Written by Nanthini Suresh
1. Packet
cotton candy
There were
very few places that sold freshly-made cotton candy in Malaysia. As a close
substitute, we settled for these cotton candy balls that were sold in
translucent plastic wrappers in school canteens and the neighbourhood kedai
runcit. We could get a packet for about RM0.20 – RM0.30, though they’re
now sold at specialty stores for a whopping RM3.50/packet. They didn’t come in
any flavours, but they melted in your mouth the same way as regular, more
expensive cotton candy did.
Find
packet cotton candy (RM3.50/packet) at Childhood stores across Klang Valley.
2. Marukawa
Fruit Bubble Gum
Hand some of
these Marukawa Bubble Gum balls out in school and you’ll be the
popular kid for a day, especially if you had all the flavours in hand. We
probably loved them as much as we did because of its fruity flavours which
weren’t common in bubble gum, especially honeydew. They also had a satisfying
crunchy outer layer that kept us popping them in one after the other.
While these
are no longer being sold in school canteens, you can still find them in Daiso
stores, though you’ll be paying a steeper price tag than you used to 15 years
ago.
Find Marakuwa
Bubble Gum (RM5.90/8 packets) at Daiso stores across Malaysia.
3. Kumquat
sticks
Kumquat
sticks were always sold alongside dried orange peels and plum candies as
they fell into the same category of “herbal traditional sweets”. Not everyone
was a fan of them because there was a bitter taste to them. Once you got past
that, you’d start to taste the sweetness and slight asam-like tartness of
the candy.
Plus, these
sticks came wrapped in flashy gold and silver packaging that only further
enticed us to grab a handful whenever we saw them being sold in a candy store.
4. Lucky
cocoa ball
The face
of Lucky Cocoa Ball resembled Humpty Dumpty, the talking egg from our
childhood nursery rhyme. Paired with retro packaging, it looked like it was a
candy from the 80s, though most of us would remember these chocolate nibs as
one of the many popular childhood snacks from the 1990s. The cocoa balls were
more pillow-shaped than they were balls, and they came in tiny clear packets
that were stuffed into boxes. They weren’t overly sweet and had that slight
bitter taste of cocoa powder, so kids either loved it or hated it.
Find Lucky
Cocoa Ball (RM6.50/30 packets) at Shopee.
5. Plum
tablets
Pikin’s Plum
Candy was a healthier alternative to regular candies like Mentos or Kopiko
as they were made from real fruit. This meant that parents were always more
forgiving whenever we appeared with a bottle of this in our hands as opposed to
other candies at the checkout counter. The candy even came in small
plum-shaped tablets that were pale pink in colour. Its signature sweet and
slightly acidic taste was a big hit with all the kids in school.
Find Pikin
Plum Candy (RM2/bottle) at Shopee.
6. Didi milk
tablets
Growing up,
some of us may not have been big fans of drinking milk because it was too
bland. But as an alternative, we’d happily pop these milk tablets from Didi any
day. This milk-based candy came in small discs that were powdery to the
touch. It was extra creamy and had that slight tinge of sweetness which made it
even more addictive for kids. It was probably a main source of calcium at that
point in time.
Find an
alternative to Didi’s milk tablets at Shopee.
7. Hard candy
with plum centre
These hard
plum candies were a huge hit with older relatives, which just goes to show
how long they’ve been around. Since they could always be found around the
house, us younger kids eventually shared our parents’ love for this old school
treat as well. The hard outer shell tasted simply of caramelised sugar, so the
best part was getting to the middle where the real treat was – the asam.
Once we got to the dried plum in the centre, we’d gnaw off as much of the fruit
as we could. It was a hard feat due to its dry and rough texture, but we’d
always feel accomplished when we ended up with a clean seed.
Find these
plum candies (RM2.50/10 pcs) at Shopee
8. Crunchy
peanut candy
This
crunchy peanut candy is easily recognisable from the brown stripes on
its white outer shell. Biting into it, you’d discover the delicious peanut
filling inside. It was made from a blend of peanuts and sugar which were finely
ground and densely packed together. While we could get them at any time
of the year, childhood snacks like these ones in particular were especially
popular during Chinese New Year. You could almost definitely find them in the
candy jar of every house you visited.
Find these
peanut candies (RM6/packet) at Shopee.
9. Yogurt
stick
We always had a blast with these yogurt sticks that were eaten the same way as you
would eat a Choki Choki. These, of course, were much smaller in size and came
in tubes made from firm plastic so that it was easier to grip with your teeth
instead of having it flop around. You could get a variety packet that came in a
bunch of different flavours and you could also get them in individual flavours
once you discovered your favourite. The texture of the candy itself was similar
to that of super thick icing. It was creamy and turned slightly powdery when dissolved.
Find these
yogurt sticks (RM4/packet) at Mudah.
10. Sour
fruit powder
Whenever we
bought a bottle of sour fruit powder, it always came with a mini straw.
You were meant to add a little water in the bottle and shake it up to dissolve
the powder inside, but most of us always ate it straight up by sprinkling it
onto our tongues.
Find sour
fruit powder (from RM0.99/bottle) at Shopee.
We’ve all had
that “ahh!” moment whenever we happen to stumble across a nostalgic item or
food, and we’re sure you’ve just gone through a couple of those when going
through this list of childhood snacks. It’s a shame that kids these days will
never get to try some of our all-time favourites, but it just goes to show how
good we had it during our time – after all, we had a ton of childhood snacks and candy to binge on.
