Pasar malam is an Indonesian and Malay word that literally means night market, "pasar" being related to "bazaar" in Persian. A pasar malam is a street market in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia that opens in the evening, usually in residential neighbourhoods.[1]
It brings together a collection of stalls that usually sell goods such as fruit, vegetables, snacks, toys, clothes, shoes, alarm clocks, and ornaments at cheap or at least reasonable prices. Pirated DVDs, CDs and computer programs are often sold at a pasar malam. A pasar malam often takes place only one to a few days of the week, as the traders rotate around different neighbourhoods on different days of the week. Haggling over prices is a common practice at such markets.
Pasar Malam are often differentiated by ethnicity. A Malay pasar malam will often contain stalls selling Islamic books, kopiah hats, sarongs and other Malay specialty items. Chinese pasar malam may sell Mah Jong sets, incense, joss sticks, joss paper and various Chinese prayer supplies. Indian pasar malam may contain Hindu prayer supplies.
In the Netherlands, a yearly Indonesian festival is held in The Hague under the name Pasar Malam Besar.
See also
- Pasar pagi
- Wet market
- Night market
- Hawker centre, open-air complexes in Malaysia and Singapore housing many stalls that sell a variety of inexpensive food
- Kopi tiam, literally a "coffee shop"
References
External links
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