Remember when you were little, you would eat all kind of snacks ranging from candy, biscuits, chocolate and more? Remember the good old days where you buy these snacks from the snack uncle that drives a lorry that is loaded with snacks? Or the uncle that rides a motorcycle but has tens of bags of snacks dangling at the both sides of his motorcycle?
Remember enjoying the snacks with your friends, thinking that moment would just stay like that forever? But within a blink of an eye, you’re already grown up and the only way to experience the feeling once again is through your childhood snack. Here are the top 10 best Malaysian childhood snacks that we all once loved as a child. (and still do).
1. Iced Gem Biscuits
Remember these bite-sized biscuits with a colourful piece of icing on top? And the icing would always be your favourite part? Ice gems, also known as “naval biscuits”, are one of the most popular snacks that almost all Malaysian kids grew up with. Excuse me while I steal your piece of icing!
Ingredients: Unsalted butter, Caster sugar, Plain flour, Royal icing sugar, Water, Food colouring
Country of Origin: Malaysia
Size Available: 45g, 180g
Price: RM 1 (45g) | RM 3 (180g)
*Price may vary at the time of purchase
2. Haw Flakes (Shan Zha)
Haw flakes – also known as (山楂饼 shan zha beng) are also known as disc candies by many. It has a sweet and slightly sour taste and they are actually made out of the fruit of the Chinese hawthorn tree – the haw berries.
Ingredients: Sugar, Haw, Preservatives (Sodium Benzoate), Colour (E124)
Country of Origin: China
Size Available: 276g (12pcs)
Price: RM3.99
*Price may vary at the time of purchase
3. Wheel Crackers
Remember the crackers that look like wheels and have a distinct plain taste with a tang of saltiness? They are called wheel crackers and can be a very addictive snack! They usually come in large packs, you can often see them in pasar malam.
Ingredients: Wheat flour, Potato Starch, Salt, Sugar, Sugar, Palm Oil, Permitted Flavouring
Country of Origin: Malaysia
Size Available: 200g
Price: RM5.88
*Price may vary at the time of purchase
4. Xiao Man Tou
Remember these tiny, powdery biscuits that look like steamed buns but tiny? These are called Xiao Man Tou. In Chinese “Xiao” means small and “Man Tou” means steamed buns; which directly translates it into “small steamed buns”. These snacks taste plain but are rather aromatic, put a handful of them into your mouth and thank me later for a powdery heaven!
Ingredients: Butter, Icing sugar, Egg, Potato starch, Cake flour, Baking powder, Milk powder
Country of Origin: China
Size Available: 14g
Flavour Available: Original
Price: RM0.94
*Price may vary at the time of purchase
5. Apollo Chocolate Wafers
Who could resist these sweet, aromatic, crunchy chocolate wafers? Back then Apollo Chocolate Wafers was one of the most common sights in any birthday gift pack – I mean, who is to blame when the chocolate wafer was so delicious, especially for children?
Ingredients: Pawn Kernel Fat, Full Cream Milk Powder, Cocoa, Ammonium Bicarbonate, Artificial Flavour
Country of Origin: Malaysia
Size Available: 12gm (x12)
Flavours Available: Chocolate, Milk
Price: RM2.15
*Price may vary at the time of purchase
6. Mamee Monster Noodle Snack
The good old Mamee snack! There’s usually a seasoning pack inside the snack (unless you’re unlucky). There are usually two ways when eating Mamee – crushing the fried noodles inside and adding the seasoning pack, shaking it vigorously before eating. Or just eating the fried noodle as a whole without crushing it. No matter how you eat it, it will always be delicious!
Ingredients: Wheat flour, Vegetable oil (Carotine Red Palm Oil [SoyBean]), Salt, Flavouring Substances (Soya Bean), Monosodium L-Glutamate, Disodium 5-Guanylate, Disodium 5 Inosinate, Spices, Sugar, Sodium Polyphosphates, Potassium Carbonate
Country of Origin: Malaysia
Size Available: 25g (x8)
Flavour Available: Barbeque, Spicy, Chicken
Price: RM3.29
*Price may vary at the time of purchase
7. Choki Choki
These tube sized chocolate spreads are easy to carry around, you can put them anywhere – inside your pocket, your bags and more. The snack provides a short and delightful sugar rush anytime with every sip and with its convenient packaging size – you can have it anytime, anywhere!
Ingredients: Milk powder, Maltodextrin, Cocoa powder, Whey powder, Cashew nut, Emulsifier (soy lecithin E322), Salt, Vanillin, Chocolate Flavour (artificial)
Country of Origin: Thailand
Size Available: 10gm (x60)
Flavour Available: Chocolate, Chocomilk, Chocashew
Price: RM15.99
*Price may vary at the time of purchase
8. EyeGlass Candy
Remember the chocolate in an 8 shape? Or in an eyeglass shape? These chocolate milk bean shaped candies were once one of the most popular chocolate snacks among children! Tips: you can slot rubber bands in between the holes of the “eyeglasses”, then you’ll have a pair of cool looking chocolate eyeglasses!
Ingredients: Sugar, Vegetable fat (palm oil), Cocoa powder, Whey powder, Soya lecithin, Artificial flavouring (chocolate, vanillin), Artificial colours
Country of Origin: Malaysia
Size Available: 12.5g (x40)
Price: RM8
*Price may vary at the time of purchase
9. Marukawa Bubble Gum
Marukawa Bubble Gum was one of the most popular chewing gums among childrens as they came with cool sticker tattoos! This snack is sure to provide a joyous bubble blowing fun!
Ingredients: Sugar, Gum base, Glucose, Corn syrup, Artificial strawberry flavour, Critic acids
Country of Origin: Japan
Size Available: 17.8g (x14)
Price: RM4.50
*Price may vary at the time of purchase
10. Tam-Tam and Mi-Mi
When talking about childhood snacks, I bet everyone will mention these mini packed Snek Ku snacks that are highly addictive and are sold almost anywhere. From shopping malls to small road stalls. But to this day I still wonder why the cat mascot was used for a prawn flavour snack. (ever wondered about that?)
Ingredients:
MiMi: Wheat flour, Palm oleum, Sugar, Garlic, Fish flavour, Corn starch, Salt, Chilli powder , Raising agent(ammonium Bircarbonate), Flavour enhancer
TamTam: Wheat flour, Palm olein, Sugar, Garlic, Salt, Raising agent (ammonium bicarbonate), Glucose, Crab seasoning, Dextrin, Corn starch, Hydrolyzed vegetable protein, Flavour enhancer
Country of Origin: Malaysia
Size available: 16g (x40)
Flavour Available: Prawn flavour (mimi), Crab flavour (tamtam)
Price: RM7.90
*Price may vary at the time of purchase
It has probably been a while since you’ve had these childhood snacks and maybe there’s some that you have even forgotten. If this list has recalled your memory of them or has made you salivating, maybe visit a pasar malam or some stalls to revisit the nostalgic taste of when you were little again!
Disclosure: This list was compiled by the team at My Weekend Plan after extensive research and shared opinions to suggest helpful recommendations for the public. The sequence of brands is in no particular order so if you have any other great suggestions too, please email us support@myweekendplan.com.my. For more information, kindly refer to our copyright, privacy & disclosure policy
