End of Ramadhan With New Inspiration

This year has been, indeed, different. We had a new stall selling Tepung Talam and other sweet dishes at where we were doing our business, which is a welcoming sight. However, about 10 days ago, we were chased off the area by the Alor Setar City Council, or Majlis Bandaraya Alor Setar (MBAS) for "creating traffic hazards". Coincidentally, their visit was about half and hour after the Datuk Bandar of Alor Setar (head of MBAS) came to buy Nasi Arab from Chet. It was an irony which we find it hard to swallow.

We were forced to relocate about 300 meters away to a Medan Selera located next to the Esso gas station. I find the place quite bizarre as there was nobody selling anything in the food court. Sales for both Nasi Arab Pak Tuan and my dishes dropped as many thought we stopped selling and many more didn't know we were there despite Chet's banner at the old location. I realized MBAS just wanted to somebody to "liven" up the place as it is dead almost every Ramadhan season. The location, next to a school and a traffic light junction after the new bypass made the area laden with a horrendous traffic congestion, putting off a lot of people from going there as parking was a problem.

Our old location? Well, it remained the same as we found out that we never created any taffic obstacle. In fact, there so many stalls located by the side of the road along Lebuhraya Sultanah Bahiyah that MBAS never bothered to see. The Ramadhan Bazaar next to Insaniah posed a more dangerous traffic scenario where masses of vehicles simply park and double park along the road with accidents almost daily. However, since the Bazaar was endorsed by MBAS and the vendors are paid for, MBAS never bothered to monitor.

Anyway, this year saw the emergence of my sister's beef curry-puff and baked macaroni with cheese (pasta) above the others. Close at third will be my Bengkang Susu. One of my customers remarked that, at RM5 (RM2.50/slice), it is more filling and tastes better with a bigger size compared to the Lasagna bought at an international fast food joint. Usually if I crave for pasta, I would buy 2 pieces first before selling the rest. I also understand that my sister supplies about 400-500 pieces of karipap daily to a stall operator at the Bazaar Ramadhan at the stadium, and the vendor still find it hard to meet the demands from his customers.

As the last business day is today, Friday 17th August, I was quite hesitant to make too many kuih. Fridays are usually slow as people usually prefer to stay home and cook or go and eat outside for the breaking of fast. Being in the new place doesn't really help my confidence either, plus, it was raining in the first half of the day. However, I still prepared triple the amount of what I always bring, plus the extra trays of godam (shepherds' pie) and bengkang susu that some special customers reserved. My wife and my son even decided to go along and assist me. Alhamdulillah, the whole supply was sold in less than one hour.

My stall received visits from a number of friends and close relatives, just like the years before, and I really appreciate them coming over and I really hope that they enjoy the food we prepared.

My cousin showed me a picture of his mother's godam, which was more traditional and original compared to mine. That really gives me an inspiration to revise my godam preparation for next year. Her pie follows the authentic style where the mashed potato is used as the base and crust of the pie, with the beef filling in between. My version is a more modernized and simplified version where, due to the size of the cup, it has no base. The beef filling is at the bottom and the mashed potato is on the top as the crust. In fact, the original rustic shepherds' pie in Greece, as prepared by farmers, are more in the style of my aunt's, which is hard enough to be sliced and held. Looks like I'll be experimenting a lot on this for the next 11 months.

If we are to be in the same location next year, I think by that time, many of our usual customers will know of it by that time. To my customers, thank you very much and I really apologize to those who did not have the chance to try my dishes when they came over.

I wish all, Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Maaf Zahir Batin, from Syed Alfian Barakbah, Sharifah Rafita Shahab and Syed Muhammad Zulkifli.

We're Back With One New

Ramadhan is here; here we are again, back to the same area, but slightly ahead of the previous location. Well, we had to, with the new by-pass, people just might not notice usa there.

I was happy to see another stall being set up next to Syed Nasir's Nasi Arab. The stall sells the popular Tepung Talam from Jitra. He used to have another branch at Restoran Mama, also on Lebuhraya Sultanah Bahiyah, but I rarely get the chance to buy the tepung talam because it was sold out before 4:00 p.m.

Now what is tepung talam? Tepung talam is a sweet dish, with 2 layers, usually served during tea time, or any time nowadays. The bottom layer is usually made of brown sugar and flour, cooked until it thicken and becomes the base. The top part is more gelatinous and, what Malaysians say as, "lemak". It is made of coconut milk and rice flour.

I rarely buy tepung talam because I find that the quality has really gone down the drains. They use too much flour, some use very little coconut milk, some use no coconut milk, but try to substitute it with more flour...I mean, it is ridiculous; if you can make a proper tepung talam, do it nicely, and those who don't, go home. Many people I met do not mind paying extra for good kuih, including tepung talam.

Now, Mak Anjang Tepung Talam one of the best in Alor Setar. At RM1.50 a piece, (quite a strip) it enjoyed a a good sales on the first day of Ramadhan. It was doing well before Nasir can set up his tent yet for the Nasi Arab.

I was at Nasir's tent to get some Nasi Arab for my parents, and the crowd is as phenomenal as ever. There was a long line forming at the Nasi Arab stall as I was leaving. Generally I must say that, the crowd will mostly be Muslims, being the fasting season. However, I have seen how more and more Chinese and Indians are beginning to get into the queue through the years. If the food is good, everybody has a right to taste it.

I'll be setting up my stall tomorrow. For those who'd like to take a leap of faith and try what we offer, our location is as below:

Basically, we are just across from Sekolah Mengengah Sultanah Bahiyah, and just next to the Shell station on Lebuhraya Sultanah Bahiyah.

Here's the price list available:

Nasi Arab Pak Tuan: RM7/set

My stall:
Godam (Beef Pie with Potato)    RM1.50/piece
Bengkang Susu            RM0.50/piece
Beef Currfy Puff        RM0.50/piece

New - Tepung Talam Mak Anjang : RM1.20/piece ( not a small piece)

Back To Ramadhan

amadhan is here again and yes, I'm back in business, next to my cousin Syed Nasir, or Chet, who sells his traditional Nasi Arab.

My menu remains the same: Godam (Shepherd's Pie), Black Pepper Beef Curry Puff and Bengkang Susu (Milk Pudding). Despite the price of its ingredients have gone up, I still maintain the same price as ever, which is:
Godam : RM1.50/piece
Black Pepper Curry Puff  : RM0.35/piece or RM1.00/3 pieces
Bengkang Susu : RM0.50/piece

So I don't make much from the sales, but selling and watching how people enjoy the food gives me such satisfaction.

For those who are looking for Chet's Nasi Arab, please be informed that Nasi Arab is RM7.00/set. It's worth it, I must say.

This year, we are located in a slightly different place, about 100 meters before our usual place. We were in 3 different locations for the past 3 days, although being on the same road and withing a 100-meter radius, but it disrupts our customers' routine as they missed the place and had to turn around on a very busy road. Believe it or not, I am doing more of a bootsale, where the food is being sold from the back of my car. Of course, if I get a table, I would have a better display.

As like every year, I am making sure that the taste and quality of the food product is uncompromised. I am just hoping that the customers are fully satified with the food product that I made. My schedule for Ramadhan is busier than ever; a hectic 9am to 1.30pm, finishing all my work at the office, then head home to bake the godam and fry the curry puffs. After Maghrib and breaking of fast, I'll be stirring the Bengkang and bake them, which usually finishes around 10.30pm, if there are no extra orders for the Bengkang. The bengkang is usually refrigerated when it has cooled down. This is because the bengkang is usually enjoyed slightly cold, but not too cold.


By the way, if things go well, next week, I will be selling lasagna as well. One of my neighbors, Chef Jamal has confirmed that he will be making them, but for a limited time. We have not finalized on the price, but it might be around RM5.00. It might sound pricey, but it is bigger than the godam and its ingredients are more expensive, considering the use of beef, pasta, cream and cheese.

Well, if you are looking for Nasi Arab Pak Tuan and some kuih for the breaking of fast, or even for tea (for non-Muslims), head down to Jalan Sultanah (Lebuhraya Sultanah Bahiyah), we are located in front of the car wash, right in front of Sekolah Sultanah Bahiyah and the legendary Mee Abu.

Gearing Up For Ramadhan - With A Little Help

The school holidays are here, and it is now almost a month away from Ramadhan. As usual, this will be the time for me to prepare the shepherd pie, or Godam for my Ramadhan sales. However, due to tight work schedules, this year I made a change to my normal practice. Unlike the previous years where I spent night cooking and preparing Godam, this year, as it is the school holidays, I employed 2 of my nieces to help me.

Both girls are actually my wife's nieces, but as in the Syed family, everybody seems to be related in one way or the other, they became my nieces as well. They are Sharifah Nurliyana, 14 years of age, who is the 2nd daughter of my wife's elder brother; and the other is Sharifah Munirah, the eldest child of of my wife's younger twin brother. Despite having to drive all the way to Sungai Petani, I must say it was time, money and effort well invested.

I remember the nights spent making Godam: quiet except for the sound of television. This time around, the nights are noisy with their non-stop gossiping and giggling, and I must say that they are extremely enthusiastic about making Godam. They actually stayed up until 3:30 a.m. to finish them. Even my son was there helping them, only until his bedtime.

The task might sound simple, but as usual with our family recipes, it is not. I'm the only one who makes the filling. The girls will be peeling the potatos, boil them, and mash them with precisely measured ingredients. They pulled that off perfectly, I must say. Making the pie in its cup was carried out by them as well, as I usually get knocked out by 2:00 a.m., well, I'm not what I used to be, I guess. Unlike other teenaged nephews and nieces that I know, these 2 never complained or demanded to go anywhere, all they keep telling me is when will they be able to start producing the next batch.

They were there for 5 days, and despite having problems when the gas was out for almost 1 day, they managed to complete almost 500 pieces of Godam before they left. That's more than 6 kilos of beef, 10 kilos of onions, 30 kilos of potatos, and other seasonings.

I guess I finally found my admiration for these 2 hardworking nieces of mine. Even my son was enthusiastic in helping his cousins. I didn't even mind paying them extra. Anyway, I might need their services next year.

Erah and Yana; Ami, Bibi and Zulkif love you. Hopefully, the two of them will be back next year.

In Ramadhan

In such a blessed month, I seem to relish Ramadhan so much. In retrospect, the fasting reminds all of us of the hardships suffered by those who are not so fortunate, and our zakat hopefully will, more or less, attempt to ease their suffering.

Despite the Ramadhan buffets offered by eateries in Alor Setar, I always opt to eat at home. Simply put, I cannot eat that much for breaking of fast. My break of fast mostly consist of water which I need to replenish after a hard and hot day of activities. So far, breaking fast at my parents saw me eating half plate of rice with something very simple, like sardine or dhalca...and 2 big glasses of pandan syrup.

My schedule gets more hectic during the Ramadhan month, my mornings to late afternoon spent finishing any tasks and/or assignment at the office, and I realy hate to finish today's assignments tomorrow. Around 4pm, my Ramadhan food-stall opens at Jalan Sultanah, and so far Alhamdulillah, sales has been very good. Late evenings are spent with the family and later making the Bengkang Susu.

I started with only 1 tray of Bengkang Susu and although a bit hesitant at first, I increased the supply to 2 trays. Alhamdulillah, so far I keep going home with empty trays. This year also saw Godam (Shepherd's Pie) and my sister's Black Pepper Beef Curry Puff totally sold out. I might just add another item to the menu or my Godam might run out of stock fast. Maybe Cornish Pie will be a good addition to it. I used to sell it about 3-4 years ago, and it was quite a hot item.

My stall was visited by somebody who happened to read this blog. Apparently she was looking for shepherd's pie, and found my blog, and from the blog, found my stall. Thank you for visiting my blog, and much thanks for visiting my stall as well.

Despite the upward trend trend in the price of milk, I still manage to sell Bengkang Susu at RM0.50 a slice. However I'm just hoping that the price will not go over RM40.00 next year, or I might have to increase the price, and if I do, it will be the first time I have to do it.

Before this week, I use to scout around the hypermarkets, looking for 2kg milk packs on promotion, but now I've decided to get them straight from the wholesaler. That actually saves time and I get to relax more with my family.

With all of that on my schedule, I never realized it has been 2 weeks of the fasting month already. National Day is just next week, and Hari Raya is 10 days after that. That's fast.

I guess that every Ramadhan makes me feel closer to my life=long dream, which is running a restaurant, not a posh elite one, just a simple eatery, with limited menu items. I might not have that courage and/or the resources to set that up, but running the food stall in Ramadhan? That is something I will always cherish.