Eating In Translation

Ramadan bazaars

During the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observant Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. In Kuala Lumpur, preparations for buka puasa, the fast-breaking meal, often begin in midafternoon with a visit to one of the city's many pop-up Ramadan bazaars.

There's always a sense of excitement in the air, even when you don't overhear a long-forgotten adventure theme blaring tinnily from a streetside TV. There's also a feeling of fellowship: That same evening, several men on separate occasions made their greetings, asked if I was traveling alone, and invited me to join their table in breaking the fast. And of course there's the food, some of which is prepared especially for Ramadan; my slideshow barely begins to capture the bewildering variety. You should see for yourself, if you can.

Ramadan bazaars
Kuala Lumpur
(From a 2010 visit)

Mr. Wong's Popia

Nice wrap.

Ipoh Old Town

It's the water, they say. When asked what's so special about their noodles, such as the rice ribbons called hor fun, natives of Ipoh, Malaysia, cite the limestone formations that surround the city. Because the local water is alkaline (that is, hard), goes the theory, noodles made in Ipoh are silky soft.

Lim Brothers Fruit

A sugar-cane juicer can do only so much. As with the species I encountered in Vietnam and southern China under equally parched conditions, cutting away the tough outer layer of the stalks makes the actual cane-pressing more productive. Even then, several passes through the press are usually needed to squeeze out every last drop. Sugar cane juice (rm 2.50, about 80 cents at the time.)

Lim Brothers Fruit
Lorong Ara Kiri 3, Lucky Garden, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur
(From a summer 2010 visit)

Aunt Christina's

Curry laksa sans curry.

Limau manis truck

Looks like an edible ball crawl.

Dessert cart

If not for a few mobile vendors, this awkward space beside a supermarket driveway would go unused.

Mr. Lee's kueh stand

Stand? I wish I'd seen it roll up.

Aroma Nyonya Kueh

The bright blue in this butterflied pair of pulut tai-tai (rm 1.30), a traditional kueh prepared for Nyonya weddings, comes from the sundried, boiled petals of the bunga telang. Whether that flower was chosen because of its resemblance to a part of the female anatomy (hence the scientific name), I don't know. Just don't call it Mulva.

Blue, by the by, is only blue; the glutinous rice is prepared with coconut milk, but the flowers add no flavor of their own. Pulut tai-tai is typically served with kaya, a pandan-flavored coconut spread; here, a firmer pandan layer may have been employed for ease of production and transport.

Aroma Nyonya Kueh
Inside O&S Restaurant, Jln. 20/14, Paramount Garden, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
(one of many locations)
www.AromaNyonya.com
(From a December 2006 visit)

Rojak Penang truck

Not the cendol truck I had in mind, but by wandering off-course I enjoyed an extra course.