Ramadan Bazaars.

I'm not a big fan of the food bazaars: expensive, crowded, too sweet/salty/blank food, unhygienic. But i do appreciate their sociocultural significance to the Malaysians people. It's a gathering place, a melting pot over the basest of human needs - food. Every type of person is to be found, every creed, every take, every ambition. It's something to look forward to, something to anticipate, an anger feast of not just a body,but of lust and the soul.

The celebration of the holy Ramadan festival brings along a unique experience that can be enjoy all Malaysian, the food bazaar during this festive season one can get to sample a variety of authentic and delicious Malay cuisine  which is freshly prepare for the Muslim to break their fast.

The stretch of road transforms into a food haven with the hawkers piling their foodstuffs starting from 4pm till 8pm. The wide spread of delicious fare sold include traditional Malay kuih, lemang, barbecued chicken, nasi lemak, laksa beras which is known as Kedah or Perlis dish, rendang, satay, cucur udang, and nasi ulam. Other cross culture food such as beef and chicken pita, burger, apong balik (known as ban chang kuih in Chinese) and chicken rice are also found. There are others favourite, such as nasi briyani, popiah and murtabak.

Ramadan in Southest Asia is best experienced through the bazaars in cities like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. These bazaars are closed throughout the day, but come to life in the late afternoon as bazaar food shops prepare food for Muslims breaking their fast at sundown.

The bazaars continue to operate through the night, providing food and shopping for both Muslims and non-Muslim visitor alike.

For drinks, there are the popular ros syrup, jagung, mata kucing, sugar cane, and the refreshing soy bean.

At the end of the day, Muslims break their fast (buka puasa) with huge meal called iftar, usually eaten communally at home or at bazaars that are set up specifically for Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri, the joyous end of Ramadan.