If the last time you
went to the Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar was a few years
ago, you need to visit it today. It's like a breath of fresh air with
instagrammable inventions such as dragon
breath (read: $7 Cheezels which has liquid nitrogen added so
that you can spew dragon-like breath), galaxy
drinks (read: milkshake with artificial
coloring), unicorn tears (bubblegum
milkshake), vampire blood (no idea about this
one).
Instagram has saved
the Geylang Ramadan bazaar. It's actually a hipster thing to visit the Ramadan
Bazaar nowadays.
Just a week ago marked
the start of a month of Ramadan fasting. It also marked the start of the annual
Geylang Serai Bazaar which will end on 24 June.
The theme for this
year is Unicorns!
 |
| A union of unicorns |
As a
non-conformist, I didn't get anything with unicorns. Here's the real (pun
intended) food that I got:
1) Chicken scotch
eggs with crackers in Peking duck sauce ($5)
Braved the
"scotch-ing" hot bazaar for this scotch eggs. Basically it is eggs coated with
minced chicken meat and fried cereal. While the eggs were delicious, the minced
meat was so-so and quite flat in flavour. The prawn crackers that were drizzled
in Peking duck sauce were good comfort food but nothing to shout
about. 3/5
Location: Bazaar
along Engku Aman Road
2) Raclette set
($12)
When
raclette meets pototo. This was the most anticipated event at the Geylang
Ramadan Bazaar and we queued 30 minutes for this. Unfortunately, the
French-imported cheese is really just normal la. The potatoes are too salty for
my liking. The price is too expensive for my liking. The queue is too long for
my liking. 3/5
Location: Bazaar
along Haig Road food centre side.
3) Big sotong
($7.50)
Because the queue
for Raclette was too long, it was more efficient for me to go and scout for
other food while my companion was queuing. Pro tip: Bring a group of friends and
get them to queue at different stalls, and then meet to eat together.
This
big sotong caught my eye. The hot & spicy flavour is not super spicy. But I
love the crispiness and chewy yet not rubbery texture. Satisfying crispy
snack. 3.5/5
Location: Bazaar
along Haig Road food centre side.
4) Thai fried
ice-cream rolls ($4 for 6 rolls)
These ice-cream
rolls screamed for my attention. The ice-cream is placed on a flat surface and
mixed with fruits/toppings of your choice, and then flattened and rolled. It is
gimmicky but there is something therapeutic watching them being rolled. Anyway,
they are just like normal ice-cream. 2/5
Location: Bazaar
along Haig Road food centre side.
5) Fried Oreos
($3 for 5 pcs)
4.5/5 when
piping hot. 3/5 when cold.
Deep fried Oreo that's coated with batter and topped with a crust of icing
sugar. It's a burst of sweet and savoury in every bite. Who knew Oreos have a
different side to them?
Location:
Everywhere
6) Fried milk ($5
for 6 pcs)
While the whole
Ramadan Bazaar is trying to copy each other to be the best Unicorn, this stall
caught my attention with its fried milk. The one and only stall that sells fried
milk. There are 4 flavours available: (1) Original milk with salted caramel,
(2) Pandan with gula melaka and shredded coconut (3) Thai milk tea with
condensed milk (4) Mixed platter of the above. I don't like salted caramel and
milk tea. So only left with option 2 - Pandan with gula melaka and shredded
coconut.
The
texture is really interesting with its custard-like milk pudding that's
enveloped by a super crispy golden outer layer. So you get a crispy yet soft
feeling. I like the pandan flavour which is not overly sweet.
Verdict: 5/5 for the
first piece. 4/5 for second
piece.. 3/5 for .. you
get the idea.
Location: Bazaar
along Haig Road food centre side.
7) Katoshka
double-fried russet fries ($5.90)
Finally something
that I will return for. 6/5 this one is.
The
russet fries are double-fried, making them crispy and yet moist at the same
time. But the star is the special cheese sauce which is infused with herbs,
making it rich, intense and addictive. So good..
I
should stop writing about food in the middle of the night.
Location: Bazaar
along Haig Road side. Next to fried milk.
The
griping thing about the bazaar is that it was super hot and the crowds were
insane. I wished I brought a portable fan along.
I
wonder what would be the theme next year. But certainly not unicorns. As someone
said, consistency is the playground of dull minds. We shall see..
