Ramadhan Special 2013: The Famous Satay Burger

I'm pretty sure that most of you would have heard of The Famous Satay Burger.
One of our readers, Syawal, sent me an email to try it at the Tampines Bazaar Ramadhan this year.
I wasn't able to battle it with the Ramly burger but it was still worth a visit.

I first heard about it a few years ago and it appeared to be a regular fixture at the Geylang Bazaar Ramadhan. It seemed like a really popular thing with the long queues at the stall too!

I tried it way back when (before the idea of this Halal Food Blog was even formed in my mind) but never really officially reviewed it so I decided that I would do so this year. But apparently they're not located at the Geylang Bazaar this year. They've apparently taken up a space at the Tampines Bazaar instead!

Satay Burger ($5.00)

So you have a choice of beef, chicken or mutton for your Satay Burger.
Is it any coincidence that it's just like ordering satay?! I think not!

Let me break down the anatomy of the burger for you...

The special Satay Sauce

Comes with lettuce, cucumber and onions

So it's a pretty standard burger from what I can see so far.
The uniqueness of it will be the taste of the satay sauce that gives this burger a truly local flavour.

You know what? Even the meat patty itself makes a big difference!
It's seasoned exactly the same as how they would season satay meat on a skewer! When you take a nice big bite, you're going to immediately recognize that familiar taste of satay spices like coriander, cumin and fennel seeds (jintan).

It was just like I was eating a steak made up of satay meat all compressed together!
In fact, you will see at the stall that they actually do press the patties at the stall itself. They actually have the patty press there! No joke! And they also charcoal-grill the patty so it's still juicy!

For my experience this time, unfortunately the bun was a little soggy (as you can see from the first picture posted above). I guess it has been sitting in the box waiting for packing for quite awhile and soaked up some water from somewhere. So I ended up eating just the patty and veggies.

But what about the Satay Sauce??

Looks a little spicy right? Well it's not that spicy.
I actually feel this was a really good Satay sauce. It had a great flavour and it went really well with the meat patty since it's like eating satay.

But this burger can tend to get a bit messy to eat...
It may not look it, but it's pretty big. So watch out for the dripping sauce.

World Halal Quest blogger Kak Mas tried it way back when in 2009 when they had a stall at the Pasir Ris fishing pond. I'm not sure if they still have a stall there to be honest. Check out her post HERE.

Adam's Verdict:
Famous Satay Burger 3.5/5

For all you Satay lovers out there - this is a must try!
It really really tasted like I was eating satay!

Famous Satay Burger

Tampines Bazaar Ramadhan
Beside Tampines MRT

Operating Hours: 12 noon til 10.00 pm Daily

Ramadhan Special 2013: My Pizza

Something worth checking out at the Geylang Bazaar this year is this stall called My Pizza.
Not really something new I guess but at least something a little different from your usual fare like Kebabs.

It's quite a simple set-up actually.
Just a stall with pizzas on display and some ovens to get the pizza nice and hot for you.

Hawaiian Pizza ($3.50 per slice)

Pepperoni Pizza ($3.50 per slice)

They've got some classic favourites like Hawaiian and Pepperoni for you. Some other flavours include Spicy Chicken, All Cheese and something like a Meat Lovers among others.

The pizzas are actually pretty big in size so a slice is gonna be enough for one person to get filled-up.
If you're buying for a few people then you might consider buying the whole pizza?
They actually have those mini-size pizzas for $5 each and should be enough for a really hungry solo meal or maybe 2 people to share.

Well in case you were wondering, I didn't buy any of your usual flavours.
I saw something that was pretty unique and I couldn't resist ordering it just to try it out.

Sambal Ikan Bilis Pizza ($5.00 per slice)

Maybe I'm a jakun but I've never seen this around before.
Sambal Ikan Bilis Pizza! Unique or what! I know we always have Sambal Ikan Bilis with bread (which is technicall what a pizza is) but I was really curious to know how the cheese would come into play.

Cheese + Sambal Ikan Bilis is not really a combination that comes to mind am I right?

But OMG it's good!
The sambal ikan bilis itself was really tasty and you get bits of the ikan bilis when you take a bite.
Surprisingly enough, the cheese doesn't really affect the taste of the sambal but definitely plays a big part in making every bite a really good one.

And as you can see, they're not stingy on the cheese or the sambal too.
In fact, it was so tasty that I ended up eating the whole pizza by myself!

By the way, the Sambal Ikan Bilis Pizza only comes in the mini-pizza size.

Adam's Verdict: 
Sambal Ikan Bilis Pizza 4.5/5

I really enjoyed this pizza. Maybe because it was something different but definitely because it was tasty.
The pizza box has the brand 'Pezzo' which my darling wife and I tried once at Ion Orchard. I'm not sure if this is a subsidiary maybe? Or perhaps the same place with a different name for the bazaar.

Well, whatever the name - you really gotta try this!

My Pizza

Geylang Serai Bazaar Ramadhan

Area located near Singapore Post Centre and across the road from Tanjong Katong Complex
(Please see map below)

Operating Hours:
3.00pm til 2.00am Daily

Ramadhan Special 2013: Bussorah Street Bazaar

The street bazaar at Bussorah Street is back again this year.
It's been quite a favourite for the past few years even though it shifted location about 2 years ago.
And because of it's location, you'll find quite a few tourists as well soaking in the local festive atmosphere.

So what's up this year at Bussorah Street?

Khad's Kebab

El-Nour Nasi Arab

Warung Wak Emran

Quite queue in front of Watong Wak Emran.
We quickly learned that the stall was offering something you don't see very often.

Kentang Bol

Definitely something we love to eat but maybe lacking the time to make.
So if you'd like, get some Kentang Bol at Warung Wak Emran!

And we spotted another one of our faves at the bazaar again this year.

Anjung Otah-Otah Mini

That's right they're back again this year.
Anjung Otah-Otah Mini & Pau Johor still proving popular this year. What a long line there was!

In case you missed it, read our original review of Anjung here.
Definitely something to try!

Anjung Otah-Otah Mini (5 for $2)

Putu Piring

Mr Botak Favourite 1 Icy Chendol (That's the same guy in the logo!)

Roti Kirai ($4)

We bought the Roti Kirai just to check it out.
A little pricey at $4 for 3 pieces with some chicken curry I guess...

Yusof Power Briyani Dam (Longest queue at the bazaar!)

If there is one thing I actually regret not buying when we visited Bussorah Street is this dish called Nasi Kukus Ayam Dara which literally translates to 'Virgin Chicken Steamed Rice'.
Sounds interesting right?

Apparently it's been around for quite awhile and the draw is that since the chicken was a 'virgin', the meat is going to be all the more tender and delicious. Hmmmmm...
Guess I'll just try it next time!!

Errrr... anyone tried it before??

Well anyways it's obvious that the Bussorah Street Bazaar is still super popular.
Maybe it's the central location. Maybe people really love the stalls there. But even with rainy weather, the crowd was really out in full force.

We even bumped into my Godson there!

Raheel says "Memang sedaaapp!!"

I think it's actually really nice to have the bazaar around. Kind of like a throwback to the old days.
Even though it's not exactly the same, I guess we can't complain.

Let's enjoy it while we can.

Bussorah Street Ramadhan Bazaar 2013


Bussorah Mall/Muscat Street
Operating Hours: 3.00pm til 8.00pm

Student Ordered to Remove Cross Necklace at California College

Orthodox Christians will also be required to remove our crosses or conceal them, and we will be told we cannot make the Sign of the Cross in public places. We will no longer be allowed to make processions outside of our church buildings as part of our divine services.

These are just the early warning signs. Gird your loins.

Student Ordered to Remove Cross Necklace at California College
Daily Caller via Pravoslavie.ru

An official at Sonoma State University ordered a student working at a freshman orientation fair to remove or hide a cross necklace on two separate occasions. The unnamed official feared that other students could be offended by the two-inch-long symbol of Christianity. The first of the two incidents occurred at the public school in Northern California’s wine country on June 27, reports Fox News. The official, an orientation supervisor, warned Sonoma State student Audrey Jarvis that “the chancellor” enforced a policy against wearing religious items. “The chancellor” is presumably Timothy P. White, the chancellor of the entire 23-school California State University system. According to Hiram Sasser, an attorney representing Jarvis, the supervisor advised the practicing Catholic “that she could not wear her cross necklace because it might offend others, it might make incoming students feel unwelcome.” Jarvis, 19, said she was floored by the explanation. “I was offended because I believe as a Christian woman it is my prerogative to display my faith any way I like so long as it is not harming anyone else,” she told Fox News. “I was very hurt and felt as if the university’s mission statement — which includes tolerance and inclusivity to all — was violated.” On a second occasion, the supervisor ordered Jarvis to conceal the cross under her shirt or get rid of it. That’s when the liberal arts major decided to bail early on the orientation job. Sasser, the director of litigation at the conservative- and Christian-oriented Liberty Institute, calls the supervisor’s actions “obvious religious discrimination” and is seeking an apology. The attorney added that the law is pretty settled in this area. “State employees may wear crosses while they are performing their duties as long as the wearing does not interfere with the employees’ duties or harm the employer’s business interests,” Sasser counseled. Management at Sonoma State, a school known mostly as a laidback hippie haven with a nice library, is apologizing repeatedly and without reservation. “Someone who works here was concerned that the cross might be off-putting to students who are coming to campus for the first time,” confirmed university spokeswoman Susan Kashack. She added that the supervisor’s behavior was “completely wrong.” “It was absolutely an inappropriate action for him to make that request of her,” Kashack added, according to Fox News. “It’s possible that political correctness got out of hand.” Sonoma State President Ruben Arminana is in on the groveling as well. “The president was very upset about it and asked me to contact Miss Jarvis and give a profuse apology,” Kashack said. Kashack noted that school officials have communicated with the unidentified employee who ordered Jarvis to remove the cross necklace. However, she refused to disclose what was said or if he faces any sort of consequences.

Hamburg, Germany: Over 150 Muslims Attack Policemen, Shouting 'Allahu Akbar'

"Muslim young people’s Ramadan parties have become a real threat to public order in all European countries..."

Pravoslavie.ru - July 18, 2013

In Hamburg, on the night of July 12, after fasting, a group of young Muslims gathered in Holstenstraße street for a night meal after the Muslim fast. Soon after that the police received complaints from the drivers who were driving by: some people were blinding drivers in the street with laser pointers. A squad arrived in response to a call and tried to check the documents of sixteen gathered young men, however they began to behave aggressively, reports Bild.de. The youths started to yell threats at the policemen, beat the police car, and some of them attempted to attack the police officers. When the police tried to arrest the trouble-makers, one of them made a phone call and after some time, around 150 other Muslims assembled from the neighboring streets to the scene, and blocked the police officers. According to police evidence, those gathered were behaving extremely aggressively, making threats of reprisal and yelling, "Allah Akbar". Only after the arrival of 100 more policemen as reinforcement did it became possible to calm down the mob. As a result, sixteen people were arrested, and two trouble-makers were sent to the hospital. Muslim young people’s Ramadan parties (which have turned into a tradition) have become a real threat to public order in all European countries. News sources report merely report “nighttime disorder” in which "unidentified youths" participated, while the names and religious affiliation of the trouble-makers, as well as the reason for such gatherings, are not mentioned. However, the same phrase coming from the shouting crowd, "Allah Akbar", can be clearly heard in the video materials taken at the sites of these events.

Genocide against Christians in Syria seeks 'to finish off what has survived after the Ottoman Turks'.

"I believe that what is happening should only be called a genocide." —Joseph Hakim, President, International Christian Union (ICU)

Jihadista Performing Ethnic Cleansing of Christians in Syria Pravoslavie.ru - July 22, 2013 The president of the International Christian Union (ICU) Joseph Hakim believes that radical groups in the Syrian opposition are using the civil war to perform the ethnic cleansing of Christians, reports FRONTPAGEMAG.COM. The native Christians who are a minority in Syria at the present time "have to flee from their towns and villages" and seek refuge in less dangerous regions of the country and abroad. The ongoing bloodshed in Syria gives islamists an opportunity "to finish off what has survived after the Ottoman Turks", said the expert, referring to the genocide of Armenian Christians during the First world war. "I believe that what is happening should only be called a genocide," said Hakim. Hakim is complaining about the passiveness of the European community which is a witness of killing of Christians, beheading of priests, destroying of churches and kidnapping of bishops in Syria. In the expert’s view, it is a matter of coordinated efforts aimed at eradicating the Christian populations of Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and the Middle East.

Russian Orthodox Leader Condemns Gay Marriages, Warns of Apocalypse

What His Holiness warns about same-sex marriage is equally applicable to the frightening global resurgence of orthodox Islam.  Both of these deviant abnormalities are signs "of the approaching end of the world," and are "dangerous and apocalyptic symptoms."

Pravmir - July 21, 2013

MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) – Head of the Russian Orthodox Church warned Western governments on Sunday against legalization of same-sex marriages what he called a sign of approaching end of the world.

Patriarch Kirill said during a service at Moscow’s major cathedral that the recent initiatives in a range of countries to legalize same-sex marriages “is a dangerous and apocalyptic symptom” that should not spread over to Russia, according to Russian media reports.

While those who “fight the laws imposed by the minority are subject to repressions,” Kirill, who leads the Church known for its conservative views, was quoted as saying during his speech at Kazan Cathedral near Red Square on Sunday.

Russian authorities have been repeatedly criticized by human rights groups and Western officials over a recently passed law introducing punishment for “the promotion of nontraditional sexual relationships” among minors.