Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar - a smorgasboard of foods and drinks!

Every year, Muslims observe the holy month of Ramadan, whereby they do not eat/drink from dawn until dusk. Furthermore, it is a month that Muslims worldwide devote themselves to prayers, reading the Quran and acts of kindness to others such as donating to charity, helping the homeless and so forth. The month typically lasts 30 days and is followed by Eid-Fitri, in which Muslims celebrate the month of Syawal. In Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia or Singapore, Ramadan bazaars are the norm, and citizens usually get their dinner at these bazaars to break their fast with.

Today, I'm going to highlight some of the top offerings at Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar, an annual month-long night market held in Singapore. It is the largest Ramadan bazaar in Singapore, and thousands of people come to the bazaar every year. Think street food but even more outrageous versions.

Savouries
The Raclette Factory

Pan fried potatoes + sausages + expensive French cheese = winning combination? The dish was priced at $12, which is pretty high for Ramadan bazaar food (which is usually priced at $4-6). I thought it was delicious, especially since I added some chilli sauce to the dish. However, expect an insanely long queue, as with the other foods that will be mentioned in this post.

Handsome Burg by Word.

The most famous and recognizable entry, the Handsome Burg is priced at $8, but usually goes for $20++ when sold at their brick and mortar store. Imagine a huge beef patty stuck between cheese and two slightly sweet + buttery bagels and maple syrup drizzled over it. It is to DIE FOR.

Rainbow Tamago

Want something Japanese/healthy/not fried? Then try this rainbow egg roll + ham with mentaiko sauce and bonito flakes. It is extremely flavorful, and won't cause you to loosen your belt. It is currently priced at $6.

Poke Rice Rolls by Poke/Ritto

Comes in 3 flavours: the Spicy, Wasabi and Oriental. Instead of raw fish like in traditional poke, this dish utilizes cooked seafood, scallops and crabmeats and oyster. It tastes like really good variations of the traditional sushi roll. I love me some Japanese food, so I was a sucker for these bad boys. The Oriental roll was coated with chicken-flavoured snacks, whereas the Spicy roll was coated with..... You guessed it, flaming hot cheetos!

Katoshka

Hand-cut fries with local flavours (sambal cheese/beef chilli). The Sambal cheese was my favourite. The fries was crispy and on-point, and the sambal was sweet + spicy but not overwhelmingly so. Super worth it.

Taco Dendeng by Dendeng Duo
Mexican food is on the up in Singapore, and a unique version of it is the Taco Dendeng. This taco contains the normal taco shell and vegetables and also dendeng, the beef version of Bak Kwa. Essentially, its a thin slice of barbequed beef. Get it with cheese for an extra $1 as the cheese holds the taco together and allows the flavours to blend as one.

Seafood platter by Shellburnz
Oysters. With cheese. Grilled. 6 portions for $10. An absolute steal IMO.

Desserts

Were you looking for cold dessert suggestions? Why not start off with deep-fried desserts? Comes in 3 flavours: original, thai milk tea and Pandan (custard derived from the Pandan leaf). It is sweet, warm and soothes my soul. Pandan is my favorite; it tastes like infused goodness, not artificial crap. A full platter is priced at $9.50.

Deep-fried oreos. Need I say more?

A watermelon smoothie in a watermelon with watermelon bits. I love me some watermelon so I finished this bad boy by myself.

Drinks
Bucket Gangster at Word

$8 for a drink? You must be insane! But it's so goddamn big, you could probably feed 4 people with it. And its most popular flavour is Mat Rep, which is ice cream soda + lemongrass + plum. It's super refreshing, and was a well-needed break amongst all the fatty and savoury foods.

Butterscotch Float
Very similar to the Butterbeer, it goes for $6.50. And you get to keep the mason jar! Why not right?

Blue Bandung and Pandan Lychee
Even more neon coloured drinks? Hell yeah! Each bottle was priced at $6. My favourite was Soldier's Pride, which contains pandan, apple and lychee. So refreshing, but the Blue Pandan was good too.

In conclusion, the Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar is full of treats and gems that I would recommend to anyone. It is currently being held until the 24th of June, so don't miss out! My main tips are:

1. Take public transport to the bazaar e.g. Uber or MRT. DO NOT TRY TO PARK; you will not find a parking spot anywhere nearby OR will be stuck in traffic for hours.
2. Go in a huge group of friends e.g. 5-10 people. Each person goes to a different stall and then meet up at a spot nearby after 30 minutes.
3. Bring a mini-fan and stay hydrated. Loads of people + hot weather + hot grills + stoves = sweat city!