ketupats
This year's Ramadan Bazaars feel a little different. Even though the same food is being sold, the changes have been noticeable especially in those that I frequent a lot like the Shah Alam bazaar. It's not everything that changes as some things remain stagnant like the balloon sellers enticing the children to take home a colourful character whether it is Hello Kitty or Upin & Ipin from a popular locally produced cartoon. There's also the famous cendol jugs that I snap a picture of every year, as the colourful array of jellies, green rice flour bits, corn, nata de coco and red beans are irresistible.
ikan bakar tempoyak
One of the new things spotted in the bazaar was an unusual version of ikan bakar from Pahang as tempoyak (fermented durian) is smeared on the grilled fish and cooked. If one loves the pungent and creamy taste of tempoyak, it is definitely a heavenly combination.
satay, roast duck, ayam percik
You also find the original Sabri Hoi stall that sells roast ducks (he has another outlet in Kelana Jaya's Ramadan Bazaar), just a hop and skip away from his restaurant in Section 13 Shah Alam. You will think roast ducks is only an acquired taste for the Chinese but the Malay crowd seem to also love it as crowds of people will jostle through the crowd for the crisp skin ducks.
kuih ayu
The freshly made onde onde or buah melaka stalls seem to have also taken over Shah Alam as there's three stalls selling the same thing. It's nice to know they're fresh and not recycled from the day before since you can see them kneading, rolling and cooking the dough on the spot. They also sell the larger kuih lopes and display packets of gula melaka, which is also for sale.
halal beer, mango juice, kuih kosui, fruit rojak
I was a little disconcerted as this year I couldn't identify which pecal Tanjung Karang stall I used to frequent. Unlike last year, where there was only one stall, this year sees three stalls selling the same items and because I can't recognise the people, I randomly pick one to sample its goodies. Even though it is wrapped the same (in a large banana leaf) with the sauces on the side, the pecal has lost its potent kick for me as the sauce seems severely watered down. How dissapointing.
those pretty cendol jugs
I do spot a few interesting stalls - the fresh fruit rojak stall, fried cempedak that smells delectable, a stall selling all kinds of ketupat and lemang. There is even one stall selling pie tee but instead of shredded yambean filling, they give raw shredded carrots that just don't seem the same.
green and yellow kuih and jellies
As usual, kuih and jelly stalls seem to be quite scarce here or are sold out quickly in the beginning. The jellies are very colourful but nothing looks innovative. Instead, we discovered inadvertently that the nearby Giant Shah Alam sells one of the better tasting tepung pelita at the food court stalls. The tepung pelita (6 pieces for RM3) may be pricey but the pandan taste is distinctable, there's teeny weeny bits of water chestnut for a bit of crunch and it is not watery like the others sold in most of the bazaars.
grilled satar and murtabak
On the savoury side, roti john from places like Papa John's is super popular. Instead of having a few stalls within the bazaar, Papa John seems to be focused on just one stall which attracts long queues. I did discover on murtabak stall that makes a newer style of murtabak - the filling is cooked ahead like an omelette than wrapped in the roti canai dough before being cooked again on the grill till crisp brown on the outside. The popiah SS Ali vans, kebab, pizza, ayam golek stalls are also there just like last year.
Even though the selection is not as large as last year, this bazaar still pulls in the crowd as nearby, the MSU University students can pop over since it is within walking distance. Come late and you will have to jostle with the crowd. There are even stalls selling various non-food items like clothes and etc to get you prepared for Raya.
Ramadan Bazaar Shah Alam
Section 13 (Next to the Stadium Malawati)
Shah Alam
(For more pictures, see my Flickr set. You can also see previous year's posts (2005, 2006,, 2007, 2009)
19 comments:
gosh, everything looks mouthwatering. if i were fasting, i don't think i could survive walking through a ramadan bazaar at 4pm without surrendering to hunger and just eating!
i haven't been to a pasar ramadan this year, due to laziness (and last year, i only went to the bangsar one). wish there was a ramadan bazaar delivery service where a guy on a motorbike could take our orders by phone and just dispatch the ikan bakar tempoyak and kuih-muih to our doorsteps :D
Haven't been to any bazaar yet this year.. My experience of bazaar = food that look good but somehow don't taste good.. haha.. I was just thinking about paying this place a visit..
Aiyayaya! The cendol looks inviting!
Halal beer??
(Gosh I wonder what that tastes like... and what's the point? Lol)
An interesting note here:
I have always been wondering, and shooting questions at my Malay friends/colleagues about the role of ducks in Malay cuisine.
Very very seldom can you find say, a roast duck, curry duck, or even a steamed version (if there ever was one) at the warung's, or Malay restaurants.
Maybe the Chinese-Muslim cuisine, but I myself have never tasted one.
Pardon the ignorance, but I have always thought that animals should be slaughtered (sembelih) the right way before preparation?
It is not a beer. Barbican is a non-alcohol drink originated from Middle Eastern.It is something like non alcoholic sparkling juice that are sold in the supermarket.
like the jug's cendol-only for takeaway?
How convenient :) Cendol in a jug! simply pour into the plastic bag and it's good to go! Oh wait.. or was it including the jug as well??
I visited Dave's in One Utama over the weekend. I must state that the service of the waiters is poor. When I complained of the rareness of the steak, which I wanted medium well, all I got was a rude stare. No apologies. The soup my girlfriend ordered was cold and again I got a rude stare. The food is at best average.
Roast ducks in a Ramadhan bazaar? That's something I haven't seen before! Must go and check out this one in Shah Alam!
ikan bakar tempoyak .. amazing! now that is one form of durian that I WILL eat .. anytime. Cathartic!
I love to come to Ramadan bazaar with you!
Those cendol jugs are GORGEOUS. Bet they are fun to make, to layer bit by bit.
But what on earth is halal beer? Isn't beer by its very nature, non-halal? This is sorta like Guiness Malta, is it? :P
too bad I'm not working in shah alam already. if not probably I can sneak over during one of these days.
Nice review on the food...interesting to see the duck too!
Like Boo mentioned from before, the roast duck is also sold in the Kelana Jaya bazaar this year. (and also, I think duck curry is normal kampung Malay fare in certain parts of Melaka.)
Unfortunately I don't see my favorite jelly stall this year :(
And the barbicans are turning up a lot everywhere this year. I think there's at least two stalls selling them in Subang's SS18 bazaar.
I just moved to Section 13 in Shah Alam, from the U.S. That roast duck looked so good!! Where is that guys restaurant in Section 13??
thanks!
rsg2323@gmail.com
The price of these hermes depends on the size of the scales. Hermes Kelly with smaller scales cost much more than those with larger scales.In pop culture, the hermes wallets has become a symbol of ultimate luxury, although its ostentatious use by the wives and girlfriends of British footballers.
a note on tepung pelita: an authentic tepung pelita kuih doesn't have water chesnut bits in it. That's what we call kuih tako/ takir. It's usually made of hon kwe (sp?) flour, or mung bean flour and have thai influence. Real tepung pelita is made entirely of rice flour and thick santan, and when scooped with a spoon, will bleed rich palm sugar 'sauce'.
That said, I love your Ramadhan bazaar coverage. I've been following your blog since 2005 and have always look forward to the bazaar reports every year XD
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