Cuti Raya Day-4

The day finally came that we had to return back to Gombak. The boys were certainly not looking forward to that but with the Raya just found the corner, it had to be done.

So, the morning was filled with cleaning and packing. Not much, but enough that we required a couple of trips hauling all the gears across. First thing was to get the boys back to Gombak, and our maid to start unpacking. Anita and I then returned to the apartment for the second time, making sure all the stuffs were taken back.

At Taman MelawatiThe cempedak looked tempting!We then went about getting food for berbuka. Today, we went to Al Rawsha. Anita was craving for chicken mendy. Will blog about that afterwards. Next stop was pasar Ramadan at Melawati as usual. That was mainly for the drinks. It had been a really hot day today, and by the time we were ready for berbuka, I really felt it. I was dehydrated. Pounding headache and all.

So, we were enjoying our first night back in Gombak. Hopefully, they would be going to bed earlier than what they were used to at the apartment. I need my sleep .....

Another Turn

It turned out there were two parts to the Melawati Bazaar Ramadan. We went to the first part, and today, we found out that there was another. But did it make any difference? Not really.

The second part was well away from the main road, and seemed to be less crowded. The area was also more specious, but unfortunately it didn't offer anything different to the first part. I still couldn't get my fix of cucur udang or proper air asam boi! Still not as good as past year.

We decided to get our iftar stuff from a restaurant today, after finding some kuih at the bazaar. So, happy iftar all ......

Pasar Ramadan Melawati

Living in Gombak area, my main site for getting bites for iftar had always been either the Pasar Ramadan at Taman Melawati or nearer to home, Taman Melati.

The old Melawati site was convenient for me from the parking standpoint as well as access in and out. This year, the old site was being built up, and the vendors were moved further behind the old site and it was a nightmare.

Not only that parking was an issue, the the capacity of the place was also down to 25% of what it was. A major difference. It was more of a downgrade and hopefully it was just a temporary measure. As it went, I don't think the place would be attractive next year.

Instead of having four rows of stalls alongside each other, it was now just one long narrow lane with stalls lining both sides. Not fun to walk through. And the traffic jam....

The site was alongside one if the main back road in Melawati - leading up to the K Klub and the International School further down. As a result, the traffic was murder. I parked quite far away from the bazaar and ended up making a u-turn to return home. Nightmare.

Unfortunately, we might have to return here from time to time. And I'd better come in super early during weekends because the traffic would not too kind. Good luck to me...

More of the Pasar Ramadan Shoot

Certainly a single entry for the Pasar Ramadan would never be enough especially when trying out a new gear. Therefore, here were the rest .... while the first part can be found here.

Buah cempedak di luar pagar!Yes! Apa mahu?Looked nice. Not sure how it tasted though.Made from real coconutThe left oversColourful drinksPutu anyone?Real sheep meat?

The Pasar Ramadan Shoot

Finally I managed to try the X-Pro1 on its street photography prowess when I took it out for a spin at Pasar Ramadan in Taman Melawati. Being black, it looked discreet enough not to attract much attention. Certainly, people were not as wary at it as much as if I was carrying along a DSLR.

The focusing could be much faster, but not too bad. I could've stopped down the aperture for wider focusing depth, but that would be at the expense of the gorgeous bokeh the lens offered. I set it at f2.0 instead.

The place was still packed as I was about to leaveAbout 85% of my snaps were in focus, which was more than I expected. I was basically snapping away. With a bit more attention, I could've nailed more. The percentage could also be higher if I switched it into electronic viewfinder instead. But that would take away much of the camera's charm.

I also noticed that the camera tended to underexposed a bit. Maybe by about 1/3 stop. It could easily be remedied either on the camera during the snapping or later on Aperture. No biggies really.

The queue for this popiah was easily 40 people longThere was another half with "SELAMAT"A rather novel one, ala tandoori chicken, minus the skewersRows of chicken riceThe famous Khan Cendol in MelawatiLong queue obviouslyAnd how did the snaps looked like? It was amazing. It was sharp even wide open at f1.4, but the problem then would be depth of field. f2.8 should be just about right .....

More photo from this shoot can be seen here.