Malaysia – View of a Ramadan Bazaar (1)

This is one of the happening thing in Malaysia which is the celebration of Hari Raya Puasa. If you were following on my previous posting; Malaysia – Next Big Celebration coming…. Hari Raya Puasa . This is a continuation of it but it is a topic by itself.

A month before the this celebration, our Muslim friends will fast for a month and during this month, the food traders will take this opportunity to sell their food before the breaking of fast. Today, I will share with you of my visit to one of the Ramadan Bazaar.

The Ramadan Bazaar offer an array of delicious fare of Malay food. These bazaars are closed throughout the day, but come to life in the late afternoon as bazaar food shops prepare food for Muslims breaking their fast at sundown.

The shoppers in the bazaars aren’t all Muslim, though; Malaysian Chinese, Indians and foreign tourists also benefit from the bazaars’ great eats and bargains.

Roasted chicken on the grill. That a pick. 😊

Many choices of drink… all packed for those breaking fast.

Lots of people walking around and looking for the many options and varieties to choose from.

Bee Hoon soup…..

More Malay food….

Drinks….

Malay style Yong tau foo and also they offer squid and Kangkung mixed w prawn paste.

More pictures to come. Stay tune on my next post.

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Penang – Celebration of Thaipusam (4) …. my 100th post!!!

Wow… I cant believe I have hit my 100th post in 3 months and have over 500 followers. Thanks to all my readers and followers for keeping me going. If it is not for you all, I would not have come this far.

For this post, it will be my final part on the celebration of Thaipusam in Penang. A matter of fact, in Malaysia, Thaipusam is also celebrated in a big scale in Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur aside from Penang.

More pictures from the celebration….

Smashed coconuts on the road by the devotees..

You can also see that it is not only the Indians that come to pray to Lord Murugan but also the Chinese community too.

After smashing the coconuts, the town council people will be ready to quickly clean up the smashed coconuts aside so that the chariots can go through.

This is the silver chariot that is carrying Lord Murugan ….

So, the next time if you are down in Malaysia during these period, do come and join and watch this celebration. You will be marveled by it. =)

The sign is clear…. Chinese New Year is near (part 4)

This is a follow up from my previous blog; The sign is clear…. Chinese New Year is near (part 3)

Went to a shopping center this morning after having breakfast . You can see lots of red lanterns and decorations for sale. Some of them are traditional decorations while some are more modern ones. So which or what should I get? hmmmmm….

Lanterns?

….or Chinese Prosperity Money God?

or…. nice little cute stuff snakes for the Year of the Snake?

Well… Chinese New Year is one of the big celebration here (and in Asia) and … it will be interesting the things that will happen as the festival approaches.

It’s so bitter taste… but it’s good for you

Weather has not been good lately; hot then suddenly in the evening it rains nearly daily. To make it worse, staying in office for 8 hours with no fresh air but just air con air recirculating around. If someone in office is down with flu, it is sure to be generous to pass to the next person or persons.

So what the next best thing to do? Go down and have a cup of herbal tea (or bitter tea) as this tea contains more than 20 Chinese herbs which it believe not only to cool down our inner body but some say good for the skin too (mmmm that’s what they say)

For me, as I was just feeling a bit uncomfortable but not having any runny nose or cough, I took the standard herbal tea. If you are having flu, you can request with medicine powder added. That would make the tea even more bitter but it is good. For me, it helps me nearly all the time. 😊

They also sell the herbal jelly but I have not tried theirs yet but not sure whether it will be sweet or bitter.

Anyway,I will try to make it a point to stop by here at least once a week and have a drink to keep me body internally cool. Lol!! (literally speaking 😜)

Ceremonial prayers from a 4s lens …

Today I followed my family to a ceremonial prayers where people go there to request for help or advise. They also give offering. Some of you may have seen while some may not.

Here are some pictures to share.

Can you guess the animal candy shape?

On the other side…. there is a Chinese opera show performance. Will share this in the next blog. Stay tune!

Full moon package gift??? What the heck is this?

What is this full moon package? You must be wondering. Keep on reading….

Guess for those who are not a custom to the Asian Chinese culture, this full moon package is the gift of thanks from the parents of a new born baby who reached exactly 1 mth old.

I am not sure about other Asian countries but in Malaysia, this is usually the gift box of food Malaysian Chinese will give to their relatives or friends. Some will give cakes or things that are sweet like chocolates in little cute gift boxes.

You may be wondering what kind of food they give if it is not cakes or sweet or chocolate…, well here are some shots.

Inside the package you will find yellow glutinous rice, hard boiled eggs colour in red colour, curry chicken and lastly is the sweet pastry called ‘Ang Ku’

A close up of the yellow glutinous rice and the ‘Ang Ku’

The ‘Ang Ku’ is actually a hokkien name ; one of the chinese dialect, meaning red (Ang) turtle (Ku). If you notice the shape and pattern looks like a turtle shell.

What is inside the red turtle? Well it is filled with meshed yellow bean and it taste sweet. The red ‘shell’ which has a slight rubbery feel, has one taste that you never forget. When you take that bite into one of these little things, it will keep you wanting for more.