The Ramadan food bazaar at Taman Tun Dr Ismail is the place for local delicacies. NOEL ACHARIAM gets a taste of the varied fare as Streets surveys the season’s Ramadan bazaars.

RAMADAN is here and what better way to spend the special month by treating your family and friends to some local fare.

If you looking for a first-rate place to indulge in some gastronomic adventure, then the Ramadan food bazaar in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) is the place to head for.

Here one will find a great variety of spicy Malay food, a seemingly endless variety of kuih-muih, as well as an assortment of delectable Baba Nyonya food.

As I was walking towards the bazaar, the first thing that caught my attention was the strong fragrant smell of ikan bakar being grilled. The aroma alone is more than enough to entice anyone to try this dish.

Ikan bakar literally means grilled fish. The fish is either wrapped in banana leaves or grilled on its own on top of glowing charcoal. The fish is best eaten accompanied by some freshly squeezed lime juice drizzled over it.

Shahrom bin Sulaiman, 28, who runs the ikan bakar stall, said that he only uses fresh fish. “This is my first time here at the TTDI bazaar. We hope that the support and response from the community will be good,” said Shahrom.

One of my favourite snacks at the bazaar has got to be the popular keropok lekor. The keropok is made of fish meat ground to a paste, shaped and then deep-fried. There are two different types of keropok, the long chewy ones are called lekor, and the thin, crispy ones are called keping. The keropok is best eaten with its special chili sauce.

Other bazaar treats that got my mouth watering were satay ayam and satay daging. Don’t forget to ask for the ketupat.

One particular snack that got the crowd forming a long queue was Pak Ya Popiah. Serving three types of popiah, this stall was a hit with residents of Taman Tun. Available at the stall is popiah basah, popiah goreng and popiah sira madu. Please note that some of these snacks can only be indulged in during Ramadan.

Ayam percik is another well-known dish at the bazaar. Percik sauce on the chicken releases distinct flavours when cooked. Eat this hot for maximum enjoyment.

Syariffah Suhana, 27, and Norhanis Yusof, 27, who are sharing a stall selling roti john and fruit pudding said that they were thrilled to be at the bazaar.

“We are here to meet and interact with people. It is not so much about making profit but getting to know the community,” said Syariffah.

Other popular dishes that you will find at the bazaar include nasi lemak, chicken and beef rendang, roti canai, murtabak, laksa, chicken rice, kuih bakar asli, putu mayam, roti jala, sup tulang, briyani and mee goreng. There are also a number of drink stalls selling sirap bandung, air mata kucing, cendol and air limau.

All the local lip-smacking delicacies are on sale during the Ramadan bazaar in TTDI until Oct 12, at Jalan Mohd Fuad 2 and Jalan Mohd Fuad 4 from 2pm to 10pm daily.