Mamak Stall/Restaurant - A Malaysian Culture To Be Worried Of?

A quick search on google, mamak food will be considered as Malaysian culture. Besides bloggers, the Malaysian government also promotes mamak food as tourism attraction. (Read here)

Where to get mamak food? The first answer will be mamak stall or mamak restaurant.

Mamak restaurant provides a great place for social get-together or a proper meal. They serve great food and drinks, and normally equipped with LCD TV or projector screen showing live telecast sports program.

However, most of the mamak restaurants have become the breeding ground of smoker. Just walk into any mamak restaurant during the "prime time". You will notice that >80% of the tables will have at least one smoker, and most of the mamak patrons are youngsters.

What worrying are:

• A tourist will think that Malaysia is a country that promotes smoking, as most of the youths around them smoke
• A non-smoker will endure a torturing time, rather than a pleasant dining experience.
• A young smoker thinks that smoking shisha is okay
• The environmentalists will cry on air pollution
• The health ministry had run out of steam saying "Tak NAK"

But, who cares?

• Tourist can bring back their perception, so ... ?
• Non-smoker starts to shy open air mamak, but will opt for air-conditioned mamak or take away.
• Shisha is bad? Then go for cigarette.
• Forget about cigarette smoke, vehicle smoke pollution is thousand times worse.
• Tak NAK? There are young ladies promoting NAK everywhere.

Life goes on, and mamak stall / restaurant still a unique Malaysian culture.