Back to Bak

For me, shopping for Raya had always been about convenience. Certainly not a fan of walking around in the heat in search of bargain, although I would not mind a trip to Masjid India in the evening. Similar to last year, I just get my baju Melayu ready made at Bak, which was only 10 minutes away from my in-law's place in Gombak. The price were quite reasonable and the cut was neat and comfortable.

We were there at around 5 pm when the rest of the crowd were busy at Pasar Ramadhan. The place was practically empty and it was easy to make the selection.

Most of the common sizes were almost sold outThey do come in plenty of shadesA bit too late to order from scratch The samping though were not exactly cheapI finally settled for a couple of pairs ...Anita could not decide what colour we should wear this year as she had multiple colours for her attire. I ended up choosing a couple of shades. Had to do some alterations to the sleeves and the clothes should be ready by the end of the week. 20 minutes and I was done ....

Lights are Up

We were entering the last 10 days of Ramadhan and it was about time that we get the lights we bought last month out of the box. It took a while to untangle the wires and after a few tries, Anita was finally happy with the setup.

We hung them along the railings of the verandah in our apartment and I was sure people driving down Bukit Pantai would be able to see them. Not too sure if they were still in fashion but when I was young, there must be lights towards the end of Ramadhan. My kampung in Kepala Batas would be filled with kerosene lamps and rumbles of fireworks could be heard for miles. The children would be roaming free during and after the Tarawikh prayers. Those were the days!

My only concern with the lights would be the rain. The wires looked shielded and the bulbs were all LED. Best to unplug them from the mains every night as not to cause any short circuit, but they looked nice when they were on.

Certainly made you excited about the coming Raya. Below is a short YouTube video of the lights.

Another Berbuka at Bukit Antarabangsa

Last weekend came my turn to sponsor the berbuka at the Surau near my parent's place. I was on call that day and was lucky that there was not that many admission around late afternoon. I managed to get things sorted out and spent a couple of hours at Bukit Antarabangsa.

Anita and the boys had been with my Mum instead since mid afternoon. The boys helped with some chores but spent most of the afternoon just dozing around. Their cousins unfortunately could not make it as my brother-in-law was also on duty.

Patiently waitingSome kueh for startersMy Dad being the "amil' at the surauApart from the food we catered, my Mum cooked her famous "gulai ikan kering", which was popular that night. Luckily we got some set aside to take home. I could not wait until Isya' since I had to go back for my evening rounds. The turn out was good and my Mum was really happy.

The Cookies are Back!

Anita's favourite cookies, LoveBakeCookies were back to Bangsar Village and yesterday, we didn't waste any time from picking a jar or four from the stall.

Truth be told, I was excited as well. The only problem was, they were not that cheap! There were some nice new flavours which Anita tried last night which turned out great. My personal favourite was the jam tart. They were not too sweat and I must say that the baker did not skim on the ingredients. The stock this year however was noticeably more expensive than last year. According to the staffs, the raw material was more expensive this time around. And there was also the GST.

It looked like we had to go there again before the end of Ramadhan to stock up. Last year, we left it too late and the variety which we wanted were already sold out. Hopefully that would not be the case this year.

Back to Melawati

Its a tradition for us. Every year, our local Pasar Ramadhan would be the one at Taman Melawati. Over the years it had gone through plenary of changes, in terms of location and appearance. It used to be in a large car park, four rows of shops, well spaced out. Plenty of stalls and food to choose from. A real go to spot when it came to shopping for berbuka.

For the last three years, the venue had changed and with that, the charm had disappeared. Many good stalls had decided to go elsewhere. My favourite drink joint was nowhere to be seen. What was left were pretty basic while some were downright mediocre.

I only went there because I was curious. Definitely not there because I wanted the food. And don't get me started about the traffic.

The new Pasar Ramadhan spot was located along one of the back row, on a smaller car park. Three rows of shops and parking meant leaving your car by the roadside of a busy main road. It was both a nightmare manouvering in and out of the place. Avenue you were late, forget it. You might end up in your car longer than the actual shopping.

I was there on the second day of Ramadhan. Definitely not a fan but if you must look for food for Berbuka, you may not have much of a choice.