Monday, September 29, 2008

Hari Raya Bazaar

hari raya kuih

The raya mood is on. Despite the price increase and the economic slowdown, but when it comes to this period of the year, the mood is usually cheery (well, that's how I feel anyway :) ).

But before the exodus of balik kampung rush starts, I had the opportunity to take one last walk in a mini raya bazaar... which was at the ground floor of a HDB in Singapore.

I've always been asked questions on how raya is celebrated in Singapore... and let me tell you, it is just as meriah (merry), no doubt!

Yes, I know, it's not the same like celebrating in the kampung, but I think the Singaporeans have made do with celebrations in their city... and a colourful one as well, introducing me to some new food I've not heard of.

hari raya kuih
Colourful kuihs & desserts - for buka puasa, though it's open to the public as well. Have you heard of air som som?

hari raya air katira
One unique drink I found is this - air katira. Is it also sold in Malaysia? Family member loves it!

hari raya seri melaka
The name Melaka becomes all the glam this Raya season! And add that with Seri/ Sri in the front!

hari raya karipap curry puff
Such a huge karipap (curry puff)!

hari raya pancake
More interesting food - some unique pancakes.

hari raya roti john
These are more familiar - the roti john.

hari raya nasi tomato
And finally, the nasi tomato (tomato rice) - which comes in beef & chicken. I bought this and it was good!

hari raya nasi tomato
Served by this smiling lady... makes the food all the more sweet & yummy! :)

hari raya wish
To all my kawan kawan yang beraya, including blogger khakis - Amir Fuad, Adila, Faisal Admar, & Noor Ashraaf, here's wishing you a safe journey home & a wonderful Hari Raya! ~ Salam daripada QuaChee! :)

To the rest of the Malaysians & Singaporeans, let's have a 'feast' (can't wait to try the rendang!) & a good break! hehe

*These raya bazaars are held once a year, on the round up to Hari Raya. I think this is similar to those in Malaysia :)

14 comments:

  1. quachee,
    What's air katira ah? It's not available in Malaysia. Care to describe?

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  2. I have the same question as Kok...what is air katira and air som som. I have yet to see it in the stalls in Penang.

    Thanks for dropping by my blog.

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  3. Hey there. Interesting new food. Thanks for sharing them.

    Happy holidays to you, QC. Cheers!

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  4. air katira - what's that

    foodwise in malaysia is certainly bountiful

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  5. oh wow! that's looking so proper!
    i mean the arrangement and stuffs :D

    it really is making me drooling looking at those food

    oh boy! roti john nasi tomato, karipap... *drools*

    is the roti john similar with roti john in malaysia?
    well i do know that roti john are different in most states in malaysia haha
    did u try their roti john? :D

    what is air katira?
    soya with lengkong is it?

    selamat hari raya to you :D

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  6. Sad to say, I've never been to a buka puasa bazaar. LOL.

    Btw thanks for visiting and commenting. Nice blog you have here! ^^

    Enjoy the long weekend!

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  7. The kueh looks delicious, though I worry a little about the colouring.
    What the heck is air som som and air katira? Have never seen them in Malaysia - or could it be a different name used in Malaysia?

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  8. The food looks so clean.

    Salam Aidilfitri.

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  9. Yum, the food looks great! But what is air som som??

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  10. You are in Malacca again? Damm, I haven't eaten any ketupat and rendang yet! Arrggg.... =(

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  11. Ah! Hari Raya... Hari Raya... So many kuih in bulan puasa now no more...

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  12. hi all
    honestly, dont know what is air katira & air som som too. did try the air katira. the mixture is sweet, but there are some jelly like thing in it as well. quite interesting, which i only find it during the raya season.

    hope you all enjoyed the long break! :)

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  13. Air katira, as far as i know, is only found in Singapore. it has been around in Singapore since the 1980s and I have yet to see it in KL. It is sold only in the fasting month in Singapore as far as I know.

    Roti John (a Singapore invention) was a craze in Singapore in the 1970s but only started to make waves in Malaysia a few years back.

    I heard Ramly Burgers (the local Malaysian version of hamburgers) has been available in Singapore for the last few years.

    I'll be in S'pore again at the end of this year to visit relatives & also for a family holiday. Hope to taste the famous Singapore Murtabak (Victory) at Arab Street and also to go to Mustapha Centre at Serangoon for cheap goods.

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  14. Hallo all, I know this blog is over a year old, but I just came across it today. Besides,nobody has come up with an explanation for Air Kathira & Som-som. So here goes:

    Kathira:
    Air kathira (also spelled khatira or katira) is a drink made with evaporated milk, pandan-flavoured syrup, kathira gum, biji selasih and buah kembang semangkuk. Some versions of this drink also include grass jelly (cincau), raisins and shredded dates. The kathira gum is a tree-extract and comes in powder form. It is mainly produced in India. You probably know that biji selasih is called basil seeds in English. I found out from a friend of a friend in Facebook that buah semangkuk is called malva nuts in English. But I donno why it's only available at Ramadan,probably bcos it's a great thirst quencher.

    Air som-som: Aka bubur som-som (porridge??). It's a sweet dessert (we Malays like our sweet stuff) made with rice flour and drizzled (generously,of course) with either gula melaka syrup or sugar syrup.

    Yummy!

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Oh hey, thank you for commenting! :)