Once, twice, three times…

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI to all my Muslim relatives and friends, God’s abundant Blessings be upon you all and all your loved ones this festive season and the whole year through.

I did not go to the Ramadhan Bazaar all that many times this year – I think I did mention in my post the other day that the older I get, the lazier I become. However, I did stop by this one here that day on my way to the airport to pick my girl and the mum when they flew back from Korea via Kuala Lumpur.

Last year, everyone was telling me how good the nasi kerabu here…

*Archive photo*

…was so I simply had to buy and try but no, I did not think it was all that good, nowhere near our favourite one here, and there was all this talk about this nasi kak wok at the time so when I saw that the lady at the next stall was selling that, I bought a packet to try. Nope, I did not think it was anything I would want to buy again…unfortunately. I did buy her laksam for my girl though and she liked it very much, a whole lot nicer than what she had here…and anyway, that place has closed down already and let’s just say I am not in the least surprised.

I was quite disgusted, however, by the fact that at least 75% of the stalls there were using polystyrene containers even though the use of those not-environment-friendly things is banned here in Sibu. Never mind whether what they were selling was nice or not nice, I simply refused to buy from any of them. For one thing, I do think that to get to the root of the problem, the authorities should go round and nab the suppliers – I have seen them being blatantly sold at some supermarkets in town. Otherwise, why bother passing the ruling when everybody seems to be flaunting it openly right under your very nose…and you just turn a blind eye? I certainly hope all that campaign is not like most other campaigns we have had at one time or another, only just for show – NATO, no action, talk only! Tsk! Tsk!

Then, on Tuesday last week, I had to drive to my girl’s school in the jungle to get her back to town so she could fly off to Kuching early the next morning to attend a course there. That was why we did not cook that day and that was a good excuse to drop by the Ramadhan bazaar that I went to quite a lot last year – the one at Bandong here to pick up some things for dinner…and of course, I told them specifically not to buy anything in polystyrene containers. Period.

It had been almost a year ago when I last had satay and that was in Kuching and I cannot even remember the last time I had the ones here. I would order some very nice ones from this stall everytime we went for the ayam penyet around there but we had not gone there for quite a while now…ever since my missus heard people talking about some dengue cases in that area at one time, dunno whether there was any truth in it or not. I saw on Facebook some friends/ex-students enjoying the ones from this stall but no, I never did get the chance myself to go and try.

Now, this one…

…goes back quite a long way, actually. People were telling me that the best satay in town would be the ones at MUC, short for Malay Union Club. I did drive there once but it was kind of dark and we were early – they did not look like they had started their business for the day so we just drove away. Right now, that place is undergoing renovations – hopefully, it will be nicer once the job gets done. According to the very nice and friendly guy, it should be ready after Hari Raya.

I placed my orders and waited for them to be done…

– RM10 lamb (10 sticks) and RM10 beef (20 sticks), RM20.00 altogether so that would be around USD5.00 or AUD 7.00 for 30 sticks…

The lamb was very good, very nice and tender but the beef was a bit hard so that took away a bit of the enjoyment, unfortunately. I was rather disappointed that they did not have any ketupat nor did they give any complimentary cut cucumber and shallots that one might get elsewhere.

They were selling these barbecued chicken…

…at the stall too but no, I did not buy any of those.

Here, you can catch a glimpse of one section of the bazaar…

…and this…

…was right across the road at the proper designated stalls along the revamped and upgraded Bandong Walk. It has been around like…forever so obviously, business must be good to keep it going all this while. Incidentally, if I am not wrong, they are open even on ordinary days, not just for this Ramadhan bazaar.

Here, you can see some more chicken being barbecued…

…and these grilled sardines…

…were ready for sale at RM8.00 (USD2.00) each.

These were the packs of ayam berempah (spiced chicken) with rice and pickles…

…all ready for anyone thus inclined and my girl did buy one (RM7.00, less than USD2.00)…

…home for her dinner. I thought the chicken was nicer than the ones my missus bought for me and for herself (RM8.00)…

…with nasi bryani and I did not think the rice was all that nice since we have been enjoying the authentic Indian one all this while but with the dhal curry that came with it, it was all right.

My missus bought this tub of bamboo shoots (RM5.00)…

…cooked masak rebus kampung style and of course, I did not touch it for fear of a gout attack.

My girl also bought some of these vadai…

…a deep-fried lentil snack, an Indian delicacy made with kacang dhal and a whole lot of spices and the mum bought these kacang kuda (chick peas)…

…with curry leaves added. That sure brought the taste to a whole new level, very nice!

So, at the time of writing, I had gone once…and I had gone twice. Let’s see whether I did go a third time or not this year. Stick around!