Bazaar Ramadan

@ Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya

sweet jelly for breaking fast

It is that time of the year...the unmistakable plumes of smoke signify ultra-delicious ayam percik, satay and ikan bakar being cooked on the spot, the crazy queues of people lining up for famous popiah basah or murtabak and of course those irritating double parkers who think they own the road! Yes, it is ramadan bazaar time where you get your pick of a smorgasbond of Malay delicacies (with a few Western influences).

cutting potatoes into a spring, coating with sauce, ready to be fried, deep frying in hot oil till crispy

It takes me a while to get into the groove of doing the bazaars probably because I tell myself every year that I shouldn't do it anymore since it drains so much energy from me plus the conditions are never too great for picture taking i.e. if it is not the hot sun casting blasted shadows on everything, it is the torrential rain that threatens to dampen out the whole bazaar.

spring like fried potatoes

However the lure of so much great food available is too tempting for a foodie like me that resistance is futile despite all those mental promises. As I have been quite busy, I only managed to visit the bazaars during the weekend. Most places such as this favourite bazaar in Kelana Jaya have not changed much as the same old stalls are still there like the colourful jelly stall I featured last year. This bazaar seem to have an overabundance of jellies though - all in various colours. Right next door to the fruit jelly stall is a rival one who does not boast colourful fruit enhanced ones but does offer some tempting delights like another colourful marbled jelly.

adorable kid

One stall nearer to the front will definitely be the draw of little gals...as they have adorable and colourful small jellies set in agar agar. According to the owners, the mixing of the two means different textures: a softer jelly within a harder agar agar. Those colourful sprinkles on top seem to bring out the kids as I spied two little gals ogling over the stall and pointing out what they want to their mother.

I want some of these uber cute agar agar jellies

Besides jellies, we stumbled on another new creation - the Kentang Spring. This family was using a contraption to create a spring like effect to small potatoes that would be stuck on a long skewer. The potatoes will then be coated in a sauce and deep-fried till crisp. They claim to have different flavours: tomyam, cheese and BBQ. We tried one stick and it was pretty nice and crispy, keeping through the hours. It can get a little difficult to peel the potatoes out as it tends to stick to the skewer. If you want something a little different, go for this unusual snack.

mangosteens

If not there are loads of traditional favourites like cencaru sambal - fish stuffed with a fiery red sambal that is pan fried. There's loads of ikan bakar stalls and ayam percik ones. Spotted two stalls selling ayam golek - rotisserie chicken that is roasted in those portable ovens. There are quite a few stalls selling mini roti boom and another stall selling deep fried oyster mushrooms.

sweet broths, oyster mushrooms ready to be deep fried, mini roti bom, cencaru sambal

When we were there, we even spotted Health Ministry officials walking around asking the stall owners questions. I guess there is a concious effort to ensure that the food is kept healthy but one wonders whether the stall owners will be answering since they are all so busy prepping for their business.

ribena jelly with grapes

One item that seems to be gaining popularity in almost every bazaar is Nasi Ambang - a wrapped up packet of rice and fried beehoon with meat. A complete meal on its own, this kind of rice parcel originates from Jawa.

health minister officials, satay, nasi ambang and apam balik

You can also find roasted ducks from Sabri Hoi who has a stall in Shah Alam. Last year, he first started his business in the Shah Alam Ramadan Bazaar and they have expanded the business. While the Shah Alam outlet keeps the ducks behind a counter, this one seems to deep fry the ducks and sell them chopped. There seems to be quite an interest for these halal roast ducks.

deep fried popiah

There's also quite a few stalls selling Kelantanese food here - nasi kerabu, laksam, solok lada and etc. You can even get the sweet akok made from duck eggs and sinfully sweet jala emas or golden threads that is soaked in syrup.

jellies and more jellies, roast ducks and screaming fishes

If you don't feel like eating much, just grab some fresh fruits as there is one stall selling mangosteens, duku langsat and rambutans. Other regular stalls include the kek batik and creme caramel stall, the roti jala stalls, the sata man and etc. Take your pick as there is just so many that the choices are mind boggling.