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)

The Simplest Dish

There are times when the combination of rice, curries, vegetables or even kuih will not satisfy the cravings after a long day of fasting. My favorite is a simple dish, maybe too simple to call it a dish or delicacy, but this has been eaten in the past and still a practice in certain areas. I believe that this is not only well-known in Kedah, but the rest of the country as well. It is rice, with minyak sapi (clarified butter) with salt/soysauce.

This dish is not eaten in the fasting month only, but anytime of the year. We know of one relative inj Kulim, who is in his 80s, eat this daily. How to prepare it? Very simple, and I am sure there are many out there who knows this very well:

1) Get a plate of hot, steaming rice

2) A teaspoon of minyak sapi, depending on your liking. You can use the expensive stuff like QBB, but the best is still the minyak sapi from Indian shops where they sell it by weight. The color is paler than the golden rich color of the canned ones.

3) Salt to taste

4) Mix them up and enjoy. If not enough minyak sapi or salt, add them moderately.

My breaking of fast with this dish will not be complete without some pandan syrup mized with squeezed lime/calamansi juice. Pandan syrup? Well, it is a staple in my family's breaking of fast. We never liked the rose syrup and rarely buys any cordial outside. The making is very simple too, my wife boils sugar with a little water, along with 2-3 pandan leaves until the sugar is dissolved.

I suggest a try of the rice with minyak sapi and salt. It is simple and yet so wholesome and satisfying. Okay, I wouldn't say this is a health food, just good flavor and clean taste.

For those who are trying and ends up with their third plate of rice, well, don't blame me.

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.