Ramadan Bazaar 2010 @ Shah Alam Stadium

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)