Ramadhan Special 2014: Bussorah Street Bazaar

3rd year in a row we're going back to the Bussorah Street Bazaar!!

Despite feedback that the stalls are pretty much the same every year and there's nothing special, I guess we feel that this is one of the original bazaars around (even though the location has shifted a little bit).

And indeed it was mostly the same stalls but some newer ones too I guess...
Let's talk a walk together...

There was this guy I saw. At first I thought he was selling some kind of noodles since he was dunking something into scalding water.... And then upon closer inspection...

Rojak Bandung!!

Familiar names like Anjung and Dahlia Cafe were back again for another year!

Saw this stall called Noe's Kitchen and stopped by because my Darling Wife was feeling like some Badak Berendam! And it looked they might actually have it because they were selling mainly desserts and stuff like that.

In that last pic, we saw something that looked like our target - Badak Berendam.
We even asked the lady if it was Badak Berendam and she acknowledged yes it was.
So we bought it.

Well, unfortunately it was not Badak Berendam. Something close but not quite.
The 'Badak' itself was kinda different and the 'santan' was more of a sugary water with some santan.
Maybe we have the wrong idea? But cannot be right? Oh well.

Wow! Rendang Kebab! Something new!!

There was also this stall that seemed really popular based on the queue.
They were selling Nasi Bukhari. You could choose from Chicken or Mutton.

Another regular at the Bussorah Street Bazaar was Amirah's Grill ready to serve up delights!

It's not a very long stretch and it's actually really quite crowded because of the cramp space.
But I think if you're in the area, it's quite nice to actually walk around and soak up some of the bazaar atmosphere.

Hopefully they'll be able to have this bazaar every year :)

Bussorah Street Ramadhan Bazaar 2014


Bussorah Mall/Muscat Street
Operating Hours: 3.00pm til 8.00pm

Epok Epok Central

I grew up in the Eunos Crescent neighbourhood.
Back then, the Eunos Crescent Market was in full swing and the adjoining food centre was just as popular.
From early morning breakfast til evening dinner. Everyone cam to get something.

And there was something for everyone too.
There were two whole sections of Chinese (Non-Halal) hawkers and only one section of Malay/Indian (Halal) hawkers. But that one section alone has so many treasures. And there was something for everyone.

Abu Bakar stall was famous for its Nasi Jenganan and Nasi Rawan.
Ali Baba stall famous for Roti Prata. Arifin stall for its Chicken Rice. Then there was the 'no sign' Kacang Pool' stall which also sold a pretty mean Rojak Buah. Then there was 'Mee Kak Tik'.
And so many more I can hardly remember.

The old market burned down some years ago and it took awhile for the new one to be built.
In that time, some of the hawkers probably moved on and decided not to wait for the new market to be built. But some of them returned to the old neighbourhood with a brand new market place.

One of those that was a staple back in the day and still stayed on - Epok Epok Central.

People would queue up for the fresh and hot epok-epok which seemed to come out in endless batches.
If there was one place for epok-epok then Epok Epok Central was it.

Potato, Sardine & Egg Epok-Epok

Just like before, you can get 3 types of epok-epok.
There's the default Potato & Sardine epok-epok ($0.40 each) and there's the Egg epok-epok ($0.60).
The Egg epok-epok has some potato filling in it as well.

The first thing I have to pint out is that I don't remember the epok-epok being so expensive in the past.
Of course, we are talking about the 90s when I was a kid so definitely the prices were lower back then.
But even in today's modern times, I'm guessing a few people would raise an eyebrow or two when the hear the price of $0.40 or $0.60 for an epok-epok.

What's that you say? The price seems reasonable?
Well, that depends on how you relate the price to the size of the product.

Yes that is my hand. And yes that is the epok-epok.
Now do you see what I was talking about when I mentioned the size?

The epok-epok is definitely bite-sized which I'm guessing some people (like my Mum) will appreciate.
Because this means that the pastry will be nice a crispy. Which it definitely is. Love that crisp!
The pastry has a nice bite to it and is not oily at all. They have definitely mastered the art of frying the epok-epok to ensure that it's a nice crispy golden brown.

The filling itself is also quite tasty. But....

(From left to right) Potato, Sardine, Egg

For those of you whole love your filling, then there might be some issue.

The filling itself is very tasty. The taste of the potato filling is especially tasty to me.
However, the sardine epok-epok seemed to have more onions than anything else. And that is simply something that I despise in my Sardine epok-epok.

Why call it Sardine if you're just going to pack it with onions? If you're worried about your sardine mixture being fishy then work on your mixture instead of taking the short-cut of piling on the onions I say.

To be honest the potato mixture also had its fair share of onions but at least I could get some potato chunks.
For the Egg version, you get about 1/5 of an egg stuffed in with the potato mixture.

Adam's Verdict:
Potato 3/5 -- Sardine 2/5 -- Egg 3.5/5

Epok Epok Central remains a familiar name when it comes to the tasty snack we all love.
Nowadays with places like Old Chang Kee offering fat oily currypuffs at a bargain price of $1.20, I guess it's easy to see how old-school places like this are on the losing end.

In fact, the long queue at the stall when I went was actually for the Nasi Lemak which they also seem to sell.
The old stall used to sell just epok-epok. Nothing else.
Maybe the Nasi Lemak is damn nice? I might check it out next time.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe Epok Epok Central's standards have really dropped.
But I'll never forget the excitement as a kid when Mum & Dad brought home some epok-epok.

 Epok Epok Central

Eunos Crescent Food Market & Food Centre
Blk 4A Eunos Crescent #01-09

Operating Hours:
9am -10pm Tuesday til Sunday
Closed on Monday

Ayam Penyet Ria

My wife brought me to this place back when we were dating.
Even then she already knew that the way to my heart was through my stomach!

And since that day, it seems that Ayam Penyet Ria has vastly expanded.
Besides the original store in Lucky Plaza, they now have a total of 5 branches! Wow they must be good!

Well how about some appetizers first?

Emping ($1.50)

This is really going to get your taste buds prepared for the full meal ahead.
A mix of Kerupuk Belinjau and Kerupuk Udang is a winner especially when you have it with the sambal that accompanies it. Good price for a good start!

And while we were looking over the menu, we saw the waiter carrying this basket of fried stuff.
No not the kerupuk lah. It was something that seemed very stringy. And then we saw the promo poster.
Automatically we knew we had to order it.

Fried Enoki Mushrooms (3.90)

And for the record, that looks absolutely NOTHING like the poster lah.

This is apparently a new item on the menu that I have no doubts will definitely appeal to a lot of people because, well, most people love Enoki mushrooms. And even though it would be considered a little pricey, it's still a must-try right?

Well let me save you all the trouble. Don't buy it. And if you do, hope you get a better batch.
I think we may have gotten the bottom of the mushroom barrel on that order.
When I say Enoki mushrooms, I'm thinking long stalks all bunched together and coated nicely with batter and just frying it long enough to get a crisp. As you can see from the picture above, nothing is bunched together and the mushrooms were fried for too long.

And I personally think they look like fried tadpoles.

Sayur Asam ($3.90)

I love Sayur Asam and it's becoming increasingly difficult to find a good bowl of it nowadays.
The best I've ever had was long ago at Pondok Gurame (when they were still in Katong) but I have to say the Sayur Asam at Ria is actually damn nice.

At least I know where to go if I need my Sayur Asam fix.

And now on to the real food eh.

Nasi Ayam Penyet ($6.90)

My darling wife had the 'original' Nasi Ayam Penyet.
And staying true to tradition, it's served with a bowl of plain white rice and not the 'chicken rice' type deal.

Besides that, you also get fried tempeh, cucumber, cabbage and also some blanched kangkong.

And don't forget a nice big dollop of the famous Ria Sambal.
(which is free flow by the way)

As you can see, the chicken is still very tender while having a very nice and crispy exterior. Tasty and not at all dried out.

My darling wife is such a big fan of this place and it's very easy to see why. So far it's never failed to disappoint her and that means that they have a good consistent product which is a very good thing which is tough to come by nowadays especially with food chains that are expanding.

I mean come on, how may times have you gone to a different brand of your favourite makan place and you felt that the food seemed a little bit off-standard compared to your usual haunt?

Empal Penyet ($6.90)

Well, as usual, you know I've gots to have me some beef.
So I had the Empal Penyet which is basically one big piece of beef which has been fried and smashed (or should I say penyet-ed) for some yummy good times.

And I can safely say the words "big piece of beef" this time and I would be telling the truth.
We all remember the time we had 'Dapur Penyet' right?

Well this was nice and tender and well worth the money I tell you. Super!

And I know I mentioned it just now but I think it's only fair that I speak a little more about the sambal.

Do. Not. Mess. With. This. Sambal.

Okay so maybe you die-hard hantu chili will be able to take it with no issues. I'm actually not too bad myself and this was a really really tasty sambal but after awhile... HELP ME HELP ME MY MOUTH IS ON FIREEEEEEEE okay so maybe I'm exaggerating a little.

My wife keeps pairs it with the sweet soy sauce which they have and she keeps topping it up so you know it's got to be damn good right.

Adam's Verdict:
Empal Penyet 5/5 -- Emping 3/5 -- Enoki Mushrooms 1/5 -- Sayur Asam 4/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Ayam Penyet 5/5 -- Emping 5/5 -- Enoki Mushrooms 0/5

Oh and before I forget to mention... try the Soda Gembira (literally Happy Soda).
It's just Bandung with 7-Up. And it rocks.

Soda Gembira ($2.10)

And I know I said my darling wife and I have always gotten 100% satisfaction from Ria everytime we went.
But everytime we went, it was to the Lucky Plaza (4th floor) outlet.

They have another outlet on the 1st floor, one at Bedok Point, one at Far East Plaza and another at Jurong Point. I cannot vouch for all the other outlets I must say. But if they are as good at the Lucky Plaza one then you're gonna have a damn good meal.

Ayam Penyet Ria

Lucky Plaza
304 Orchard Road
#04-25

Operating Hours:
12.00pm til 9.00pm Daily

HalalDeals.sg

So my bro calls me and asks me if I've heard of HalalDeals.sg.
And obviously I have not. "It's like Groupon but for Halal stuff" he tells me.
And I'm thinking "Oh no not another Groupon voucher site".

Well I couldn't have been more wrong.

So HalalDeals.sg works pretty much like most of the other 'coupon' shopping sites that seems to have cropped up in recent years (ie Groupon, Voucherlicious etc). The main difference - they deal with Halal stuff.
And I initially thought it was just Halal food but apparently even Halal services like beauty services are also some deals you might find on the site.

But make no mistake - HalalDeals.sg is in no way related to Groupon whatsover.

So the way it works is pretty easy.
Sign up for an account which takes a few minutes and you're ready to shop!
If you see a deal you like, click for more details and if you agree with the price, you can make payment via credit card and you'll be sent an e-voucher. You can bring the e-voucher to the merchant and redeem your purchase! It's that simple.

But just like the other similar sites, please be sure to read the fine print for the deals.
All of them should have some validity (eg redeem within 1 month etc) and you have be know exactly what you're paying for right?

And, of course, me being the ever-thoughtful guy - I decided to try it out first hand.
And it was a very impressive experience. (You can all thank me later)

So here's what happened.
I selected to purchase deals from 2 different makan places - Olivye & Siamese Cat Restaurant (both of which I will obviously be reviewing soon!). And the purchasing process was really simple. Just read the deal and fine print, make the payment and an email was sent to me.

After awhile I got a bit worried because I hadn't received my vouchers.
But since it was pretty late at night, I figured I'd just call their help line the next day when I was free.
I was only free in the evening after work and I decided to send them an email instead to explain that I had not received the vouchers which I had purchased.

And to my surprise, I received a phone call within 5 minutes of sending out the email.
A lady at the end of the other line explained to me that they had noticed I had not "claimed" my vouchers after purchase (apparently I was supposed to have been given the option to download the vouchers but obviously I missed that one) and they had in fact re-sent me the vouchers in the morning.

As it was a new address, it went to my Junk Mail folder instead and she re-sent me the email again just in case. Not only did I receive her 2nd email, the 1st email was indeed in my Junk Mail folder
Anyways no need to worry so much because when you log in to your account, you can view the deals you purchased and print out the vouchers from there.

In that conversation, I learned that HalalDeals.sg was literally new (it was launched on 24 September).
And if you ask me personally, it looks like that have a good good chance at expanding!

When I first visited last week, there were only 3 deals.
Well as of my last check today, more deals have been added (a total of 6 as you can see above) and I believe more should be on the way!

I foresee a bright future for this site if it gets the right support.
And if the deals continue to be good, it looks like I'll be reviewing a lot of the deals that they offer!

Who knows... maybe in future HalalDeals.sg might wanna do a tie up with The Halal Food Blog?
*hint hint*

So remember. The address is HalalDeals.sg
I've added them as a link on this blog and you can Like them on FB and follow them on Twitter as well.
Let me know if you come across any good deals worth reviewing!