SINGAPORE — Out of 120 F & B shops at Singapore’s popular Ramadan Bazaar at Kampong Gelam, which runs until March 25, there are both innovative and traditional food stalls for visitors to sample and enjoy.
Smashed Taco is one of the most popular stalls there and offers a twist of tacos on thick beef patties and special sauce. Kaleem, 32, and Ammar, 30, run the show and are originally known for smashed burgers. Both said they enjoy traveling abroad in order to sample and be inspired by foreign dishes and to bring and adapt some of these foods to be introduced at home in Singapore.
“In Singapore, it’s hard to have a burger joint,” Kaleem recently told a small group of ASEAN journalists at Kampong Gelam, the historical, cultural and religious centre of Singaporean Malays. Kaleem was referring to fierce competition from big American chains like McDonald’s and the like. It’s imperative that they come up with their own special sauce, both for salsa and burger, and it was a success, with many queuing for their fast food.
Another innovative food stall on offer is Satay Ummi. It’s a satay with a twist in that it’s a pan-fried satay instead of grilled and served not in a stick but in pieces. Lydia Izzati, the lady who owns the stall and restaurant, said it allows for a couple to consume the famous dish more easily and neatly.
“It’s easier to eat,” she explained, adding that a young woman with her boyfriend can serve a small piece of satay to one another instead of having to hold a full stick of satay, which comes in chicken, beef, and mutton.
On a traditional side is the House of Lemang, which serves beef rendang, a tasty Malaysian curry, considered by many to be the most delicious type of Malay curry. While the stall is temporary, the shop on Kandahar Road in the district has been around for nearly 29 years. The taste is sublime although the dish is becoming more uncommon in Singapore.
The writer have tasted food from all three stalls and they don’t disappoint. But there are dozens more to choose from if you visit the Ramadan Bazaar at Kampong Gelam.
NOTE: The writer would like to thank One Kampong Gelam for the kind invitation, and to Muse & Motif for organising the trip.
The Ramadan Bazaar runs from 2pm till late at night daily.
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