Leafy meals: Goh (left) and her workers preparing vegetables to be cooked before the Nine Emperor Gods Festival in Madras Lane in George Town, Penang. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: Devotees who are observing a strict nine-day vegetarian diet in conjunction with the Nine Emperor Gods festival will have to pay more for the food this year.
Vegetarian rice seller Maggie Goh, 50, who has been trading along Lorong Madras here for the past 11 years, said she has to increase her prices by RM1 due to the rising cost of ingredients.
“We cannot retain the old price because the cost of rice, noodles, cooking oil, mushroom and sugar has gone up since last year.
“I also have to think of salaries for my workers. I have 30 workers on two shifts helping out during the festival.
“Those working in the morning shift get paid RM10 per hour while those working on the later shift demand RM12 per hour.
“I previously paid RM10 per hour for those working the night shift,” she said.
Goh also said that previously, a box of dried mushrooms cost about RM60 but it has now increased to about RM80.
“I operate my stall from 7am till 4am (the next day) and usually, the crowd comes in around 10am.
“During the first half of the day, the crowd prefer economy rice and dishes while in the evening, they prefer having favourites like hokkien char, maggi tomyam and mee goreng,” she added.
Another food stall operator Teh Sok Teng, 31, who took over the business from her uncle this year, said she has also increased prices to meet with the rising cost of essential items like rice, noodles and cooking oil.
She said she needs to hire 47 workers to work on two shifts at her stall as it is operating 24 hours.
“We have to pay our workers slightly more this year compared with previous years as they say that they need to meet the rising living costs.
“I am certain my regular customers will continue to come to my stall and will not mind the hike too much,” she said.
With both the Nine Emperor Gods and Navarathiri festivals back in full swing this year, big crowds are expected to flock to vegetarian stalls starting tomorrow. Both festivals end on Oct 23.
The Taoist community observes a strict vegetarian diet to pay homage to the Goddess of the North Star, believed to control the Books of Life and Death, while the Navarathiri festival is dedicated to three Hindu goddesses – Durga (Goddess of Bravery), Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth) and Saraswati (Goddess of Knowledge).
Malaysia Hindhudharma Mamandram (Penang) head of religious sub-committee SV Manimaran said the Navarathiri festival is usually celebrated at temples.
“Different temples will observe a variety of programmes but most will have a kollu platform where devotees can place figurines of deities on the platform which usually has seven, nine or 11 wide tiers or steps and decorated with LED lights and flowers.
On the ninth or 10th day, some temples will have a chariot procession bearing the idol of one of the goddesses to mark the end of the festival, he added.
