Pasar Malam

Now that Puasa is finally here again, pasar malams (or pasars malams? maybe just night markets :P) will be getting more and more common. I cheated a bit, and took pictures at the market at the back of the Gadong Wet Market during the day (ahem, Yeah, a lot of cheating :P), but they are all essentially the same, I think.

So, to those of you who are not familiar with pasar malam (I myself have been to one only since this year, I am ashamed to admit) shame on you! Go out and experience one aspect of Bruneian night life ;) I find it very fascinating. There are so many things being sold at cheap prices in such a small space! Absolutely wonderful! Among the more common items are pre-cooked food, freshly cooked food, fresh fruits and veggies, and um....clothes. Yeah, clothes, and perfumes and the like. Like I said, absolutely interesting :P

Now a lot of you out there (if anyone is still reading my poor neglected blog, sniff sniff) will probably know much much more about pasar malam than me. In fact, I have a nagging feeling that several things I've said already are wrong. But oh well! Leaving that aside, I'll only hit the high spots. My absolute favorites. The stars of pasar malam. (You will realise that my pictures are actually taken during the day. Please disregard this. I no longer have the energy to go out at night, sigh. :( Plus pictures are better taken during the day really.)

So, first up, is.... Keropok Lekor! I have only heard of this 'keropok' since last year, so I am not sure how long it has been around. Its not really a keropok, to me. When I first heard of it, I thought it was the usual crunchy keropok ikan. Apparently, its not. Keropok lekor is this fabulously crispy, completely oily, superbly unhealthy sna ck made of flour and fish. I didn't really want to try it, coz I am really not a fan of fish (yes, again, the chicken girl thing ;) ) but when I did... wow! It was a revelation! It is fried proof that anything that is unhealthy for you will taste good, no matter how much you don't like the base ingredients :P That said, like most other dishes in pasar malam, you have to look around for the best ones, pick a favorite ;) There was one stall we bought it from that put a lot more fish in them than the first one I tasted. Izzah liked it very much, but it gave me an allergic reaction instead :/ Even though I'm pretty sure it has no crustaceans. Ah well...

Next up is... well, ok, I lied. I only wanted to talk about the keropok lekor... I still don't know the market well enough to talk about the various food highlights :( But I will give examples on what kind of food you can get, hehe. So... next up, is the salai section! Ikan salai (or smoked fish) is one of Ibu's favouritest dishes, though I don't like it muc h. There are usually different varieties of fish available, and for some reason, they are usually sold side by side with tongkeng ayam (you reaaallly don't want to know the translation for this. If you don't know what it is, keep it that way :P). I would've thought tongkeng (okay, okay! its chicken butt. At least, i think it is) would've been sold next to satay. But anyway, again, tongkeng being sold on a stick like satay, is again, a new development for me. I have never heard about it before this year. Like the keropok lekor, it is super unhealthy and very very very very fatty. Hee~ I have not tasted it, and do not plan to anytime soon. :P To get addicted to it is scary, and besides, I've tasted tongkeng once before, and didn't really like it.

Anyways, asides from the food that is cooked while you wait, there are also various foods and drinks that are pre-made at home and brought to the market by the vendor. Almost every kind of food you can think of will be sold. There's mee goreng, nasi goreng, ayam goreng, cakoi, soto and.... well, all sorts really! Which is why these stalls are so popular during Puasa with the people who are too busy (or lazy :P) to cook. You can get (almost) anything your heart desires! ;) Even traditional Brune i food is sold, like in the last picture. I have no idea what its name is, unfortunately. In my house, it goes as "makanan brunei" :P It seems to be a pancake type thing with nuts, or something, as filling.

But the pasar malam is not just about cooked food! Oh no, not at all. Fresh fruits and vegetables (though not so much of the latter at true pasar malams, I think) are also available and super super cheap prices! The vegetables are all fresh and green, and the in-season fruits look really fresh! (Though by the end of the season , they look decidedly unwell...). Like the food section, the more popular vendors will have a constant stream of customers, while their neighbours look enviously on. For the smaller seasonal fruits (like rambutan, or lychee! yum!) some sellers would even urge you to taste a couple before you buy, to make sure it really is very sweet. That is so nice of them, I think, hee ~

Sigh, talking about all this food is getting me hungry... So, I suppose I'm off for now :D Selamat berpuasa everyone! *looking forward for my first sahur in 2 years* hee~