Ramadan Bazaar 2009 @ Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya

looks more like art deco painting

Kelana Jaya is always an old favourite of mine, with familiar stalls I often zoom in to and buy stuff from. A must is always the laksam here - gorgeous thick rolls of rice flour noodles with the creamy fish gravy with a dash of sambal and a sprinkle of bean sprouts for crunch.

various types of jellies made from milk and fruits

This year, familiar faces are around - the ever talktative satar fella, selling his wares and the colourful agar agar stall. They seem to have outdone themselves this year with loads of colours and unusual flavours - spotted a milk version with biscuits on top and etc. One evident change this year, the stall owners have invested in labels, which tell you what each item easily without waiting for them to serve you.

honey chicken wings on the hot grill

There was also an Uncle Bob's fried chicken stall, with a persistent jingle, telling you Uncle Bob was very delicious. Gave it a try and to be honest, it was very dissapointing. While they may have all the items to make the same kind of fried chicken, the skills to get it crispy weren't there (I reckon the lady overfried the chicken as it was chewy vs crispy!).

1. salted fish fried rice presented in an unusual manner, 2 4-angled beans kerabu with perut, 3. ikan bakar requests, 4. botok-botok

This is one of the few places you'll find packets of fish wrapped in large banana leaves smothered with herbs that is known as botok-botok. There's also two stalls this year selling the Jawa specialty of Nasi Ambeng - all wrapped up in a large parcel with chicken, rice, fried beehoon, coconut floss or serunding and fried tempeh.

sambal stuffed cencaru on the grill

The regular cencaru stuffed sambal lady was there selling her fish in various sizes. One stall definitely grabbed my attention, right in front of the street - they were selling various kinds of kerabu or salads - one made from pegaga or pennywort, daun selom, paku pakis or ferntops and green mangoes.

1. pizza is even available, 2. roti goreng, 3. nasi ambeng

The kek batik and creme caramel people were around as usual but business seems to be less vibrant compared to last year. Some stalls were very enterprising selling all kinds of wares including that must-have car accessory with the moving flower in a pot. Have been told you can get that dirt cheap in places like Wisma GM, Chow Kit where they sell it in bulk for a fraction of a price it is sold in stalls everywhere.

chicken satay

There were quite a few satay stalls around, ayam percik and one ayam golek fella. Not sure if it is the same fella last year but this one has upgraded his equipment to those covered glass versions.

the making of popiah basah FAM

One particular stall had me fascinated with their popiah line up, while another had curry leaves placed everywhere. Seems it is to ward off the flies that were persistent here.

onde onde ready to go

The onde onde stall was also around, where they'll make it on the spot. One particular stall selling fried rice and noodles, had an enterprising way to announce to the world it was selling salted fish fried rice - they placed the salted fish on the rice as a decoration.

pulut panggang needs time to grill on the hot fire

This will most probably be my last Ramadan bazaar post. Don't have much time to drive around and look for others during the weekday. I guess if I do find others worthwhile snapping pictures of, these will be posted up in Flickr. Reckon some of you will also be fed up with too many bazaars. For the detailed pictures for this bazaar, see my Flickr set.

Ramadan Bazaar 2009 @ Pandan Indah, Selangor

mini chakoi

It took us quite some time to locate this bazaar, but we're glad we pursuited it as it had some unusual stalls. Love how each area has their specialties.


pandan kaya packed to go

These teeny weeny chakois or dough fritters seem to be unique around this area, as I first stumbled upon it at Nong & Jimmys at nearby Taman Dagang. I reckon it could be a Thai influence since I've seen them selling these, in Bangkok and Haadyai before. I love the pandan flavoured kaya served on the side, to dip these crunchy fritters.

payment is needed, seri muka

There's quite a heavy Thai influence around the Pandan Indah area, with restaurants and the popular Thai Market Font located within the shophouses. That's where people come and get those Thai vegetables, spices and herbs you don't get in the local markets. Every Sunday, drop by as they serve these super spicy curries made from unknown items, satays, noodles and etc.


fire fire fire....for char kuey teow

Back to the bazaar, the stalls are cramped in one small area near the apartments but the crowd is bearable. Not being from the area, I have no idea what is famous but some stalls get a huge following like the Nasi Lemak Bob - packets of nasi lemak being prepared like a factory production line.


pretty colourful fruit agar agar

We were attracted a stall selling all kinds of agar agar with fruits within them. Pretty to look at, snap pictures but honestly they just tasted average only.


assorted jellies and kuih

One particular kuih stall was doing booming business, a mini van selling with trays and trays of Malay kuih, agar agar including the watermelon agar agar. Must be very good stuff as the queue was so long for their items. I also spied one stall selling the dried agar agar, known as agar agar sakar. Pretty rare stuff since they're very hard to make.


delish ayam golek and cockles

There were a few stalls selling cockles done in various ways, cooked in a spicy sauce that looked very delicious, roasted (bakar) and steamed. The ayam golek was also present with the stall owners using various methods to make this delectable juicy chicken - one within an enclosed "oven" and some just on a rotating metal bar.


deep fried chicken done the Uncle Bob way

I was very surprised to see Uncle Bob's fried chicken here. More popular in SS2, this Taiwanese influenced deep fried chicken is very delicious especially eaten hot but has loads of MSG.


serunding - meat floss

Some stalls had taken old items and given it a new look, like this fellow who was selling Roti John Bersalut - he added a breadcrumbs to the bread to give it a crispier texture.


roti john bersalut with a breadcrumb crust, nasi lemak Bob

Loads of rojak items were sold here, you had the fresh fruits version, the deep fried version known as rojak singapure where you pick the items and they cut it for you and for the first time ever, they even had packed rojak paru goreng aka rojak with fried cow's lungs!


rojak singapura, rojak paru goreng and rojak buah

One stall had the whole lamb being roasted over a charcoal fire. Sadly since I was late (searching for the bazaar), we only managed to catch a picture when the meat has already been almost stripped apart. The stall owner was also grilling some parts of the lamb on a seperate grill as it was not cooked properly. Looked very good since he slathered some brown sauce over it.


picking your fish

One stall owner was frying up char kuey teow with huge flames. Wonder if the noodles will taste nice, as everytime he added something, it almost went up in flames.


kerang bakar


Some stalls were selling modernised items like muffins or more like mini cupcakes, since they had various toppings like chocolate chips and oreo crumbs.


muffins

Pretty good selection at this bazaar, makes it a great place to drop by during the weekend. Saw a few people snapping pictures also of the bazaar and parking is available at the housing area but a little walk is necessary. For more pictures, see the Flickr set.

Ramadan Bazaar Pandan Indah
Jalan Pandan Utama
Selangor

To get here, on the MRR2, take the turning towards Pandan Indah or Menara MPAJ. The bazaar is sandwiched in between these tall white apartments and a field. Across the road, you will see the Pandan Indah fire station.

Ramadan Bazaar 2009 @ Taman Sri Serdang, Selangor

the unusual lemang pulut hitam made from black glutinous rice

Thanks to Adly from Fried Chillies, we discovered this great Ramadan Bazaar. A little off the beaten track from the city versions, this is definitely worth the short drive on the highway to get here. One testament on how good a bazaar is for me, is when I return from the place laden with plastic bags full of stuff. With this place, it was not hard to hit that target, as we wanted to get everything we saw.


putu bambu in bamboo tubes being steamed

There seems to be abundance of Kelantanese food stalls here - loads of them selling nasi kerabu, blue tinged rice sprinkled with dried fish flakes and chopped herbs. One lady even called hers nasi kerabu hitam (nope, it wasn't black but blue!).

gorgeous mini apam balik with rambutan and pineapple jam

Since Kelantanese food was the flavour of this bazaar, you got a great variety of ayam percik, solok lada in all kinds of colours - light green to red! and etc.

eggy and rich with coconut milk akok - one of the best tasted ever

My favourites were the sweet stuff. We discovered this mini apam balik stall - small cute crunchy pancakes that had unusual jams inside them like pineapple and rambutan jam. Really delicious stuff that seem to melt in the mouth. If you visit this place, do get those. It's 4 small ones for RM1.

1. lemongrass grilled chicken, 2. the crowd & smoke, 3. fruit flavoured tau fu fah

Remember I mentioned an abundance of Kelantanese food, it carries on to the sweet stuff and you find loads of stalls selling akok here. We stumbled on this stall we reckon must be good, since her akok was almost sold out even though it was early. Well, we struck gold as the akok was definitely one of the best I have tasted. Soft and decadent with a rich duck egg and coconut milk taste. Gorgeous stuff that I could eat with loads of bitter black coffee to counterbalance the decadent taste. If you ever drop by this bazaar, look for Akok Pak Ali Serdang. Damn good stuff, I definitely won't mind taking a drive to get a taste of.

savoury kuih cara

We also discovered this stall selling lemang including the very unusual pulut hitam (black glutinous rice) version. Couldn't resist trying that and it was good, not as chewy compared to the white version and a little softer but still very delicious.

great soup and most unusual bits and bobs of the cow to go with it

The most unusual stall was the beef soup one. He was selling the soup with all bits and bobs of the cow - including the rarely seen intestines! The soup is gorgeous - kinda warms your toes and most importantly it tasted like beef soup. Some places seem to skimp on the beef bones they add, hence they taste more like dishwater! The intestines are kinda fatty though so one suggests, you ask for the mixed parts instead.

colourful puteri mandi

We also found an unusual mushroom soup place that also served fried oyster mushrooms, which we bought a packet of. A little chewy, the mushrooms were coated with spices and tasted pretty good even when it was cold.

organic ikan keli

Organic items seem to have found their way into bazaars. Yesterday it was organic sugar cane juice and today, it is organic ikan keli (catfish) being sold here. They were cooking the fish in a sauce, that didn't look appealing though.

1. red solok lada, 2. blue tinged nasi kerabu everywhere here

There were loads of stalls selling chicken being roasted in contraptions they had made themselves. One particular stall had their roasting area placed on top of a drain! That particular stall was quite enterprising and favoured by many, as they chopped the chicken in various parts to be sold. Great way to get just the chicken pieces you like. I tried the chicken wings (RM1.50 each) and they were delicious. Not too dry and juicy.

unusual way of roasting chickens, over the drain

The bazaar is under MPSJ, that seem to run the bazaars pretty well. They had one officer monitoring the situation and I liked how they had organised the smoky ayam percik and ayam golek fellas to one side, to prevent smoke getting into everyone's eyes when they walked past.

fried popiah

Most of the patrons of this bazaar are from the nearby university (UPM) and we did see quite a few foreigners gawking at the stalls and trying to figure out what to eat.

fried oyster mushrooms

For me, the bazaar seems to have more home made items and it was not so commercial. Could see, most of the savoury food items were prepared at home and packed in plastic containers here.

my favourite kuih - the sweet kuih ayu

This place definitely gets my vote for best bazaar, that I have visited so far. Do make a trip down this weekend and check it out (since it is another long weekend especially for those who work in Selangor). You won't regret it. See my Flickr set for more pictures.

Ramadan Bazaar Sri Serdang

Off Jalan Sri Serdang

Serdang

Selangor

Starts around 4pm until buka puasa time about 7.30pm

(To get here, take the KL-Seremban highway, go towards Seremban and take the turning out when it says UPM/Serdang/Seri Kembangan. Drive towards UPM, pass the university and take a left at the second traffic light (after the Petronas station). Drive straight and take a right at the first traffic light. You will see Taman Sri Serdang's police station on your right hand side and a school on the left. The bazaar will be just after the police station on your right hand side.)

Ramadan Bazaar 2009 @ USJ4, Subang Jaya

rows of popiah basah ready to be taken home

This year, we're moving on to a varied selection of bazaars - not the usual ones I cover every year, since I seem to only have time during the weekend to visit them. Must admit, I've yet to visit my usual haunts - Kelana Jaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Section 14, Bangsar and etc.

1. A little "Grease" goes a long way, 2. fluffy rice, 3. agar-agar with beaten egg white

Hence instead of the SS18 Subang bazaar I usually visit, we decided to look for this USJ4 one. The bazaar is definitely a lot smaller than the other one but kinda nice and intimate. That day when we visited, Hannah Lo and I think some high ranking officer from the government was also visiting the bazaar. Saw a cameraman covering their trail. In fact, I spied a few people carrying DSLR cameras around the bazaar that day. Guess this place is super popular for pictures.

crunchy teeny weeny denderam

What stands out in this bazaar is one particular stall - the Murtabak Langkawi one. Loads of people queueing up for the murtabak that is cooked in a slightly different manner.

learn how to cook murtabak a little differently...cook the eggy mixture first

I spent quite some time at the stall, snapping pictures of the whole process. At this stall, instead of placing the eggy concoction (beaten egg, chopped onions and some minced meat) within the dough to cook, they cook it seperate. Kinda reminds me of an omelette.

the crowd waiting patiently, wrapping the dough over the "omelette", the finished murtabak

Once it is cooked, it is encased in the thinly stretched out dough and placed back on the skillet to brown. Am not sure how the taste is, since we didn't have the patience to join the line of people, but I'm sure it must be nice, judging from the crowd response.

tako dessert, spicy deep fried popiah, organic sugarcane juice

We didn't get much items, just the sweet items to try. The tako, the Thai inspired dessert with a coconut milk layer and chesnut jelly layer was pretty good. Been ages since I've eaten these dainty desserts wrapped in pandan leaves. We also tried the denderam that wasn't as crispy as I liked. The cekodok, we also bought from the denderam stall was a disaster - no taste of bananas!

rendang from Victory Arab Street

Other stalls that looked interesting were the Chinese Muslim one selling noodles, Nasi Lemak Nangis (huge crowd all over the stall), the nasi ayam stall and one particular kuih stall that was deluged with people. Generally, when there's a crowd, just zoom in on those food items as you know they're good. While the variety is not large, this place definitely deserves a stopover purely for that unique Murtabak Langkawi. For more pictures, see my Flickr set. Also look out for more unusual places (off the beaten track), which we covered like Sri Serdang and Pandan Indah.

Ramadan Bazaar USJ4

Along USJ 4/5

(Next to Restaurant New Apollos)

Subang Jaya

Bazaar can be seen from the main road of USJ. If coming from Subang Jaya, the bazaar will be on the right hand side. Best landmark is the New Apollos coffeeshop.

Ramadan Bazaar 2009 @ Shah Alam Stadium, Section 13, Shah Alam

gorgeous colours in the cendol jugs

Shah Alam's Ramadan bazaar holds a special place in my heart, probably because it is the nearest one to my office. Due to its proximity, we often go there on a daily basis, checking out the numerous stalls and trying out most of the items. Since I was busy with work last week, we tend to visit the place quite late when there's a huge crowd. However last Friday, we made it early and I managed to capture one of nicest set of pictures of the bazaar.

my one in the million shot - batter suspended in the air

If you're looking to snap pictures, make it a point to go early. You get to capture stacks of food laid out nicely, the stall owners prepping up their food and you don't need to jostle with the crowd for space.

the art of making lacy pancakes, aka roti jala

The cendol jugs were out on display again this year - two varieties, one with pulut and another with a mix of colourful jellies. Managed to get fantastic shots of those refreshing looking desserts, perfect for breaking fast with.

buns stuffed with sambal and cucumber slices

Another favourite was the roti jala stall manned by 2 ladies. I managed to even snap a gorgeous picture of the batter suspended in mid air, just when the lady was swirling it to form the net like pancake. Looked really good and they were serving it with either a sweet durian sauce or the savoury and more common chicken curry.

satay being grilled on hot charcoal

In terms of popularity, the stalls of Popiah SS Ali seem to have fallen badly in those stakes. No one seems to be interested in queueing for their popiahs despite them having at least 3 stalls around the bazaar. I guess discerning tasters have figured out the quality of the popiah has dropped tremendously. I've tried the original one in Ipoh, last year and to be honest, the taste has gone down hill.

Papa John's infamous roti john

Instead, one of the most popular stalls is Papa John's. Loads of people queuing up for their Roti John, that looked so incredibily good with a choice of minced lamb or minced beef. I'm definitely going to spend some quality time queueing up for that roti john since it looks delectable.

colourful agar-agar

What else was around? The colourful agar-agar stall was doing brisk business as usual - lovely colours all decked out in rainbow of colours. The sweet stalls always seem to finish the fastest, come a little later and they're all gone, especially those yummy or popular ones.

lovely stained glass agar agar

This year, there are loads of soy bean milk stalls - Soy Bean Station and Soy Bean Otai. Both seem to be vying for business with a few stalls around the bazaar, selling soy bean milk and tau fu fah flavoured with gula melaka syrup.

my favourite item in the bazaar - pecal Tanjung Karang

My must-have at this bazaar - the pecal Tanjung Karang for RM2.50. Similar to gado-gado, I love this simple dish of beansprouts, sweet potato leaves and compressed rice cubes (nasi impit) drizzled with their unique sauces. They give you two types - a thick and spicy peanut sauce with another watery one known as the lontong sauce with beans and shredded coconut. Give it a try, as it is absolutely yummy stuff.

juicy and succulent ayam bakar kenyalang

I also like the ayam bakar kenyalang (RM18 for one bird) - roasted chickens on charcoal stuffed with herbs and drizzled with a sweet soy sauce. The meat is juicy and succulent. Also spied in the bazaar - western favourites like pizza, meat kebabs and chicken chop. For more pictures and explainations on the bazaar, see my Flickr set.

Ramadan Bazaar Shah Alam
Section 13

Shah Alam

Bazaar starts from 4pm onwards until break fast time, about 7.30pm