Ramadan Bazaar 2018 @ Pandan Indah

It's that time of the year again!  I'm always a happy camper when the Ramadan comes around.  It's the time I 'dedicate' a month (well, at least 3 weeks) of my eating life to seeking out food at the Ramadan Bazaar in my neighbourhood.

This year is no different...and this being my fourth year on the Ramadan trail, I know exactly which ones I want.  Oh, and the three blog posts I wrote for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017 serve as a good reminder too of what I liked and what I didn't.

And one of the very first stalls I sought out this Ramadan was this Cucur Udang @ RM6 (which saw an increase of RM1 from last year).  I guess the price increase was inevitable seeing that they have maintained their prices for the last 3 years.  It's served with both a sweet chilli sauce and a kuah kacang (peanut sauce).

The Cucur Udang costs RM6.50 if you add additional tauhu goreng.  Although they're called prawn fritters, there are a lot more vegetables (like onions, carrots and chives) than there are prawns (I'm not even sure if there are any).  They're still as good as I remembered them from last year.

There's also this other type of cucur udang....smaller rounded ones that have more flour in its composition. Fried till crispy on the outside, these ones cost RM1 for 7...a real good deal :)

The fried popiah, with a filling of finely shredded sengkuang and carrot, had very thin and crispy skins and costs RM0.50 a piece.

The same stall also sells these small banana fritters called Jemput-Jemput (or Cekodok) Pisang @ RM1 (for 7 pcs).  Full of banana flavour, with a crisp outer layer and not too sweet...certainly one of my favourite Malay kuih.

The second thing I look forward to during Ramadan is nasi lemak since I don't get to indulge in it for breakfast in the mornings.  I bought a Nasi Lemak Bungkus @ RM1.50 from one of the stalls on my first visit...it was alright.

On my next visit, I got acquainted again with the nasi lemak stall (from 2016) that I liked very much and immediately got down to enjoying their Nasi Lemak Rendang @ RM4.50.  The rendang is more of a dry-style and the meat is so tender...loved it! ^.^

So much so, I had to have the Nasi Lemak Rendang Ayam @ RM4.50 too.  The rendang ayam is so tender that the meat is falling apart.  I love the perfumy aroma the daun kunyit (turmeric leaf) brings to the rendang. They also have fried chicken and ayam cooked in sambal.

As for the the Nasi Lemak Sotong @ RM4.50, they do it with two types of squid here...the dried squid and this one with baby squids.  The sambal, more sweetish, not spicy, is always packed separately.

Of course, no nasi lemak indulgence is quite complete without my must-have Nasi Lemak Kerang @ RM5.50 (with fried egg this round).  This ended up to be my most visited stall this Ramadan.

I also enjoy a good Nasi Lemak Udang @ RM4.50 when I find them as not many nasi lemak stalls make this udang sambal petai (they call it bitter beans, I like to call them stink beans).  I like how the prawns (there were three) can be eaten shell and all but I don't eat the stink beans (of course, there were only two) coz they're called stinky beans for a reason...they stink! >_<

I came across a new stall (maybe not new but one I didn't see last year) when I was attracted by the looks of their Ayam Goreng Berempah with Nasi Kukus (steamed rice) @ RM6 which comes with two types of sambal (I liked the fresh sambal).

I can see myself getting this again.  It was only when I reached home that I noticed that they even have their own packaging...no wonder it's good (as those who are confident of their food would usually want to advertise their products)! ^_^

As the steamed rice was insanely mushy, I'd rather just have the Ayam Goreng Berempah @ RM4 a piece which was totally aromatic with spices and lemongrass flavour on my next visit.  It's nice golden hue tells me that at least the oil is still fresh (and not old and overly used).  I'd always ask for a bit of those crispy lemongrass and spices (remnants fished out from the oil at the bottom of the wok)...those are the best parts! ;P

Just like last year, Mat Rock's Nasi Sotong Goreng Kunyit @ RM8 (last year's price was RM7) was another hit with us.  Their Mat Rock Ayam Goreng Kunyit truck clearly advertises their name.  This time they were parked at the end of the bazaar which made the queue more manageable (previously they were parked in the middle of the bazaar with long lines of people queueing and obstructing the next few stalls).

The key to its deliciousness is obviously in the marinade used for the chicken, squid, prawns and beef (I tried the beef once but found the meat to be too tough) coz the cooking of it is just dumping all the proteins and vegetables in a hot wok of oil.

I personally like Mat Rock's Nasi Udang Goreng Kunyit @ RM8 (an increase of RM0.50 this year).  I suppose it's still good value seeing that they give 5 fairly big prawns (the prawn heads are the best as they trap in the aromatic spices).  This time I made sure I asked for a little sambal on my rice lest I be charged for separating the sambal (like last year).

The Nasi Kerabu @ RM8 didn't turn out as well even though all the necessary ingredients were present like blue-tinged rice, raw vegetables (of cabbage, taugeh & long beans), keropok ikan (fish crackers), kerisik (toasted grated coconut), salted egg and various herbs (of shredded lemongrass, bunga kantan & daun kesom) with two types of fresh chillies sambal and a curry sauce.  The taste was a bit muted though as there weren't quite enough fresh herbs.

I had it with this fried fish which I noticed was a little different from the usual fried turmeric-laced fish or ikan percik.  The lady seller said that the small fried fish is stuffed with a minced fish filling but I tasted some sweetness, so there's definitely some grated coconut in there.  At least it wasn't overly sweet like some solok lada (stuffed green chillies with fish and grated coconut) I've had before.  I quite like this stuffed fish.

When it comes to say, I always use my eyes to judge which stall is good.  I look for a stall where their 'stock' of satay is aplenty with the desired grilling marks on the sticks of satay.  I zeroed in on my stall pick with ten sticks of Satay Ayam @ RM0.70/stick and was more than happy with the taste (so, no need to try more stalls).

I found a new stall selling Fried Baby Crabs @ RM8 which reminded me of the ones I first had here. Nowadays, they're commonly found in places where beer is offered as it's a snack that goes great with beer. These ones were ok but I found them to be not crispy enough so the crab legs tend to poke the insides of my mouth which made them a little difficult to swallow.

So, we obviously didn't finish them at one go.  Later that night, I reheated them in my toaster oven and they came out super crispy.  The legs were much easier to digest now...so much better than when I first bought it.

The smoky aroma of this as one passes by the stall is pretty difficult to resist.  So, I got me ten sticks of these Muar-style Otak-Otak @ RM0.80 a stick.  These were alright, nothing special.

This Pulut Panggang (or grilled glutinous rice wrapped in banana leaves) @ RM0.50 a piece wasn't very memorable either.  The could-be-softer glutinous rice, with its spicy coconut and dried shrimp filling, didn't have enough of that panggang flavour.

The Kuih Sago @ RM0.50 or steamed tapioca (sago) pearls dessert is one of my favourite kuihs...and this one is flavoured with rose syrup.  The texture was soft but chewy, with a rose-flavoured fragrance, and this one wasn't very sweet.  I exercised great restrain and only subjected myself to just one piece of sweet kuih this Ramadan.

I've been hitting the Ramadan bazaar trail since Day 5...with eating at all other places (during dinner) coming to an almost grinding halt....kekeke!  Aiyah, it's only once a year...must eat my fill....and after almost 3 weeks of gorging, I mean eating moderately (ahem!), I'm done.  Till we meet again next year! ^_*