There was a Gongxi-Lent-Puasa Light-Up at Telok Ayer on 10th February featuring the minister Zaqy Mohamad with Rev Master Lee Zhiwang, President of Taoist Mission Singapore, Haji Arif Sulaiman, Chairman of Al Abrar Mosque, Rev Edmund Koh, Pastor in Charge of Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church and Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, Chairman of Humanity Matters.
Yes, I copy pasted that all because they really, it’s a Singapore thing to just have everyone in it.
In any case, I went to Kampong Glam and they had their light up too but I didn’t go there for that.
I was wanting to check out what kind of food was in trend at the pasar malam this year and interestingly, the curation of food was not as wild as the previous few years which is good.
I did go “Huh, what’s a pastacos” and no, it’s not a pasta in tacos or tacos in pasta, it’s just a stall selling both.
On the other side of the street there was also ‘cheese wheel pastas’.
We had sweet stuff like tapak kuda, a traditional Malay kueh/cake thing and there’s Indian pani puri!! Pani puri has been a thing in pasar malams now and yes, (in general) Malay people in Singapore like the taste cause it’s got all the flavours mixed up and the textures are great and crunchy too.
When it’s going to be Ramadan, the sugarcane stall is going to be so popular. I like to have it with lemon by the way. And you can totally see the typical fare of Ramly burgers (which aren’t really Ramly patties cause that’s illegal in Singapore) with the lekor snacks and whatnot.
There’s a new shop called RÖSTii that just opened in time before Ramadan and right on that same street so you know it’ll be packed when it’s time to break fast at sunset.
So what’s my verdict? It was a good curation, whatever ‘trendy’ food is spaced away from each other. Like, there’s one Chinese Muslim fried pancake (roti) stall at one end of a street and the other nearer to the entrance of the mosque. Two different brands, same type of food but of course their recipes are different.
Two different taco types. The usual birria tacos are there (I do like those) and then drink stalls all around. That one, it’s of course more than two because people really need hydration but it’s different flavours.
The only sad thing as you walk around, it’s the first year with Warung Pariaman closed at the end of the area where the pasar malam is. It’s kinda weird with it closed up like that.
In any case, there’s also some clothing stalls ‘inside’ and some seating areas with a stage underneath the tentage.
What’s also interesting is that most of the bazaars are opening before Ramadan starts and you DO see all the influencers and video people quickly taking videos of the food to advertise before Ramadan starts next week.
If you for some reason see me around, I’m just trying to jump out of your shot so I won’t be in your background.
Also no, I haven’t been to Geylang to check out the bazaar is there like but for me, the one at Kampong Glam is sufficient for the vibes or takeaway to bring home.