Where to feast like the locals at Malaysia's Ramadan bazaars
During the Muslim holy month, visitors to Malaysia are greeted with a smorgasbord of street food at lively sunset markets held at the end of each day of fasting
It seems ironicthat Islam's holy month is one of the best times to wrap your taste buds around Malaysia's delicious kaleidoscope of Chinese, Indian and Malay flavours. The myriad spicy and sweet food offerings, brilliant at the best of times, peak during the Ramadan festivities, as Muslims switch from fasting mode to a public feast. For non-Muslims, post-fasting Ramadan bazaars are the place to celebrate with Malay friends.
From late afternoon, main city thoroughfares close to traffic and morph into an array of outdoor restaurants as crowds descend on the sunset markets for a communal buka puasa — a breaking of the fast. As many as 300 stalls are lined up under a rainbow of marquees or umbrellas to protect them from the frequent tropical downpours. Here are five of Malaysia's best.
Jalan Masjid India, Kuala Lumpur
One of the capital's liveliest bazaars unfurls along Jalan Masjid India and the adjacent shopping strip of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, or "TAR" for short (light rail station Masjid Jamek). Bargain snacks, textiles and knickknacks mingle here. The food stalls are a showcase for national and regional dishes such as sour fishy Penang laksa, Hokkien mee fried noodles with prawns, samosas and pau mince dumplings as well as special celebratory foods. Some stalls have set up makeshift kitchens and cook dishes on the spot. Others have everything meticulously prepared and pre-packaged in individual portions.
Here you will find rice, noodles and chicken dishes galore: the ubiquitous mixed rice, or nasi campur; steamed rice with fried chicken (nasi ayam), honeyed chicken (ayam madu) and fragrant, aromatic Persian-style nasi briyani served with chicken. Amid the tents are tables with cutlery and napkins, so you don't have to eat on the go. Every table boasts a pot of lada, a fiery chilli and vinegar condiment.
The sound of Muslim prayer floats through the streets from the Mogul-inspired old city mosque, Masjid Jamek.