“I was a 6 year old playing on the swing set in kindergarten. I noticed all my friends gather around a table outside with my teacher watching over them. My curiosity was at its peak and I went over and my teacher handed me a little tube with a tiny yellow stick. She had another pair in her hands and she taught me how to use it. After a few unsuccessful attempts I would like to think I had finally mastered the art of the bubble stick game. After that almost every time I went to a kedai runcit or stopped the ice cream uncle on his bike I would get one of my favourite games ever, the bubble stick game.”
“As a kid I always had a sweet tooth. I was always hungry but I didn’t have much. So in pre school, I sometimes would sneak into the small cafeteria of my school and 'curi curi makan' the biscuits from the tin! I would usually start by biting off the tip of the icing and leaving the actual biscuit”
“The first time I tried it was when I went to my cousins. Going over to my cousin’s house is very special to me. She and I are very close, we hang out a lot and we used to play a tonne of games. She gave me my first white rabbit candy. I was so confused at first because it came with a wrapper and she ate it whole! But when I tried it I loved it. After that we had white rabbit after lunch every time we hung out when we were younger. White rabbit reminds me of my time with her”
“I remember as a kid, me and my cousins used to play with slingshots and shoot it at tin cans. We would arrange the tin cans in a pyramid and those who got more cans to fall off would be considered a winner. We would then buy each other drinks as reward for the winner. They end up buying me drinks even if I lost since I was the youngest 😂 Time passes and we all got a little bit older, still kids, we use it to scare off monkeys lingering in our grandma's house. We would slingshot firecrackers (kinda dangerous when I think about it) in their direction. We didn't wanna harm them but the monkeys keep destroying our grandma's plants and fruits! We play with slingshot almost everytime we go back to the village, it's still fun for us even now. Maybe the feelings associated with it is what made it feel that way, when we had less commitments and all that matters was how much time we could spend playing. Now when I go to RnR's and the stall sells slingshots, I would remember all the memories and still buy them if I had some money on me”
“After school, my mum would bring me to this shop called Wei Poh. And usually whilst she would buy her groceries there, I'd go to the snacks section and pickup these boxes. There’d be candy/chocolate in them and a small toy.”
“I just remember on hot days I would hear the ice cream tune coming from the bike. I would run to my window and shout for him to stop. They were happy moments.”
“So I feel like the happy family card games were a staple in every malaysian kids childhood. If we were stuck indoors because it was raining outside or if we were bored out of our minds at home, someone in my family would whip these out and we'd have such a good time. Nothing would make me happier than slapping my sister's hand red in Snap or when my mum would take the Old Maid from my selection of cards. These card games bring back so much nostalgia for me because it brought us closer together.”
“Every evening after school, I used to play PS2 with my homies and we would play till one of our moms call us home to eat”
“Everyday by 4pm we were out on our bikes going to park after park, one gang and everything. One of the pit stops we used to make on our bikes was to the sundry shop to buy these.”
“My sisters and I dont usually get to play with these often but we always get a chance to play with it during Chinese New Year! I always wanted to play those huge fireworks but my parents said it was too dangerous that time, as I was very young (about 5 to 7 y/o) and all they gave us was this, we called it "Pop-pop".”
“My grandfather used to get them for me and we would trade among the both of us (I wasn’t a cool kid no) and we watch the cartoons and somehow got inspired to create our own little storyline with the Pokemons, Like with their respective powers and all.”
‘When I was younger I brought it everywhere I went, even on holidays just so I could feel like I was back home, safe and sound.’