Kampung Baru Ramadan Bazaar
Ramadan is an important month for Muslims everywhere, as they observe fasting from dawn to dusk. In Malaysia, this holy month is complemented by a slew of Ramadan bazaars popping up in our neighbourhood. They’ve become a yearly highlight for locals, drawing crowds with rows of stalls selling trendy beverages, colourful kuih, and popular Malay dishes.
Among the well-known bazaars in Kuala Lumpur, Kampung Baru Ramadan Bazaar is at the top of the bazaar list for many reasons, thanks to its array of food and proximity to the city centre.
With a slew of food options, we challenged ourselves to an RM50 budget to see what we’ll be able to get for iftar.
What you can get with RM50 at Kampung Baru Ramadan bazaar
This popular bazaar spot is located right in the middle of KL, near the Petronas Twin Towers. Rows of food and beverage stalls sit under a bigger canopy, shielding both stalls and visitors from potential rainfall.
So, if you’re worried about rain in the evening, Kampung Baru Ramadan Bazaar can easily shelter you and hundreds of other visitors under its fanned canopy.
Iced mango from Air Jus Padu
If you have trouble choosing a drink, know that you can never go wrong with a fruit drink. With the buzz around air balang, this stall sells thirst-quenching drinks at a reasonable price. Both drinks are RM4 each, served in a medium-sized cup.
Once brought home for iftar, the drinks were still slightly sweet despite already being diluted by the melted ice. The iced mango has small fresh mango bits, like the pulp you can find in orange juice. While this is good for those looking for a taste of fresh mango, it does leave a tingling sweet sensation on your tongue after a while.
Oyster omelette from Or Chian
As a snack, we were drawn to the oyster omelette by Or Chian stall, as it offers something a little different from Malay kuih when we were hunting for snacks.
For the uninitiated, oyster omelette is made out of eggs, starch batter, and fresh oysters, which are then pan-fried until crispy on the edges. This stall prepares it on the spot, so you can bring home an oyster omelette still hot from the pan.
For RM15, this oyster omelette is certainly for those who like to try new things, and don’t mind the chewy texture of both the potato starch and oyster. Although this dish would do wonders if the oysters were a little less fishy, which we presumed was caused by the quality of the oysters used.
Tomato rice from Raudhah
Tomato rice, or nasi tomato, is a fragrant rice dish cooked with tomato sauce and spices, and often paired with ayam masak merah.
This stall sells a generous heap of tomato rice with ayam masak merah for only RM8. Just like any other tomato rice you can find across the country, nothing can go wrong with choosing this dish as your main course. It’s safe, fragrant, and fills the stomach. The ayam masak merah tastes slightly sweet with that tangy tomato taste that all Malaysians are familiar with.
If you’re unsure of what to have for iftar, a good ol’ tomato rice will never let you down.
Char kuey teow with fried egg from Mamu Penang
This is another dish to get whenever you find yourself overwhelmed with choices.
Char kuey teow is a popular street hawker dish that many Malaysians are familiar with. This simple and quick dish is only RM6 if you request an additional sunny side up. While we love a classic char kuey teow, a little less salt can move this dish from good to perfect.
Cheesekut from Dessert Mini
Cheesekut is a local no-bake dessert made up of cream cheese, condensed milk, a bit of full cream milk, and Marie biscuits. At this stall in Kampung Baru bazaar, they’ve made a mini version of the layered dessert, perfect for those looking to have sweets in moderation. To make it even more interesting, they sprinkled different crushed biscuits over the cream cheese mix.
We bought four different flavours: red velvet, Nestum, matcha, and Biscoff. This sweet and creamy dessert is only RM1/pax, and it’s perfect for moreh.
Putu piring from Warisan Klasik Ibunda
Putu piring is a traditional Malay kuih consisting of steamed rice flour with palm sugar filling. This sweet snack costs RM5 per box, with each serving coming with four pieces of the putu piring. This stall nails putu piring, a deceivingly simple dish. The rice flour is fluffy, and the filling is adequate. This balance makes this a worthy kuih to get, especially for moreh.
What to get at Kampung Baru Ramadan Bazaar in KL
All in all, our total spend was RM46. With that, Kampung Baru Ramadan Bazaar is definitely worth a go, especially if you’re buying with friends and family. For RM50, you can easily feed a group of 2-3 people.
This bazaar is also only a 10-minute walk from LRT Kampung Baru Station, so you don’t have to stress over getting a parking spot to begin your hunt for food at the bazaar.
Cover image adapted from: TheSmartLocal Malaysia