Stepping into Allapitchay Store – an ottu kadai, which in Tamil means a small Indian sundry shop – has one taking a step some five decades back. It sells basic items, much like a people’s pre-war 7-Eleven, so to speak: a place to sneak a soft drink and some snacks, such as buns and kacang putih, or to scan the newspapers and magazines hanging from the grills and walls, proclaiming Bollywood goss, no less.
Before the never-ending mall invasion in the Klang Valley, these were the neighbourhood institutions, the go-to places for grocery store staples, snacks and other basic necessities. Here are some of the city’s favourite, long-standing kedai runcits.