Coming to Alor Setar, a stop at Pekan Rabu or literally the Wednesday Market is a must. I lost count of the number of times I've been here. Pekan Rabu has a sort of sentiment heart tugging pull as it is the heart soul of the city. I said soul because heart may connote location while soul refers to spirit which is closer to what I mean to say.
Today, Pekan Rabu is a large modern four storey complex of nearly 400 shops and food stalls. Despite its name (Wednesday Market), Pekan Rabu opens everyday, even on public holidays.
The sundry shops are at the upper levels. The food stalls at the ground floor.
There are some twenty plus food stalls at the food court / centre. We tried laksa Kedah.
Laksa Kedah is rice noodles in a soupy gritty sauce of spices, herbs and fish. It reminds me of Penang laksa sans the sharp sourness of tamarind and robust savouriness of fermented prawn paste. I actually prefer the gentler, clean, herby taste of the Kedah version of laksa.
.jpg "Pekan Rabu Soul of Alor Setar ● Historic Wednesday Market that Opens Everyday")
The strands were soft tender and give off a subtle rice sweetness and fragrance. They were snipped into short, stubby strands similar to Katong laksa (actually in Kedah they snip them even shorter). Also, unlike Katong laksa, laksa Kedah does not use coconut milk.
The upper levels have dozens of sundry shops chocked full of spices, sauces, snacks, kuih (cakes) and general sundries. There are also handicraft and clothing stalls. The stalls are so bright and airy now - I remember 20+ years ago, it was stuffy, hot and slightly dim inside.
Most stalls have pekasam. It is an ancient way of preserving river fish or fish from paddy fields using salt and toasted rice to produce a savoury salty sourish fermented fish. It's a speciality of Kedah.
Today's spick and span Pekan Rabu has come a long way from its much humbler beginnings.
Pekan Rabu first opened in Tanjung Kali in 1930. It was exactly what its name says - an informal street market where traders gathered on Wednesdays.
Many of the traders at Pekan Rabu today are third and fourth generation descendants of the original Tanjung Kali street hawkers.
Most of the peddlers were moved indoors to the new market at Jalan Tunku Ibrahim in 1932, sheltering them from the sun and rain.
My memory of the place was it was slightly dim and stuffy but extremely colourful, and full of aroma and sounds. Very exciting and I must return with every visit to Alor Setar.
The most famous Pekan Rabu trader is of course former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who sold cendol here between 1942 and 1944, when he was a young teen.
Today's modern new complex opened in 2014 and renovated in 2018.
Even though I've been here many times, a pilgrimage to Pekan Rabu is still a must every time I am in Alor Setar. The laksa Kedah is also a must try. Get some pekasam too.
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