What to eat at Kampong Gelam Ramadan Bazaar: Croissant tarik, Chinese roti, and matcha mango

The holy month of Ramadan is almost here and the main bazaars at Kampong Gelam and Geylang Serai are in full swing. 

The one in Kampong Gelam runs till March 25, while the bazaar at Geylang Serai will operate till the morning of Hari Raya Aidilfitri on March 31.

Since the Kampong Gelam Ramadan Bazaar kicked off on Feb 19, it has seen bustling crowds in the lead up to Ramadan.  

As in previous years, the stalls – a mix of 120 food and beverage and retail booths – are spread across Muscat Street, Kandahar Street and Baghdad Street. 

It is a smorgasbord of sloppy tacos, juicy burgers, glorious fried goodies and trending matcha drinks.

Favourites which have been in all five editions of the bazaar include steakhouse Picanhas’; Satay Ummi, with its popular pan-fried satay; and The House of Lemang, known for its lemang, a traditional Malay dish of glutinous rice, coconut milk and salt slow-cooked in bamboo. 

Be prepared to queue at popular stalls. If you are looking for tacos and burgers, join the line at Smashed – look for the bright yellow booth with a sombrero-wearing crew. Or try the viral “Chinese roti” at new stall Golden Bao, which serves up beef and chicken versions of the trendy food from Sichuan.

(READ MORE: 10 places in Singapore serving delicious tacos)

I drink and eat my way through the bazaar with Berita Harian journalist Dahlia Zulkifli, who covers the weekly Kaki Makan food column in the Malay-language daily newspaper.

Here are our top picks. 

MS17/18: Golden Bao (@goldenbao_sg on Instagram)

It is hard to miss the incessant queues for Golden Bao next to the Sultan Mosque. 

Inspired by Chinese-style shaobing, the “Chinese roti” is made with flattened dough – like roti prata. It is filled with either minced beef or chicken, scallions and onions, rolled up and then fried on-site. Each piece is not too oily and has a thin and crisp golden brown exterior to crunch into. 

Compared with the chicken ($9 for one, $16 for two), the beef ($10 for one, $18 for two) packs more flavour.

Add the spicy housemade chilli oil dip for $1. The roti is tasty on its own, but the fiery dip takes things to another level. 

Golden Bao made its debut in January at the Grand Market by MakBesar event at Suntec City and is likely to continue pop-ups at future events. It is run by a group of friends who are also behind the likes of halal Western restaurant The Shakehouse, renovation company Pop Motif and clothing store Love, Nina Zazali. 

Spot a familiar face at the stall – Malaysian comedian-actor Shuk Sahar, a partner in the business, who helps with its social media content.

K31: Gohed Gostan by Tarik (@gohedgostanbytarik on Instagram)

Three attention-grabbing cheese wheels at this stall stop us in our tracks, along with its catchy name – a contraction of the terms “go ahead” and “go astern”.  

This new stall is run by Mr Ali Redha, 41, owner of the famed Tarik Cafe in Arab Street and Bali Lane, but there is no pulling of tea here. Instead, he is banking on pasta finished in cheese wheels to “bring the restaurant to the bazaar”, he says. 

The straightforward menu offers just three options at $12 each – tandoori chicken pasta, seafood arrabiata and the best-selling creamy steak carbonara.

Each portion of pasta is cooked to order, tossed in the flavour of choice inside the cheese wheel and finished with the proteins, which are cooked separately. 

We dive into the carbonara, where each piece of the penne pasta is coated in the creamy, cheesy sauce and topped with tender slices of ribeye. 

Originally not on our list of food to try, Gohed Gostan by Tarik does not disappoint. 

(READ MORE: Best Pasta Near Me: Must-Try Restaurants in Singapore)

BS5: Sumego (@sumego.sg on Instagram) 

This burger stall stands out from the pack for its use of bone marrow in the rich sauce of its signature Sumego burger ($13.50). 

The stall’s name is inspired by “sumsum”, which is Malay for bone marrow. 

The hefty Sumego burger comes with a juicy 160g beef patty, spicy bone marrow sauce – reminiscent of a Western-style chilli – and crunchy fried shallots. It is beefy burger goodness sandwiched between a fluffy toasted brioche. 

The classic burger ($12.50) is delicious as well, with melted cheddar, housemade sauce and sweet caramelised onions.  

For the full works, add sauteed mushrooms ($1.50), turkey bacon ($1.50) or jalapenos (50 cents). 

(READ MORE: 9 must-visit places for the most satisfying and juicy burgers)

For some respite from the eating, we gravitate towards this matcha stall, where each portion of the Japanese green tea is whisked by hand. Purists can go for the classic matcha latte ($7) or ceremonial grade version ($9.50).

But it is all about the trending matcha strawberry ($8) and unique flavours such as matcha mango ($8), matcha Earl Grey ($7.50) and matcha dark choco ($7.50). 

The drinks use Oatside oat milk to bring out the flavour of the matcha.

We opt for the matcha strawberry and matcha mango. Both beverages are well-balanced in flavours and not too sweet. 

It is our first time having the pairing of matcha with mango and, to our pleasant surprise, it works. 

K40: Croissant Tarik (@croissanttarik.fg on TikTok)

Next to Matcha Klasik is the bazaar’s most unforgettable stall. 

What I initially expect to be a drink – because of the Tarik (Malay for pull) in the name – turns out to be the most ugly delicious dessert I have had. 

There is still lots of pulling involved. We put on disposable gloves to pull apart the cheese-loaded toasted croissant, which comes with ladles of sauce made with white chocolate.

We try three of the eight flavours – Red Velvet ($13), Nutty Pistachios ($14) and Kinder Bueno ($15) croissants.

Initially concerned that there is too much sauce in the bowl, I find myself dunking the buttery croissant to soak up the chocolatey goodness. The cheese is on the savoury side, which balances the sweetness of the sauce. 

My pick is the Kinder Bueno flavour, while Ms Dahlia prefers the Red Velvet option. We have high hopes for the pistachio croissant, but it does not pack much flavour.

I highly recommend eating this on the spot so the croissant remains crisp, while the gooey cheese makes for the best cheese pull for the ’Gram. 

I am told the record pull is about 1m and I think our effort gets pretty close. 

The Kampong Gelam Ramadan Bazaar runs till March 25. It opens from 2 to 11pm, Mondays to Thursdays, and 2 to 11.30pm, Fridays to Sundays. 

(READ MORE: 14 must-know places in Singapore for buttery, flaky croissants)

This article was originally published in The Straits Times.