Food and drinks we sampled for under $10 at the Ramadan Bazaars

With netizens expressing concern about increasing food prices at

Ramadan bazaars

, TL;DR took up the challenge to try out a meal for less than $10 at three different bazaars – Geylang Serai, Bazaaria Ramadan Marsiling (Woodlands) and Kampong Gelam Ramadan Bazaar.

Location: Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar 

Opening hours: 4pm to 9pm Monday to Thursday, 4pm to 12am on Friday and Saturday, and 4pm to 10pm on Sunday until March 21.

Geylang Serai is a stone’s throw away from Aft Paya Lebar Quarter bus stop and a ten-minute walk from Paya Lebar MRT station. It boasts more than 500 stalls, making it the largest Ramadan bazaar in Singapore. 

Mahmud’s Tandoor 

Location: Stall 42, directly opposite the carpark 

Mahmud’s Tandoor mainly sells burgers, fries and drinks. A la carte burgers cost more than ten dollars, but the loaded chicken masala fries were a cheaper alternative. We ordered the small portion of fries for $7.50, since the large portion was priced at $10.50. The fries were rather thick and had large chunks of their signature tandoori chicken, complete with harissa mayo and tangy mint yoghurt. Even the small portion was generous and definitely worth the price.

Ah Moi Thai Tea 

Location: Stall 109, near the end of the food area

Ah Moi Thai tea offers a few flavours of Thai tea apart from the original such as green tea and grape.They also sell regular bottled and canned drinks for $2, and mineral water for $1.50. We decided to try the Thai Grape Milk Tea ($4), since it was labelled as a “Must-try” drink at the stall. For $4, we got 700ml of the drink. Although the taste of the milk tea was not strong, we still enjoyed how refreshing it was, given the sweltering heat that day. 

Kwazy Korndog 

Location: Stall 97, near the road 

Kwazy Korndog offers around 12 different corndog flavours – 10 savoury and two with chocolate. The prices of these Korean corndogs ranged from $6 to $8. We decided to try out the Classic Corndog with ketchup and mustard for $6. The cheese was stretchy and the portion generous. We enjoyed the mixed flavours, with the corndog being sweet on the outside (due to the sugar on top), but also tangy because of the ketchup and mustard. As it was freshly prepared, it was crispy on the outside and chewy inside. 

Location: Bazaaria Ramadan Marsiling 

Opening hours: 12pm to 10pm daily until March 14

Bazaaria Ramadan Marsiling is located right outside Woodlands MRT station near the Causeway Point. The bazaar is well-sheltered, with ample seating available to the diners. It has more than 130 stalls and we found the food options to be the most affordable out of the three bazaars that we visited. 

Satu Liter

Location: Stall 63, near the seating area

Satu Liter, as the name suggests, sells drinks in one-litre cups. The stall offers around 22 different types of drinks, with the milk series and soda series (mocktails) priced at $5. Meanwhile, the premium drinks, such as the matcha latte and chocolate mint, cost $6. We decided to get a cup of Mango Tango mocktail for $5. The drink was cold and refreshing, and we particularly enjoyed its fizziness. There were small fruit bits in it, and it was not too sweet. 

The Pasta Lab 

Location: Stall 32, in the middle of the bazaar

The Pasta Lab sells certain crowd favourites, such as creamy prawn tom yum and prawn aglio olio. There is also the option to customise. Prices range from $9 to $10. We ordered the prawn aglio olio ($9) and were presented with a generous portion. Although we found the aglio olio to be a tad too oily, it was generally well-seasoned, and we enjoyed the large and bouncy prawns. The stall also offers drinks such as dalgona and Belgian chocolate.

Spudzilla

Location: Stall 35, in the middle of the bazaar

We filled in an order sheet and got to choose the toppings we wanted on the spud potato. The standard base offering (priced at $4) included one and a half potatoes, garlic butter, and salt and pepper. Free garnish was available – corn, crispy onions and spring onions. Extra toppings cost more. We decided to top up with chicken bolognese (additional $2.50) and BBQ sauce (additional $0.50). The potato was well-boiled, soft and creamy, while the chicken was tender. We felt that the tanginess of the bolognese sauce complements the dish. 

Location: Gemilang Kampong Gelam Ramadan Bazaar 

Opening hours: 2pm to 11pm daily until March 15

Kampong Gelam bazaar is a 15-minute walk from Bugis MRT Station. As part of it is uncovered, remember to bring an umbrella just in case. There are around 100 food and beverage booths. 

Senda Loka

Location: K31 

Senda Loka was rather busy when we visited, with the apam balik mini (folded pancakes) being the popular order. A variety of flavours is available including peanut butter and hazelnut. One order of three pancakes is $7.50, and an extra topping costs $1. We ordered the chocolate apam balik. The chocolate filling was sweet, and the apam balik was crispy at the sides and chewy in the middle. Moreover, it was freshly prepared, so the chocolate was oozy and warm. 

Arabica Kebab

Location: K37 

The stall offers two types of kebab –chicken cheese kebab ($5) and beef cheese kebab ($6). We decided to go with the chicken kebab. The wrap was thick but not very chewy, and the portion generous. 

Matcha Klasik

Location: K25

Quite a few flavours are available at Matcha Klasik, with drink prices ranging from $7.50 to $8.50. We decided to try their best-seller, the Matcha Strawberry ($8.50). The matcha was hand-whisked on the spot, and carefully poured over the milk to produce a nice gradient of colours. The drink was not too sweet. The sweet strawberry taste complemented the bitter matcha well. 

Additional reporting by Choo Ying Ern