Ramadan Bazaar Bangsar @ Jalan Telawi Satu, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

I guess I'm hooked on Ramadan Bazaars as I found myself touring the Bangsar one recently. It feels smaller versus last year even though it's at the same location. Old favourites still remain like this Ikan Bakar stall. Unlike the usual Ikan Bakar places, they use a foil packet to cook the seafood within and call it Portugese Seafood. Business must have been good last year as this year they have two hotplates. What's really popular is their sotong or lala goreng on the hotplate for RM5 a portion. Whenever I passed by the stall, there'll be a crowd of people waiting for their food to be cooked.



The ayam percik stall is back again but instead of the corner lot, they have taken a space inside. To ensure their chickens are grilled for the buka puasa crowd, sometimes they start preparing from 2pm onwards. It takes a while for them to set up the stoves filled with hot charcoals and they need to grill about 150 pieces a day.



Once grilled the pieces of chicken are stacked aside. They'll be dipped in the sweet but spicy sauce before serving to the customers.



Here's a new stall which grabbed everyone's attention with their trays and trays of colourful agar-agar.



I really liked the designs of the agar-agar as they look like Modern Art pieces with swirls and hoops.



I loved the colours of some like this bright green and yellow agar-agar. It was tempting to get a few slices but I decided to restrain myself since we had dinner plans.



Besides the agar-agar, the stall was also selling various desserts like Puteri Mandi - multi coloured glutinous rice dumplings mixed in a sweet coconut milk broth flavoured with pandan leaves and topped with freshly grated coconut.



One stall at the end was selling various kuih at a reasonable price - 3 pieces for RM1. I'm always attracted to the sweet green and white colours of the Kuih Seri Ayu. They're quite plain and sponge like with a topping of freshly grated coconut.

Other stalls to look out for is the unique Jala Murtabak which combines roti jala and murtabak fillings and Rojak Singapura with various deep fried items to be chopped and slathered in a spicy but sweet chili sauce with peanuts. To see the other stalls, click on my previous posts in 2005 and 2006

Ramadan Bazaar
Jalan Telawi Satu
Bangsar

(The stalls are located parallel to Jalan Telawi.)

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Ramadan

Weekend Cat Blogging (WCB) 120

It's the weekend so kitties rule! For this WCB, Katie and Puddy from A Byootaful Life is hosting and there's a theme called "Favourite Things". As usual, we seem to always catch the WCB themes too late hence we're not following it. Instead, we're sharing rare pictures of the strays we feed at the house. These kitties will come over whenever they hear us open or close the front door and gambol over from the neighbour's house which they usually lie about.



They're the second or third batch of a Mummy cat who comes over to ask for food too. It's quite amazing as all her kitties have followed her colouring. See how similar they are to each other in the second picture. One has more stripes and kinda looks like my Ms. G. That particular one is the most friendly as it allows us to pat it. The rest will run away the moment we want to approach it. Usually we just leave them kibbles on the garage floor and they'll happily munch away before running off again.

We're hosting WCB next weekend so keep us posted on your lovely pictures.

Mini Steamboat @ Ketam Village Steamboat, Ikano Power Centre, Petaling Jaya

A thousand apologies to the Ramadan Bazaar fans but I didn't manage to make it in time for the stalls. By the time, I was available it was already 6 plus which meant almost empty stalls and people packing up to break fast hence I decided to give it a miss. Don't worry as I'll continue the series when I get to the bazaars this weekend. Since we were around the Ikano Power Centre/Tesco/the Curve area, I was curious to try the Ikea Ramadan Buffet. Unfortunately we were too late and it looked super packed.

Eventually we ended up having steamboat which was a change from our usual dinner plans. This new place which took over Ben's Cafe had a pretty good dinner crowd. Here, you get your individual hob and soup to cook whatever you like. Great for those fussy eaters who hate people touching their food and especially if you want something different.

As usual, whenever you mention steamboat the name Pulau Ketam or in this case Ketam Island pops up since it's synonymous with fresh seafood and fish products. The menu has sets for singles and doubles. We decided to have the Double Combo Value Set (RM29.80+) to share between the both of us. It came with prawns, fishballs, various types of fish wrapped in vegetables, fish noodles, foo chuk, quail eggs, fish slices, crabsticks, noodles which resemble the instant type, chinese lettuce and romaine lettuce.

There's three types of soups - clear, tomyum and curry available but we both choose the clear soup. The soup's taste was not as fragrant as others I have tried before but I quite liked it as it didn't have any or little MSG. After boiling lots of the items, it became nice and sweet. We also added an extra order of lamb slices (RM6) for Splashie Boy. I didn't quite like it though as the smell of the lamb was quite strong. He happily finished it all up by swishing the paper thin slices in the boiling soup like shabu-shabu.

Dips and sauces are the utmost importance to steamboat to give it extra flavour. Here they serve you this dip made from sesame seeds, chopped spring onions, deep fried shallots, chopped green chili padi and I think some soy sauce mixed with oil. Although it did add flavour to my soup, it was only just a hint versus a burst of flavour I expected. Maybe it would have been better if more shallot oil was added since it was quite dry.

On the side, there's two types of chili sauces for you to choose from - red and green. The red one tasted pretty good and was quite mild while the green chili sauce which resembled a paste was very hot on the tongue. There's also shallot oil for those who like to add a bit to give their steamboat flavour.

Tastewise, every thing tasted quite fresh and the clear soup tasted good after adding lots of vegetables and the seafood. I would not say this is the best steamboat around town but it does offer a budget alternative for those who are shopping at the mall. The menu has a number of individual noodle options for about RM9.80 to RM13.80 where they mix noodles with items like lamb, beef, mushrooms, dumplings and etc. Basically it's like you ordering a bowl of noodles at a cafe filled with noodles and topped with vegetables and your choice of meat. Only exception here is you get to cook it yourself.

Ketam Village Steamboat
Lower Ground Floor

Ikano Power Centre

Mutiara Damansara
Petaling Jaya

(Halal. The restaurant is at the lower level which opens up to P1 parking at Ikano Power Centre. Same level as Mama Sayang, Q Jelly and Uncle Lim's. It looks like a branch from Bandar Menjalara as there are newspaper clippings which refer to a steamboat restaurant there.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Steamboat

Other reviews:

• Callie's FoodBlog
• KY Speaks

Ramadan Bazaar Section 14 @ Jalan 14/28, Petaling Jaya

Ikan Bakar Stall Jalan Bellamy - check out those cockles

Getting to this particular Ramadan Bazaar has been a yearly ritual for me which I have a love-hate relationship with. I absolutely love the selections here but I absolutely hate the lack of parking around this area. Section 14 is famed for their lack of parking at all hours and with the onset of this Ramadan Bazaar, it gets even worst with cars haphazardly parked. I literally went round the area for what felt like a million times before patience won and I scored a space.


Ikan Bakar stall nearer to the entrance of the bazaar with cockles and lala

Once I got the space, I was doubtful if I would be able to find new things to blog about since I had covered this place twice already. Luckily the stall owners didn't dissapoint me as I spied lots of new stuff which I was totally interested. It took a lot of will power from me to stop myself from buying the food as I had dinner plans but I vowed to return again to sample those goodies.


Lala anyone?

Although the road that leads to the bazaar is narrow, it's next to a playground area hence there's lots of space for those who are grilling items. The first stall which caught my eye was the Ikan Bakar stall when I walked in. The stall owner was frying cockles and lala on his hot plate. Looked really good and I managed to snap quick pictures of him when he was scooping the cooked shellfish into plastic containers. They looked so delicious I felt like getting some straight away to eat.


Very unusual for Ramadan Bazaar - Cockles or Kerang Bakar

Walk a bit further down and you'll spy everyone's favourite Ikan Bakar stall from Jalan Bellamy. Surprise Surprise! They were also frying cockles so I'm not too sure who copied who on this new item. I didn't notice any Lala at their stall and their cockles were cheaper at RM4 versus the other side which was selling for RM5. No idea about the portions served though so hard to judge which is better. Their stall were frying the cockles in one huge portion. He will add the cockles first and then the chili sauce on top of it before frying it.


Sotong Bakar

I also spied Sotong Bakar which looked delicious being cooked on top of a banana leaf on the hot plate.


Balitong

Continuing the shellfish quest, I snapped a picture of this Balitong dish as I remember one of my friends loves this. She's the one who demonstrated to me once how you are supposed to eat Balitong which is a feat I have never mastered.


Cendol Durian Stall

Something else unusual at this bazaar was Cendol or Ais Batu Campur (ABC) Durian. To indicate that they were serving these icy treats with the King of Fruits, the stall owner has strung up durians next to their ice shaving machine. You can mix all types of items depending on what you liked whether it was durian, pulut or tapai.


Roti Jala

I was super happy to discover a roti jala stall. Best of all, they were serving it the Northern style with Serawa Durian which is durian gravy. Ever since I found this version last year at the Kota Damansara Ramadan Bazaar, I have been dying to try it again. I also found out from the stall owner, he also owns the stalls in Kota Damansara so it's the same version. He told me he uses brown sugar for his sauce to make it nicer. Another must have when I return for dinner one night.


Grilling Satay under the hot sun

Another crowd pleaser is satay. This stall was grilling the sticks just at the side of the slope.

Satay Daging (Beef Satay)

The satay looked so tempting especially the beef version with chargrilled bits just the way I like it.


Stained Glass Agar Agar

More colourful agar agar and this stall had two types which looked great. This one uses bits of coloured agar agar on the top layer to make a stained glass effect.


Italian flag colours agar agar

I quite liked the clean colours of this tri-coloured agar agar. Too bad the green was a bit bright or else it'll resemble an Italian flag with it's red, green and white colours.


Popiah Basah - check that queue out

And don't forget the ever famous Popiah Basah stall. See the long queue which never changes every year.


Popiah basah

This year, he has someone to help him out in making the popiah so hopefully the wait time is shorter. For those of you who don't want to wait, you can get his popiah basah at the Medan Selera when it's not Ramadan time. Here's my previous post on the location.

I did find this year's Ramadan Bazaar's stalls have shrank in size but this place remains a favourite of mine. There's also the Sup Tulang stall and the Masakan Minang food stall if you like to eat rice and curries. Check out 2006 and 2005's entries on this Ramadan Bazaar too.

Ramadan Bazaar

Located along Jalan 14/28

Starts from opposite Utusan Melayu until the playground

Section 14, Petaling Jaya

(If you are coming from Jaya supermarket, turn right where the new Digital Mall is and drive straight down. You will see the stalls on your left hand side, just before Right Angle's shophouses. There is a mosque on the right hand side.)

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Ramadan

Ramadan Bazaar Wangsa Maju @ Section 1, Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur

During the weekend, we managed to hit one more new Ramadan Bazaar place i.e. at Wangsa Maju. It's relatively easy to spot these stalls as they're just near the LRT station and on the way to Alpha Angle shopping centre which houses Jusco.

On another note, we did a quick re-visit to Kelana Jaya last night and noticed that the Kek Batik stall is there at the corner. Didn't see any Caramel Pudding though but they were selling Kek Batik like hotcakes. Strangely enough the ladies who sold the Lap Chup that day I was there had dissapeared. Not sure if it is due to lack of license or something else. Also tried the Kuih Denderam and boy, it is very good stuff! When we were there, it was super late hence he was busy frying fresh batches and it was crunchy and sweet. Yum! They are so addictive especially since he was selling them at RM1 for 10 small pieces. Saw these girls queueing up a few times to get the kuih. I satisfied my Laksam cravings at my favourite stall and business was definitely good for some stalls as they were already packing up even though there were loads of people around.

Back to Wangsa Maju and this particular Ayam Percik stall was doing booming business. Couple of pointers in figuring out which stalls are good is always a long queue in front of it. Plus the food must look tasty too. This stall had a long queue of patient people waiting for their food.

One fella will be grilling the chicken pieces on a charcoal fire while another was manning the stall.

Once the chicken pieces were grilled, they'll dip it in a sauce made from chilies to coat the grilled chicken pieces. The traditional Kelantanese way will be to add coconut milk to cool down the chicken but the local style or what they term as the West Coast style is to add a sweetish but slightly spicy sauce.

I had a hard time resisting these gorgeous looking chooks. These ones just came out straight from the oven and looked irrestible. Instead of an open grill, they were cooking the chickens in a glass oven.

We bought some of these curry puffs to taste as they had the unusual filling of chicken and mushrooms. Very tasty stuff and the filling kinda reminds one of a chicken and mushroom pie. If you're looking for this stall, they're called D'Tanjung. Only problem is they're not too cheap.

I had fun snapping pictures of the multi-coloured drinks. Usually they pre-pack the drinks to make it easier for everyone to just pick something.

I can never resist colourful agar-agar and this stall had outdid themselves with their creation. Rainbow jelly pieces were mixed with a white coloured agar-agar probably made with coconut milk. Really pretty like jewels.

I kinda went crazy for this lady's kuihs. She's a first timer at the Ramadan bazaar and I guess the people know a good thing as her stuff was selling so quickly. I was attracted to her Kuih Bingka - very yummy and lots of tapioca.

Kuih Jagung was also great with bits of corn inside. My second favourite kuih.

Although the purple colour was gorgeous, tastewise I didn't think much of it as it didn't have much yam taste.

Another favourite was this Kuih Lapis made with a layer of kacang hijau (green beans). Also tried her Seri Muka which tasted pretty normal. If you do visit her stall, get her Kuih Bingka as that's definitely her best seller since it was almost finished when we were there. The prices are also pretty standard at 3 pieces for RM1.

Splashie Boy loved this stall as they had nicknamed their Roti John Labu and Labi. I liked how they decorated their stall sides with the hanging plastic.

Such an adorable picture of nasi lemak packets with plastic spoons stuffed inside it.

Splashie Boy's favourite - Tepung Pelita which is made from flour. Two layers, one is made with coconut milk and the other layer is flavoured with pandan. We're also seeing some stalls selling Tako which is made with pandan leaves and has tiny pieces of water chesnut.

I was quite surprised to see an Indian stall selling Vadai in the midst of all the Malay stalls. They looked good and would have made a great snack.

Ramadan Bazaar

Section 1, Wangsa Maju
Kuala Lumpur

(Stalls start from Alpha Angle to the LRT Station. It's in front of low rise flats. To get here from the Wangsa Maju LRT Station, cross the road and walk towards the flats. The stalls will be at the side of the road until Alpha Angle shopping centre.)

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Ramadan

Ramadan Bazaar Taman Tun Dr Ismail @ Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 3, Kuala Lumpur

Making Popiah Basah

I realised that most of the stalls found at these Ramadan Bazaars don't change much year by year. Hence I'm not snapping so many pictures this time round because I had taken the same items last year. Only if something catches my interest, I will take it. What was interesting this time round was more people seem to favour this small stall at the side of the carpark for Popiah Basah versus the bigger Power Popiah place. I guess it must taste good as the line was never ending.


Nasi Ayam Kampung Goreng

I liked the look of this stall as they were frying their chicken fresh. Smelt really good too. If it wasn't for my usual Nasi Briyani stall I always visit, I would have tried this stall. By the way for those who love the Nasi Briyani stall I featured last year, they're opened in front of Peek A Boo hair salon. You need to be patient though as they only start about 5 to 5.30 pm. This is the stall which people queue ahead before they even open up. I tried the Nasi Briyani Kambing (RM6) for dinner. Really worth it with lots of rice and about 4 chunks of lamb. Tasted as great as ever and it was such a temptation driving back with the fragrant rice.


Apam Balik

This stall owner was making Apam Balik for people to break fast with. Incidentally remember the putu piring stall which I liked that was extra small, he's now expanded. Business was so good last year he decided to get more people to help him with another steamer so you don't need to wait so long.


Super Large Prawns - RM12 each

I spied this and went - WOW! Huge prawns coated in this sticky sauce with garlic bits that looked like mini lobsters. They were going for RM12. When I was snapping pictures of it, this lady came and bought three pieces.


Crabs

Next to it was crabs also cooked in the same sauce but it wasn't as popular as the prawns. The Colgate people were around again distributing free toothpaste. DBKL is also having a recycling campaign to encourage people to bring their own containers to pack food back. Not sure if it's working as I only saw a few people carrying baskets with containers. If you pack back in your container, DBKL actually rewards you with bunches of red chilies. There were loads of DBKL officers hanging around though to monitor the situation. Also spied a television camera crew (I think TV3) filming the stall owner making roti jala and popiah at the Power Popiah stall.


Steamed Cakes

Last but not least, I could not resist the colourful steamed kuih apam tepung beras. Strange but it seems to be unique at this Ramadan Bazaar. I wanted to snap the kuih stall which was doing brisk business but decided not to jostle with people. It was nice to see how the stall owner's kids had grown up as I remember the girl and boy helping him.

Most of the stalls I featured in 2006 and 2005 are still there - the Wajid Durian, Tauhu Goreng and Pudding Caramel placed on banana leaves, the Tapai lady (she is also selling more kuih like kuih jongkong, lepat pisang all wrapped in banana leaves), roti bom, cucur udang and etc. There's also lots of cendol stalls if you wish to quench your thirst. For me, I'll zoom in on my favourites - the Nasi Briyani and Putu Piring here.

Ramadan Bazaar TTDI
Along Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 3 and 4
Taman Tun Dr Ismail
Kuala Lumpur

(Stalls are placed in front of Sinaran condominium work site and in front of the row of shophouses which has Guardian Pharmacy. If you can't find parking, park at AHP Building for RM2 an hour.)

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Ramadan

Updated: What a coincidence, NST did a story on TTDI's Ramadan Bazaar today, click on this link for the story.