Ramadhan... here and there

The holy month is back!  This being my first Ramadhan in Bristol, I was really curious how the food 'feel' is going to be.  Back in Malaysia, mention Ramadhan, and images of food in abundance will  come to mind, although the month should really be about performing 'ibadah', doing good and being patient ...

(Recall mode)
Come Ramadhan, food bazaars will be sprouting out everywhere in Malaysia. The choice of food ... enough to make Ethiopia weep!!  There'll be all kinds of nasi (rice) dishes - fried rice, nasi lemak, chicken rice, biryani, nasi dagang, nasi  kerabu, nasi campur, etc.  A variety of noodles - mee rebus, laksa, mee sup, kuewtiau goreng, etc.  Assortment of kuihs (traditional cakes): curry puffs, cucur udang, buah melaka, kuih cara, apam balik, my favourite putu piring :).  Other Malaysian food - satay, ayam percik, murtabak, ikan bakar... and beverages - fresh tofu, air kelapa muda, sugarcane ...

Makcik yang jual putu piring *Perghh!* kat USJ4
Photo credit:  Ricky Lai / The Star

And if you think, that's all, hotels are cashing-in, too.  An all-you-can-eat Ramadhan buffet is priced around RM 65 to RM 180 per person (which is very expensive to the average Malaysian).   Believe me, the 13 hours of fasting does not make you hungry enough to eat all-you-can :P.

During the last ten days of Ramadhan, there'll be a different kind of madness.  Instead of seeking the reverred Lailatul Qadar (the Night of Power), shoppers will throng Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman for *Lailatul Kamdar (Nights of Raya Shopping)... Hehehe! On a sombre note, the only people laughing all the way to the bank are the businessmen and seasonal entrepreneurs... Huhuhu!

(Here and now)
Ramadhan in Bristol is a quiet affair.  We fast for about 17 hours over here, but so far even the kids have gone through it without much complaint.  During break of fast or iftar, we eat whatever food that I can whipped up in the short time that I have, after coming home from school.  There's no **PARAM nor all-you-can-eat.  Only all-I-can-cook, which is not bad at all :).  Dah duduk jauh ni boleh pulak masak itu ini... hehehe!  Most important, semua yang dihidangkan licin!  No leftovers (as always the case back home).  Nak makan macam-macam, tunggu weekends.  Last weekend, we had a buka puasa potluck with the Indonesian community and what a spread!  K. Ani's bubur lambuk ... Perghh!! Kalah bubur lambuk Masjid Kg Baru! Yumms!! :D

nasi ayam ku :)

Itulah rezeki kami di Bristol ni...  For that we are truly thankful :)


*    Lailatul Kamdar - credits to Eijarm for coining this term on Facebook :)
**  PARAM = Pasar Ramadhan (Ramadhan Bazaar)