Phatman luk-luks...

There are at least 50 varieties of meat and seafood items in a single serving
Dunking your skewered meal in boiling hot water is the way to savour luk-luk
Mussels - my favourite
Pig's nose, ya got to love it!
The Fat Man Steamboat stall at Lorong Kenari in Pusat Bandar Puchong

If ya had no idea what I am talking about, let me share about luk-luks (skewered hot pot items). I grew up eating these snacks in Chow Kit and one my fondest memory, is a the 'Kum Seng' or Golden City theatre which is now Dynasty Hotel. There is a stall selling skewered goodies and the usual morsels that you will find on a batang lidi or palm stick, is the pig's liver, kidney, intestine, processed squid, meatballs, fishballs, kangkong leaves, shrimps, cockles, teochew wantan and the list goes on. Luk-luks as they were called, was a common feature in the 70s. Right through the ages, the snack survived and in the 90s, stalls selling this kind of food had slowly dwindled.

Just overnite, their numbers shranked. And the very few places that you could find them are at places like Pudu, Seri Petaling and Cheras. These operators are now mobile. They either sell it from a sidecar motorcycle or from a modified van. Now, as time progresses, came this 'Fat Man Steamboat' that you can see in housing areas. At Pusat Bandar Puchong, they are now a common sight and as a matter of fact, Fat Man did have a stall there. Now at Lorong Kenari 3, you will find at least four stalls selling the same thing at night.

So, what is my favourite? It has to be the artery clogging 'Chee Thau Phei' (pig's nose) that is still cheap as dirt. I mean, where on earth would you find a piece of pig's flesh skewered on a toothpick with a cucumber? Its 50 sen! Artery clogging it may seem and cholesterol inducing -- I simply love em! Its cheap and deadly to certain quarters. Anyways, my choices are : raw mussels, kangkong, processed squid (this one is a killah!), Teochew wantan and fish rolls and the all-time favourite 'Ngao Keok Pau' or duck' feet wrapped in pig's liver, char siew and duck's intestine! Woooohaaaahhhh!!! That's what I call REAL FOOD! So, that said, I leave you with this thought : "You are what you eat!"