Ramadan Bazaar @ Taman Tun Dr Ismail, KL

The Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) Ramadan Bazaar has shifted again this year - from the market's carpark to Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 3 and 4 which is near the new UDA condominium construction site. It feels smaller versus last year probably because there is more space to place the stalls and walk around. Personally, I prefer this location as it's easier to get parking with the two private car parks nearby.

The first thing that greets you if you walk in from Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 4 is this mountain of deep fried popiah. There are three varieties: popiah basah, deep fried popiah and popiah coated in a sweet chilli sauce. This popiah stall is a familiar sight if you're a regular to the night market on Sunday.



I know I have another picture of the popiah assembly line from Gombak but this one was too colourful to ignore especially with the turmeric hue shredded yam bean they have added on top of the bean sprouts.



There was this stall selling deep fried samosas filled with beef or chicken. I also spied last year's Apam Tepung Beras stall which was selling their pastel coloured hued cakes.



One of my favourites, pulut panggang which has glutinous rice and a filling of dried prawns, grated coconut and lemongrass. Extremely yummy especially when they are eaten hot from the grill. There was also last year's stall selling tapai pulut and lepat pisang inti.



This enterprising fella was blowing a whistle or ringing his brass bell to get people to come to his stall which sold all kinds of cooked curries and vegetables, desserts like creme caramel and ayam percik.



There is even the Malay version of Lok Lok whereby you can choose what you want and cook it in boiling water provided in pots. Dipping sauces are also available for you to add once it is cooked. Next to this stall, there were people from Colgate Palmolive giving out free toothpaste to everyone.



This is the savoury version of kuih cara which has shredded chillies, chopped spring onions, fried shallots and minced meat inside. There is also a sweet version which is usually made from a batter that is flavoured with pandan essence and is green in colour.

This particular Ramadan Bazaar has an abundance of stalls selling Briyani rice - there was An Nur Briyani from Kampung Baru which I ate once, Bombay Briyani and etc. I was totally confused on what to try out and I eventually decided to join the long queue which was forming when a stall opened at the crossroads of Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 3 and 4. I concluded the food must be good since the queue started even before the stall had opened for business! They were selling three varieties - briyani gam chicken, briyani beef and briyani mutton. We had the briyani gam chicken which was extremely yummy. It's also value for money as you get a mountain of rice with a piece of chicken for RM6. For those of you who are unsure about briyani gam, do try it they cook the meat within the rice which makes it more aromatic.

The An Nur Briyani stall was selling a Johor specialty - Telur Pindang that is cooked in herbs and spices. It's like the Malay version of tea eggs except herbs are used.

There was even tauhu bakar being grilled over charcoal fire that you can enjoy with vegetables and rojak like sauce.

Although there were two putu stalls i.e. putu bambu and putu piring, it was the latter that was doing brisk business. Unlike the other places, their putu piring is much smaller and going for RM0.40. This makes it nicer to eat as there's more palm sugar (gula melaka) filling versus the glutinous rice flour added in. However, you need to wait quite some time for them to cook it as people will order large batches of it.

This bazaar also has cendol which you can pack to take home. It's nice and refreshing to drink this especially after one whole day of fasting.

One of my favourites - onde onde that is made from glutinous rice flour tinted with pandan flavour and green colour. Inside it you will find palm sugar syrup (gula melaka) that complements the grated coconut it is rolled in.

One stall was selling cucur udang that is made from fresh prawns. A batter is mixed with prawns and shredded vegetables that is deep fried till crispy.

This brilliant green Kuih Bakar caught my eye. It's made from a batter whipped up from coconut milk, flour, eggs and pandan flavouring. After it is baked, sesame seeds are sprinkled on top of it.

Something which is also popular at these bazaars is the Creme Caramel. You can either buy them in slices like this or in small plastic containers.

Another unusual dessert available here is the Wajik made from glutinous rice grains, coconut milk and brown sugar. I think this variety has added durian in it making it rich and inviting.

Although TTDI's Ramadan Bazaar is quite small compared to Kelana Jaya's Ramadan Bazaar, it does have a pretty good variety. Thumbs up to the yummy Nasi Briyani Johor and Putu Piring which I will definitely be revisiting to try again. It's also a great place to bump into old friends as everyone goes here to get their dinner treat for the day.

Ramadan Bazaar TTDI

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

(The stalls are located at the roadside in front of the construction site for the UDA condominium. If you are coming from the LDP i.e. SS2, go straight till you hit the traffic light, keep left and turn right at the traffic light. If you turn left, you end up heading towards 1 Utama. Keep left and turn at the second turning. You will pass by the Ramadan Bazaar on your right hand side. There are two private car parks on the right hand side and besides AHP Building where Maybank is housed.)

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Ramadan

Ramadan Bazaar @ Kelana Jaya SS6/1, PJ

Sorry people, I'm continuing the torture for all of you especially those who are stuck overseas and don't have easy access to the Ramadan Bazaars. I did the walkabout at Kelana Jaya's Ramadan Bazaar and it was interesting to see familiar stalls from last year. Not everything stays the same as I also noticed some favourite stalls missing i.e the cheesecake stall which I loved so much that used to be at the top of the road. I did find last year's ladies at the first stall who were busy grilling otak otak in banana leaves on the charcoal grill.



They're also selling Sata which is made from minced fish and is a Terengganu specialty. Ever since I noticed this item, it seems to be getting more popular as every Ramadan Bazaar will sell it.

One of my absolute favourites, Roti Jala that is like a fine cobweb and made from a batter of flour, eggs and milk. It's ideal with chicken curry.

Roti John originated from Singapore but it's also a popular item at the bazaars as it's relatively simple to make. This fella is lining up a row of Roti Johns being dipped in egg. Usually the food is prepared ahead to allow shorter waiting time for all.

There's quite a few stalls selling Kelantanese food like Nasi Dagang, Laksam, Nasi Kerabu and items like this Solok Lada - green chillies stuffed with fish and grated coconut. Another popular item I seem to only get at this Ramadan Bazaar is Lompat Tikam which I featured last year.

Another must have during the festive season is Lemang that is glutinous rice wrapped in banana leaves and cooked on a slow fire in bamboo tubes. Just before Raya starts, you can get them fresh along the road in front of Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

I love the colours of the Tomato Rice which comes with fried chicken and salad. It's all packed for you to just grab and go especially if you're late getting home for buka puasa.

This is getting really popular - the honey grilled chicken wings which offers variety versus the usual ayam percik. If chicken wings are not your thing, you can also have the bishop's nose, liver or the heart that is also grilled using the same marinade.

This is unique to this particular bazaar, the burung puyuh goreng pandan (i.e. deep fried pandan quails). They also sell deep fried pandan chicken which is going for RM1.50 to RM3.50. Must be doing really well as the quails were being snapped up as they were being deep fried in the wok.

You get to see these chicken in rotisserie (ayam golek in Malay) in all bazaars. There are different contraptions, some with charcoal and done open air while there is another variety which is enclosed. I used to frequent this stall but this year, I think someone took over the stall as the chicken is not as fragrant and delicious as I remember it to be.



Roti Boom is another popular item in this bazaar with two versions - the mini one and the normal sized one. The dough is dabbed with margarine to allow it to brown on the hot plate.

Another item unique to this bazaar is the Popiah Beseri (I can't remember if it was Beseri or Besire) but I saw one stall selling lots of this type of popiah together with the usual popiah basah and deep fried popiah varieties. This one is coated in a chilli sauce and sprinkled with lots of sesame seeds.

You can even get rojak here if you fancy something healthy for your meal. Managed to catch this lady in action when she was stirring the sauce with the fruits and vegetables.

This is Splashie Boy's favourite - Kuih Pelita. There are two varieties, a soft one and a harder one. The bottom has a layer of chopped water chesnuts and pandan flavoured jelly while the white layer is made from coconut milk. Usually they sell it in packs of 3, 6, 9 and 12 whereby 3 goes for RM1.



This stall selling various types of bubur was doing brisk business. Usually after fasting the whole day, you can't really eat much so it's nice to end the fast with something sweet and liquid that makes it easier for the tummy.

Something unusual you don't see all the time, badak berendam which is literally translated as floating hippos? These dumplings made from glutinous rice flour is served with thick coconut milk and look kinda like pastel coloured hippos floating on a coconut milk river.

You get all kinds of jellies of various flavours and colours. This type is pretty easy to make whereby strands of egg white is cooked and added to give it a pattern.

One stall was also selling Kopi Kampung which he will grind for you to take home. Looked really interesting and another unique item here.

Besides these stalls, I also saw last year's onde onde stall where you can see them cook the desserts on the spot, cencaru sambal, lots of kerabu, deep fried stuffed bread and etc. Some stalls are established restaurants from the Kelana Jaya area and Subang Jaya area who have opened stalls during this Ramadan season i.e. Nasi Lemak Cikgu, Mat and Bess Briyani from Subang Jaya, Popiah Basah from Old Town PJ and etc.

Ramadan Bazaar

Jalan SS6/1
Kelana Jaya

(If coming from the LDP, turn left at the Taman Megah turn off from the highway. Go straight at the first and second traffic lights. Take the first right after the second traffic light. Drive straight down and you will see the bazaar on the left hand side just next to the flats. This is just before the small Giant supermarket in Kelana Jaya.)

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Ramadan

Ramadan Bazaar @ Taman Greenwood, Gombak, KL

If you're a faithful follower of this blog, you would know I went Ramadan Bazaar crazy last year and covered most of the major bazaars in town. This year, I think I'll revisit those bazaars and snap different kind of pictures as those are the major ones which I love to visit. I'm also trying to cover more bazaars at out of the way places. If you do know of any which are good and selling unusual items, do let me know and I'll try and visit them if time permits.

Splashie Boy decided to kick off this year's Ramadan by dragging me to a place which I've never been before i.e. Gombak. The place was super packed with people as we were quite late and it was the first day of Ramadan. The bazaar does not have much variety hence I'm just focusing on some stalls which caught my eye. Not much in terms of kuih at this place but we did spy some kurma dates from China.

Something you also don't see at most bazaars, they were making Akok, a Kelantan specialty made from a batter that is rich with duck eggs, brown sugar and coconut milk with a hint of pandan flavour. It's poured into these custom made molds and cooked over the fire.

I didn't get to taste any to see if it was good but they were selling like hot cakes.

This stall caught our eye which was selling Murtabak Pantai Timur as their murtabaks were unusually thick. I spent quite some time snapping pictures here and saw them make the murtabak by rolling out the dough balls until it was paper thin. Then it is placed on the hot plate and they will ladle a spoonful of the cooked meat mixture into it. Finally it's folded and then cooked on the hot plate until it is crispy.

A close up of the murtabaks which you can get in either chicken or beef for RM2 a piece. We tried one piece and it was yummy - definitely one of the better murtabaks we have eaten.

I always love how they make popiah basah as it's like an assembly line. The popiah skins will be lined on the stainless steel table and then spread with the chilli sauce. Ingredients are then slowly added i.e. bean sprouts and cooked yam bean. Then it's rolled up and ready to be served or deep fried.

These stacks of popiah basah always look great especially after they sprinkle chopped peanuts and chilli sauce on top of it.

This ikan bakar stall known as Ikan Bakar Warisan Pak Kob was doing booming business hence I figured out it must be good. They had stuffed ikan where a mixture of coconut and herbs were placed inside the fish and grilled over the charcoal fire.



Here's the back view of the stall which was huge as they had rows and rows of charcoal stoves which a few guys were grilling fish continously. What's unusual about the way they grill their fish is they add a sauce on top of it with a bunch of lemongrass which reminds me of the Ayam percik sauce. We had the stuffed fish and the Ikan Siakap Bakar that was sliced in the middle and grilled with the sauce. The stuffed fish wasn't that fantastic as the grated coconut stuffing was too sweet. The memorable dish was their Ikan Siakap Bakar which was full of smoky and spicy flavours.

Usually in Ramadan Bazaars, food is always cooked on the spot hence it's no surprise to see lots of smoke around the area. In fact, one good way to look for a bazaar is just follow the smoke trail. Another popular item is the Ayam Percik that is stuffed between two sticks and grilled.

A sauce is added on top which is kinda sweet. Most of the time, it looks really good but when you get back and eat the chicken, it's not that fantastic. This particular stall's ayam percik was quite dissapointing as it was dry.

We suspect there is an even bigger Ramadan Bazaar in Gombak but since we were both not familiar with the area, we decided not to venture further. However, I did notice lots of Nasi Padang/Minang stalls further down after the Ramadan Bazaar which looked really interesting.

Ramadan Bazaar

Taman Greenwood
Gombak

(If you come from Jalan Duta, drive straight down Jalan Kuching. Take the elevated highway after Makro and turn left into Batu Caves. Take the lower road towards Gombak. At the traffic light, go straight. The bazaar is on the right hand side of the road, can't miss the smoke and people. Sorry for the lousy directions as I am totally lost at this place.)

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Ramadan

Weekend Cat Blogging (WCB) 68

Sometime back, when we had kittens, we gave them up for adoption as they were too much for us to handle. One was adopted by my friend and I get great progress reports about how she is doing. Since she's a ginger feline and my friend is a Harry Potter fan, she's named Ginny after Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter's latest love interest who has ginger hair.

She's the exact replica of my Miss G but slightly fluffier as she eats a lot especially rice and fish which are her favourites. Lots of loving for this cat as she gets pampered by her owners.

Updated: This weekend's cat blogging is hosted by Chefsarahjane who is celebrating her birthday (Happy Birthday from all of us!).

Tagged with: WCB 68 + Weekend Cat Blogging

Ikan Bakar (Asli) Pak Din @ Tanglin Food Court, KL

I get super excited whenever I find anything new and recently I discovered the joys of ikan bakar at the Tanglin food court. I originally visited the place for the famous Nasi Lemak which was also extremely good and will be in a seperate post. A friend mentioned that the Ikan Bakar there was also nice hence we gave it a try. I'm glad we did as it turned out to be the best I have tasted so far. Yes, even better than the famous Ikan Bakar stalls in Jalan Bellamy.



Sorry for the not great looking pictures as they had added the sauce on top of the Ikan Bakar but believe me it tastes yummy. Pak Din who runs the stall with his wife is the one manning the ikan bakar at the back. The difference between his version and Jalan Bellamy's ikan bakar is his is grilled over a charcoal fire using those racks we use in barbequeing. This reduces the oil used as it drips in the fire unlike the Jalan Bellamy's ikan bakar stalls who use a hot plate to grill their fish and the oil is retained within. Moreover with Pak Din's ikan bakar, you get the aroma from the charcoal fire.



Besides all the health benefits, their sauce is the winner and like I told Pak Din, it's kawwww! (The Malay terminology for thick and yummy) It's thicker than the normal sauce and you definitely can taste the asam jawa (tamarind in English) in it. Filled with lots of chopped onions and chilli padi, it was delicious to the last drop.

They serve lauk with the ikan bakar but I am totally happy with just plain white rice with the ikan bakar and lots of sauce. The stall also does great cucur udang from 2.30 pm onwards - I haven't tried them yet but my friend said it's nice and fresh but the prawn is quite small.

When you are there, try also stall no. 1's tea with milk served in old fashioned cups which is great. Sadly because Ramadan is just round the corner, they will be closed but they are opening a Ramadan stall in Bandar Tasik Puteri near Country Homes in Rawang as Pak Din's family has a house there.

Ikan Bakar Asli Pak Din
Stall No. 5
Tanglin Food Court
Jalan Cendarasi
Kuala Lumpur

(Ikan Bakar is available from 10.30 am and until it runs out. The fish is priced around RM3 to RM4 depending on what you order. For the map to the place, refer to the Sun's write up on Nasi Lemak Tanglin.)

*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 + Ikan Bakar

King Crab Feast @ Jogoya, Starhill Gallery, KL

I was wandering around the Relish floor of Starhill Gallery and spied this promotion brochure. Thought I will share it with all of you as I notice I seem to get quite a lot of hits from people searching for information with regards to Jogoya.

They're having a nine day King Crab Feast or Theme Feast (from 22 September till 30 September,2006) whereby you get to taste twelve different types of King Crab dishes every day. If you dine during their Buffet Lunch or Buffet Late Lunch for 8 persons and above, you are given a free Theme Feast Cuisine for one person's portion. It's on a first come first serve basis and is limited to twenty portions per day.

The grammar on the brochure is quite bad because of the translation from Chinese to English hence I hope I have got all the details down correctly. They are also running a lucky draw and if you're the lucky diner, you get a Buffet Late Lunch voucher worth RM68. There's also a supper promotion until 9 November, 2006 - for every five adult diners, you pay only for 4 persons. It's only valid for Sunday supper to Thursday supper excluding mooncake festival dates. You must present the coupon which can be downloaded from their website, www.jogoya.com.tw (Aaargh! Their website is in Mandarin, I tried to check if the coupon is available but my Mandarin is hopeless. I guess you may get it from the front desk as they had loads of the brochures with the coupons in front of the restaurant. Updated on 25/9: I found the voucher, it's at this link and found under the News section in their Index.)

Do double check with them on the details as this was extracted from their brochure.

Jogoya
T3, Relish Floor
Starhill Gallery
181, Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03 - 2142 1268

The prices for the buffet are:

Buffet Lunch - RM78++
Buffet Late Lunch - RM68++
Buffet Dinner - RM88++
Buffet Supper - RM78++

Opening times: 11.30 am to 1.00 am (Monday to Friday), 11.00 am to 1.00 am (Weekend and Public Holidays)

Tai Chow @ Ong Lai, Off Jalan Raja Laut, KL

Just off Jalan Raja Laut which is one of the busiest areas in Kuala Lumpur, you can spy this tai chow place that is available only at night. It's not too hard to find this place especially once you figured out the signs i.e. Mungo Jerry and Bee Seng Hotel. Once those landmarks have been spotted, all you need to do is turn left into the lane and you will find this makeshift stall with a huge kitchen complete with woks and a stand alone steamer. At first when you walk in you will think it's just stalls but wander further and there's also a shoplot which you can sit in peace and from the rain.

As this place is right smack in one of the seediest areas in town, it's preferable you don't dine here alone but with a whole group of people. It's always a good idea also to bring a crowd to help finish the food as the portions are huge. Ong Lai specialises in a few dishes such as this Fried Pei Kueh Hokkien Style. Pei Kueh has many names as it's also known as Shanghai Nien Gao, Pak Kor Meen and etc. We all thought this was pretty okay, definitely better than the Hokkien mee place in Jalan Maharajalela.

Another specialty they are famous for is their O Chien i.e. the oyster omelette. Tiny oysters are marinated in a mixture with tapioca flour and then cooked in a wok with eggs. They're quite generous with the oysters and it had the right amount of chewyness versus the crispy egg. Definitely a favourite among us all as this was the only dish we finished that night.

Ong Lai is notoriously famous for their Steamed Wan Yu Fish Head which we ordered. I'm not too sure what style this is but it had sinful belly pork slices on top of it. We had great expectations for this dish after hearing so many raves about it but sadly it wasn't our night as the fish had a slight muddy smell to it. Besides these dishes, Ong Lai is also famous for their Fish Head Mee Hoon which looks interesting based on what I have read so I guess we will give this place another try.

Ong Lai Restaurant
Jalan Tiong Nam, Off Jalan Raja Laut
Kuala Lumpur

(Food served here is non halal. The restaurant is right behind Bee Seng Hotel and off Jalan Raja Laut. Turn left from Jalan Raja Laut when you spot the Mungo Jerry sign on your right hand side. See KY Speaks for a location map.)

Tagged with: Malaysian Food + Tai Chow

Other reviews:

• Tham Jiak
• Umami
• Foodvenue
• KY Speaks
• Rasa Rasa Malaysia

New Menu @ Delicious by Ms. Read

Recently, I was at Delicious by Ms. Read for tea time and spied they had just launched new dishes on their menu (I think this started this week). I'm not very sure which dishes are new as the menu does not have any indication but based on the pictures they had on our table, I saw green curry, duck breast, rack of lamb, sirloin steak and chocolate pavlova. Since it was teatime, I tried the chocolate pavlova. Extremely nice as the meringue was light and slightly chewy plus dotted with chocolate chips. It was topped with lots of strawberries and double cream. It's very Nigella Lawson as I distinctively remember her making this in one of her cook shows.



My teatime companion had their scones which is always fantastic and buttery. No clotted cream here as they serve it with double cream and strawberry jam. The scones are super tiny hence you don't feel too guilty indulging in them during teatime. Sorry, I don't really remember the prices as my friend paid for the bill (Thanks so much Mau!) as I had messed up the two outlets so it was a hectic dash from the outlet in 1 Utama to the Bangsar Village to meet up with her.

They are also running a competition in conjunction with the launch of their new menu i.e. win a free stay in YTL's new Cameron Highlands resort. Not too sure what exactly were the requirements for the contest but I think there must be a certain threshold you need to spend. It's only until mid October so head one to Delicious to try the menu and hopefully win a stay at that hotel which I heard is really nice and decorated with Jim Thompson fabrics.

Delicious by Ms. Read

Ground Floor

1 Utama Shopping Centre (New Wing)

There is also another outlet in Bangsar Village next to Village Grocer.

*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: Pavlova + Scones