Ramadan Bazaar @ Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur

During the weekend, we did the Ramadan rounds again and for me, I kept rediscovering yummy food at the Kelana Jaya Ramadan Bazaar - ayam percik, creme caramel and the Kelantanese Laksam. Yesterday we decided to try the one located along Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman but it wasn't meant to be as the whole road was blocked off by the cops and jam packed with people doing their Raya and Deepavali shopping. Hence we diverted to the Kampung Baru one which was pretty interesting. The stalls are mainly at Jalan Raja Alang and Jalan Raja Muda Musa. I felt this year there were definitely more stalls especially along Jalan Raja Muda Musa.

I had to stop the car and snap this picture. Not sure what's the significance of McGyver to the roti goreng (deep fried bread in English) but I was tickled pink with the association. It's amazing what amusing names people give their products but this definitely got my attention since I know Mau, my friend would love it since she loves the MacGyver television series.

We found one Kelantanese stall along Jalan Alang where they had a great spread. Something I am hooked on this month is the Kelantanese Laksam hence I had to taste this. Their portion is bigger than the Kelana Jaya one and selling at RM2. On the side you see the rolls of white flat noodles which is made from wheat and rice flour. The broth the boy is scooping up is the laksam soup base which is made of fish flakes and creamy coconut milk. You mix the noodles, herbs, bean sprouts and the laksam soup broth to get a satisfying meal.

Splashie Boy had the Nasi Dagang which was kept in a huge metal container. Next to it were all the different dishes you can pick to accompany your Nasi Dagang.

Splashie Boy's favourite - Ayam Percik Kelantan which he took a piece. This is pretty good as the chicken was tender. You notice that the Kelantan version is coated in a white and creamy coconut gravy while there is another version popular among locals where the sauce is reddish in colour and is spicier.

I was curious about this fish as I have yet to see this dish before in any of the Kelanatanese stalls. The stall people weren't too obliging in telling me what it was as they were too busy packing food for their patrons. Anyone can tell me what is this?

Even with the hazy skies, this fella has to stand next to the heat and grill these chicken wings. Guess it's no harm to look cool doing it with these sunglasses.

We found this stall at Jalan Raja Alang, opposite the Putu Bambu stall. I think this fella must have set up stall this year as his wok looks super brand new and spotless. He is deep frying cempedak fritters.

His daughter helps out at the stall and she packed our deep fried popiah. They were also selling curry puffs which had been pre-prepared.

Neatly folded, these deep fried popiah is filled with shredded carrots and yam bean. You can usually buy three pieces for RM1.

As it was early, some stalls had not even opened yet while a few were preparing the food ahead of the rush which occurs between 5.30 pm to 7.00 pm. I did spy something interesting along Jalan Raja Alang but as we didn't walk back that way, I missed the picture. They were selling Lemang Pulut Hitam i.e. black glutinous rice cooked in a bamboo tube and slowly cooked over an open fire. Something extremely rare since the usual variety is just the white glutinous rice.

This was also interesting - these desserts which looked like seeds. I suspect they are atap chee but the lady at this stall mentioned a really strange name which I think is the Indonesian name. If it's atap chee, they are from a plant growing in the mangroves and these seeds are kinda gummy. Usually found in Ais Kacang, these seeds are sought after as not many people sell them but if I am not mistaken, you can get canned ones nowadays. This particular stall had soaked the atap chee in different flavoured syrups - pandan green syrup, strawberry red syrup and orange syrup. We bought the strawberry one and it was pretty good stuff. Definitely a must have if you love this fruit. I can imagine it will taste nicer in Ais Kacang.

The Laksam stall was packing Lompat Tikam: a traditional Kelanatanese dessert consisting of light green rice flour cake flavoured with pandan, gula melaka (palm sugar) syrup and bright pink coloured glutinous rice.

Most of the residents around this area are from Indonesia hence you see a lot of items Malaysians are not used to like this risole. They're basically deep fried bread slices with a stuffing of carrots and cabbages. A bright green bird eye chilli is added on top as decoration and to give it a fiery kick. Incidentally, these names are from the stall owner and I hope they are correct as I wasn't able to verify this on the Internet.

I liked how she presented her onde onde or what we also know as Buah Melaka in little banana leaf boats. Each one of them contains gula melaka (palm sugar) syrup tossed in freshly grated coconut.

She also had an interesting variety known as Kuih Pelangi (literally translated as Rainbow Cake in English) which is made from tapioca. I love the pretty colours of this. She also had another kuih called Gandus which was bright yellow and stuffed with pineapple jam which she advised was also an Indonesian variety.

Last year, I featured this stall and they are still around this time, right in front of EFA Western food along Jalan Raja Muda Musa. There was Puteri Mandi without slices of jackfruit. These multi coloured glutinous rice balls are tossed in freshly grated coconut and mixed with coconut milk.

I love this - Putih Naga which is bananas wrapped in tapioca and freshly grated coconut. This year, there seems to be two stalls who have also set up to sell similar desserts nearby but this stall was definitely the popular one as most people would have bought their desserts last year.

More interesting varieties from Jalan Raja Alang - this kuih kipas (fan cake in English). Looks like it's just made in those toasters you can get in the electrical shops. I expected a filling for this but there wasn't any.

This is known as Kuih Peria (Bittergourd Cake in English) and it's similar to Kuih Koci with a stuffing grated coconut flavoured with gula melaka (palm sugar). They are shaped to look exactly like a bittergourd hence the name.

Remember Doraemon from my Ramadan Bazaar posting in Kota Damansara? I guess he must be popular as there's even a cake named after him. Unlike the flat versions known as Dorayaki we get in the supermarkets which I understand was Doraemon's favourite snack, this one was sponge like and is topped with peanuts.

Ramadan Bazaar

Along Jalan Raja Alang and Jalan Raja Muda Musa

Kampung Baru

Kuala Lumpur

(To get to the Jalan Raja Muda Musa one, you can take the Kampung Baru stop at the LRT Putra line. Walk out from the LRT station, take a right turn, walk down and you will see stalls and flats with the sign, Stable Steak house on your right hand side. At the junction, you can either go right or left as the stalls are around the whole area. If you wish to walk further to Jalan Raja Alang, take a left turn at the junction, walk straight down and turn right at the junction. At the first crossroads where you see Kampung Baru's mosque, cross the traffic light and turn left. This road is Jalan Raja Alang and the stalls flank it. Walk down all the way and you hit the Chow Kit area. For easy parking, park near the Kelab and schools along Jalan Dewan Sultan Sulaiman which is just across the road from Jalan Raja Muda Musa and behind Jalan Raja Alang.)

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Ramadan