo Kio. There were many other kachang puteh sellers outside Hoover Theatre too. Now, there is nobody,” he was quoted as telling the Michelin Guide. Times and tastes change. Movies moved into malls and multiplexes. Snacks changed to popcorn and nachos.During the circuit breaker period that year he couldn’t operate at all. And when he reopened, most people were working from home, and there were few customers.The rent for his space alone is $600 a month.Now things are looking up again. “Business now okay lah, slowly,” 8 Days quoted him as saying.
It doesn’t look like it. They have gone into other fields - nursing and hotel management, 8 Days reported."I prefer to stay on the streets, which is where kachang puteh should be," Michelin had quoted him as saying.