One of my favourite times of the year in Johor Bahru is Ramadan. During the Muslim Holy Month, I can join my Muslim friends to enjoy traditional Malay food, many of which are not available for sale at other times.
Wow... so many people 😄 People of every community are here to enjoy the bazaar together.
There are dozens of Ramadan bazaars in Johor Bahru, catering to near by residents. There are a few Ramadan bazaars not far from where I live. The largest one is at S'MART Pandan at Jalan Waja 8 (off Jalan Kota Tinggi near AEON Tebrau City Mall).
The smell of aromatic fumes from spicy marinated meat sizzling over red hot charcoal embers just made my saliva glands go on overdrive 😂
Everyone I met was so happy and having a great time.
Wow... look! This giant pot of bubbling hot sup kambing (mutton soup) is so loaded with meat and spices.
This is what I call Sup Kambing Power 😋
A stall run by a gentleman from Palestine selling Arabian style rice with baked chicken and lamb.
Pipa Duck.
Of course, there will be satay. There will always be satay. There will never be enough of these juicy marinated meat skewered with skinny wooden sticks, especially when they are grilled over charcoal fire 😋
Of course, there are the staple roti canai and murtabak stalls - beef, chicken or lamb folded into a dough envelope and fried on a flat, iron griddle till the bread is crispy outside.
These young ladies from Pontian are selling spicy asam pedas cooked on the spot with sweet fresh fish from Pontian, the famous fishing town of Johor.
If you like Hong Kong dim sum (bite size steamed snacks), look out for this stall selling Halal dim sum.
This lady sells traditional Johorean kuih. I need to come back and learn more about her hot selling kuih next time.
Rain? No problem. It's just means we add more colours to the already colourful bazaar 😄
The on and off drizzle this evening didn't dampen our spirits at all. If anything, we appreciated the cool of the evening 😄
There were a few nasi lemak stalls, all with freshly fried chicken. The sound of sizzle and smell of hot oil is everywhere.
The ayam golek stalls are always very popular as everyone loves plump chicken freshly grilled over charcoal fire. There are three ayam golek stalls here at the S'MART Pandan Ramadan Bazar, the most I've ever seen before.
Do be early as the grilled chicken sells out very fast. This ayam golek stall was sold out within one hour 😄
There are many different types of grilled chicken stalls.
Grilled honey chicken wings.
Ayam percik, a spicy grilled chicken dish popular throughout Malaysia, is originally from Kelantan.
For many people, the best food to break fast with is their everyday comfort food such as nasi campur. There are many nasi campur stalls and all have a wide choice of dishes.
There was an overwhelming amount of choices at the Ramadan Bazar, but somehow, I always fall back on traditional staples.
I got my nasi lemak from this stall. Oh... their aromatic coconut rice is so good!
"Uncle mau minum apa?" 😄
Fried lekor (fish cake), a traditional snack from the Peninsula's east coast.
How about durian for dessert?
There is so much to see, smell, hear and eat at the Ramadan bazaar at S'MART Pandan. There are over 200 food stalls of all kinds here, the majority of which are serving traditional dishes cooked the old way.
All 200+ stalls at the S'MART Pandan Ramadan bazaar are Halal.
There is ample seating at the S'MART Pandan Ramadan bazaar. Most Muslim families prefer to break fast together at home - it's a beautiful tradition.
There is plenty of parking space inside S'MART Pandan but needless to say, it will be very congested during peak hours e.g. the hour before buka puasa. I parked conveniently slightly further away (about 100 metres) and there was no problem at all getting into the bazaar and getting out afterwards 😄
Ramadan Bazar @ S'MART Pandan
Address: Jalan Kota Tinggi, Kawasan Perindustrian Pandan, Johor Bahru
GPS: 1°32'03.6"N 103°47'00.2"E | 1.534324, 103.783388
Hours: 5:00pm to 8:00pm (27 May - 24 Jun 2017)
All food sold are Halal
Date: 27 May 2017
Return to Johor Kaki homepage.
Amazing post!! Thanks for sharing, will definitely go! Anyone know where I can find the locations of the other bazaars? Any near city square?
ReplyDelete