His grandfather came to Singapore from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where hot roasted peanuts sold in paper cones has for long been a popular street snack.Later, Mr Amirthaalangaram’s father picked it up, selling the snacks outside the Hoover Theatre in Balestier. After the cinema was demolished, the stall moved to Peace Centre.
Mr Amirthaalangaram himself took over in 2004. The 54-year-old is now a permanent resident in Singapore. “Last time, there were many kachang puteh sellers outside cinemas in areas such as Yishun and Ang Mo Kio. There were many other kachang puteh sellers outside Hoover Theatre too. Now, there is nobody,” he was quoted as telling the Michelin Guide.
Times and tastes change. Movies moved into malls and multiplexes. Snacks changed to popcorn and nachos.During the circuit breaker period that year he couldn’t operate at all. And when he reopened, most people were working from home, and there were few customers.The rent for his space alone is $600 a month.A poster on the side of the pushcart shows Mr Amirthaalangaram with his father.Now things are looking up again. “Business now okay lah, slowly,” 8 Days quoted him as saying.
It doesn’t look like it. They have gone into other fields - nursing and hotel management, 8 Days reported."I prefer to stay on the streets, which is where kachang puteh should be," Michelin had quoted him as saying.