Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
This one is for all the Northies. I have exciting news as Woodlands Pasar Malam also known as Marsiling Bazaar 2024 is back and happening now until the 12 Nov! As it’s literally right at the exit of Woodlands MRT station, you won’t miss the big glowing neon signboard!
With over 50 food and beverage stalls, the pasar malam is arranged in 3 rows. As I went on the first day (14 Oct), there were many empty stalls still being set up, so do keep your eyes peeled in the coming days for new stalls coming your way!
Towards the back, you will find a designated area with carnival games and various prizes to be won. Perfect for a family day out! Further back, there is also a shopping area for those who need to satisfy their retail therapy needs.
To begin, I saw a bright stall sign board with piles of buldak ramen in front of it. Feeling ambitious, I tried a Famous Korean Spicy Egg Roll Noodle (S$6). The preparation for this dish was unique with 3 stations of rectangular pans filled up with beaten eggs and ramen noodles.
A slice of cheese and sausage was then added to the pan before getting rolled up like an omelette. It wasn’t until my egg roll was about to get packaged that I realised the Korean ramen noodles said 2x spicy. Anxiously, I approached the owner and asked how spicy this would be, to which she replied “It’s still ok”.
She must have thought I was a fan of spicy food. While the egg roll had a nice creamy texture from the melted cheese, I felt like I had just torched my tastebuds. This one is for all the spice fans.
Frantically scrambling for a cold beverage, I heard a loud pounding noise next to the egg roll stall. Turns out they were serving lemon tea, and I saw a unique item which I ordered – Duck Sh*t Lemon Tea (S$4).
The pounding wasn’t from the construction of the pasar malam. I saw the stall owner pounding the citrus and ice from each order. It turns out the ‘duck sh*t’ effect was from the bits of mashed-up citrus and crushed ice. The owner tells me that their 3 tea options were brewed with premium tea leaves, and this was a very refreshing cleansing of my palette.
I then proceeded further in and stumbled across Adura’s Biryani with 3 large pots at the stall front. I ordered their signature Mutton Briyani (S$9.90).
The stall owner opened up the large pots and scooped up some rice and mutton for my dish.
As I pulled apart the mutton, it had a flaky feel, promising signs of a tender bite. But I was left disappointed with this. The mutton was dry and incredibly chewy and was not a memorable experience. Overall the dish lacked flavour and there wasn’t enough gravy poured over.
Just as I was exiting the pasar malam, I stumbled across Mr. Vadai. I was reluctant to try this given my past experiences with vadais at pasar malams. Still, I ordered their signature Prawn Vadai (S$1.30 for 1 pc) to try and change my negative experience.
I took a gamble and, to my surprise, it paid off. The owner said that this was a family recipe, the dough was very airy and fluffy. This was significantly better than the last vadai I tried as it wasn’t too salty or oily! Not a bad way to save my lacklustre day.
With very cosy indoor and outdoor seating areas to chill with your family and friends, you can enjoy your food finds while they are hot. While the Woodlands Pasar Malam is not worth the commute up north, it is still worth popping your head in if you are nearby or live in the area.
Woodlands Pasar Malam returns with Japanese taiyaki & Ringo carnival
