Ramadhan Bazaar – Buy with care!

Yesterday, we went to buy some foodstuff from the Desa Pandan Ramadhan Bazaar.

It was interesting to see so many varieties of traditional delicacies and foods being sold by a very boisterous group of seasonal traders and the atmosphere was very highly charged with the traders calling out to customers and advertising their cooked foods etcetera.

We bought some Briyani Chicken, Apoms, Chendol and some kueh @ Kueh Kochi. We had bought the kueh from a Malay lady who looked clean and her kueh on sale seemed to be alright.

Sadly, when the time to break our fast came, we were so upset to find out that the kueh had gone stale!

One bite was all it took for us, who had been fasting all day long, to be so heartbroken to discover that there are people like the kueh seller who short changes her fasting clients of a meal fit to be eaten!

The audacity of that woman to keep selling her gone stale kueh to people who are fasting and she seemed so nice and all that, selling her kueh to us with a smile and completing the transaction with the customary ‘Saya jual!’ phrase that means ‘I am selling’ to us without a hint of responsibility of ensuring that whatever she is selling is still fit to be consumed by her clients!

The Indian Muslim selling the ‘apoms’ had also given us some stale santan to be dipped with. I had been buying from the family regularly every year during Ramadhan without fail. Sadly, this is gonna be the final purchase I make from them. No more.

This sad episode is not new to these type of traders who crop up all over , once Ramadhan sets in. I recall a hadith where the Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam had reprimanded a trader who had dishonestly mixed some food which had gone bad with those still consumable.

When the Prophet SAW had dipped his fingers into the foodpile being sold, he found out that at the bottom of the pile was wet and it was not fit to be sold. The hadith tells us how the Holy Messenger told off the trader who sheepishly admitted to doing that crime of shortchanging his customers. It is forbidden to sell foodstuff or anything not fit to be consumed or to be sold as it will endanger the buyer.

Those of you who are going to the Ramadhan Bazaar’s , please make sure that what you are paying for is fit to be eaten. These couldn’t care less traders aren’t bothered whether it is the fasting holy month of Ramadhan or whether you can fall sick after eating their foods.

Better to be safe than sorry. No wonder , those who have the means go and eat at the hotels! At least, if the food is not up to standard, you can complain and get it changed or get your money refunded!

Desa Pandan’s Ramadhan Bazaar is now strictly a no no for me !

The Pandan Indah Ramadhan Bazaar has always proved to be a better place to go and buy our ‘Buka Puasa’ foodstuffs. The place is cleaner and the spaces between the stalls are more spacious. At least, the quality of the foods being sold is much more better.

I love the ‘tepung pelita’ delicacy sold there by a lady who sells her foods in neat yellow plastic trays. The tepong pelita is made using fresh ingredients and you can actually taste the crunchy ‘sengkuang china’ she puts in her ‘tepong pelita’.

Better stick to the place where I don’t get duped into buying ‘expired foods’ by smiling faced shortchangers!

At least, now I know better. I will now take digital photos of the stalls I buy from! Will post them in my blog if I find them good enough to recommend to you.

Pity, I didn’t take some snapshot of the shortchanging kueh seller. At least, you’ll know whom to avoid if you do go to the Desa Pandan Ramadhan Bazaar.

I mean, we can’t be expected to go sniffing at the kueh’s to make sure that they are still fresh and fit to be eaten, can we? It’s not encouraged while fasting to go sniff this and that! 😛

‘Bulan puasa pun nak tipu orang!’ Haiya….tch tch tch tch…manyak susah oo!’ Tak takut berdosa!

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