GEORGE TOWN, Dec 18 — Seen at busy street corners and near the markets, the kacang putih man and his delicious offerings of crunchy, locally-made snacks are a familiar sight to most Malaysians.

Why buy imported potato chips when just around the corner is the kacang putih man hawking a variety of chips from plain to spicy ones, murukku and all types of nuts?

The kacang putih man — named for the kacang putih that is always part of the snacks — will often has large packets of deep-fried crunchy goodies such as murukku, chips and even flour and spice covered nuts.

On top of that, they very often have a variety of local cookies and snacks like the chim tau pneah (small pillow shaped snacks) and bite-sized plain crackers.

Most of these stalls, usually makeshift ones by the roadside with just a large umbrella over them, have between 10 to 20 varieties of snacks and they usually have ready packed ones in clear plastic bags in RM2, RM5 and RM10 portions, the smallest being the RM2 packets.

Some kacang putih man will sell their snacks right from the back of the motorcycle, the nuts and murukku and chips all placed inside a large metal box container attached to the motorcycle.

The motorcycle kacang putih man often travels everywhere and stays at one place for several hours before packing up his wares to move to another location.

Though some of these stalls do sell their very own homemade murukku and home-roasted nuts, nowadays, many of them get their supply from a local mass producer.

Unlike the packets of manufactured snacks sold in supermarkets, these snacks do not come with an expiry date or any ingredients list.

Before they packed the nuts in plastic bags, the kacang putih, roasted peanuts and other snacks used to be sold in cones made from brown paper or even pages torn from old magazines and newspapers.

More than 20 years ago, there were stalls that sold small paper-wrapped nuts and snacks outside the cinemas. These cinema halls were large standalone buildings instead of being inside shopping malls.

Instead of popcorn, movie-goers used to snack on the kacang putih from these stalls. Now, there are no longer such cinemas so the kacang putih man has moved on to sell at other busy places.

Some kacang putih stalls also sell the steamed kacang kuda (chickpeas) alongside the crunchy versions of the chickpeas and nuts.

Today, it may not be as easy to spot these kacang putih sellers but they are still around, still travelling and hawking these treats.

Here are five kacang putih stalls that can still be easily spotted in Penang:

1. Union Street, George Town

Time: 11am-2pm

This kacang putih man sells from his motorcycle and can be spotted right at the junction of Union Street and Beach Street. Though he is usually there around lunch hour, he sometimes leaves early.

2. Jalan Angsana, Farlim, Bandar Baru Air Itam

Time: 6pm-8pm

This stall opens only in the evenings and is located near the junction of Jalan Angsana and Medan Angsana 3. The stall has a row of three tables and has a wide variety of snacks available so you can even custom order and ask them to mix it up for you.

3. The Famous Penang Hill Kacang Putih, Upper Station, Penang Hill

Time: 9am-5pm

This stall is well known for their spiced chick peas special where the stall owner whips up a fragrant spiced concoction of steamed chick peas. It is definitely a must-try when you are at Penang Hill.

4. Jalan Datuk Keramat

Time: 6pm-11pm

Located near the junction to Kuantan Road, this stall is probably the only traditional-style one left around George Town. The uncle selling the kacang putih still uses the push-cart and the snacks and nuts are all contained within glass bottles.

5.  King Street, Little India

Time: 11am-4pm

Given that murukku originally is an Indian delicacy, naturally Little India, near the junction to Market Street, has a large stall selling an assortment of Indian snacks along with kacang putih, murukku and other deep-fried spiced crunchy goodies.