Ramadan Bazaar That’s Next to Woodlands MRT Station Has Cheese Satay & Durian Smoothie

What everybody probably knows is that it’s Ramadan, and that means Geylang Serai will be pretty crowded during this period because of the Geylang Serai Bazaar.

And if you’re one of those who wants to visit the bazaar but is too afraid of crowds, here’s a secret:

There are other bazaars around Singapore.

To our advantage, Geylang Serai is just too famous and draws people away from the other bazaars. There’s one at Tampines as well, but here’s what’s happening at the one beside Woodlands MRT, called Bazar Raya Utara.

Woodlands Pasar Malam has less Hipster Food

Can you NOT have a bazaar without hipster food? As much as people dislike them, it would feel pretty weird to not have bazaars without them.

It doesn’t feel right when I don’t spot a queue for overpriced fried food. Here’s a formula if you ever want to enter the hipster food business:

1 random food + another random food + fry that shit = new hipster food

In fact, here’s a very useful generator.

(No, that’s not me trying to convince people away from hipster food so I can queue for it myself.) *spotted at Praffle queue*

But welllllllll… Woodlands Pasar Malam (yeah I’m finally switching to this word) is actually less hipster than Geylang Serai.

Beef Bro Without Lobster Bro

If you didn’t know who Beef Bro is, just know that when they started this stall they became so popular that they apparently earned S$250,000 and decided to rent an actual stall to launch their business.

You can spot Beef Bro here without the Geylang Serai queue. Though, Geylang Serai seems to have an additional Lobster Bro stall.

Wagyu beef cubes, Mala, Mentaiko and Cheesy Mentaiko are something to look out for if your wallet has some holes to burn.

(That is meat and is almost the same price for the Praffle though. Maybe I shouldn’t queue for the Praffle.)

Not in Geylang Serai: Cheese Satay

But it’s not like Geylang Serai is where all the hipster food go. Because at Woodlands we have Pisang Keju (Banana cheese) and Cheese Satay.

This isn’t the bazaar packaging but just look at the cheese.

And the sprinkles of cheese and unicorn sparkles (or if you’re non-hipster, you can call it rainbow chocolate).

D24 Durian Smoothie and others

Durian isn’t exactly thirst quenching, but when you turn it into a smoothie…

It actually still doesn’t sound refreshing and thirst quenching, but at least I can psychologically persuade my brain that I am no longer thirsty.

You can find solid chunks of the freshly pureed fruit they use to make your drinks.

Traditionalists, Rejoice!

If you’re more of the cheapo traditional pasar malam food kind, it might even be arguably better to visit Woodlands over Geylang Serai.

Don’t worry about bringing a date, since you can buy them here.

The saucy, tender Ayam Perciks…

Indian Vadais for your vegetable intake… (not actual good health advice)

Malay pastries…

The array of fried finger food…

And if you prefer eating a full meal in one dish there’s always the Laksas…

Mee Sotos…

Finishing off for dessert, various Kuih and cookies you can buy…

Some with nice packaging for bringing home…

And many others not listed here. You can eat them all at a corner with oil-barrel tables decorated with fairy lights.

Celebrity Performances

But it’s not entirely only about food, as there are performances from celebrities and other performers as well.

I don’t recognise any of these names, but you can spot Malaysian singers Wany Hasrita and Khai Bahar, veteran Nasyid group Al Jawaher, as well as Malaysian actors Izzue Islam, Aiman Hakim and Zahirah Macwilson. Finally, Malaysia’s Rock icon Amy Search will visit on 1st Jun for the closing ceremony.

So what are you waiting for? You won’t need to go all the way to Geylang Serai. Just visit the ones closest to you can already.

• Location: Open field beside Causeway Point/Woodlands MRT
• Date: 3 May-1 Jun
• Opening hours: 11 am-11 pm

(No, this article isn’t a ploy to draw the crowd away from Geylang Serai so I can finally buy some Praffles.)