Hari Raya Market

Every year there is a celebration more commonly known as Eid, in Brunei and Malaysia it is known as Ramadan. It is the fasting month where Muslims cleanse themselves and focus on praying. They fast during daylight and eat and drink in the evening (sungkai). The idea behind it is simply wonderful.

After Ramadan, there is a festival called Hari Raya. It involves visiting friends and family at their 'open house'. This is where real indulgence occurs. 

An open house offers: numerous sweet drinks, several beef dishes, several chicken dishes, noodles, rice, vegetarian all followed by an immense number of cookies and cakes. The cakes are known as quay (pronounced as spelt, different to the english pronunciation). They are deliciously sticky, sweet and typically melt in your mouth. 

In Brunei there is a large open air market in Gadong town. It opens at around 6pm where people swarm the area buying a variety of food and drinks for sungkai. The vast amount of food offered is somewhat amazing. 

Here are some pictures that I took this year, I am aware of low quality and I do apologise to anyone who actually reads this blog.

The colour of the collection of these chillies were so amazing that I had to record it. The variety of orange and reds that were visible from only one type of chilli was amazing. 

I love how each collection of chillies or lime are arranged onto plates, which are then on a ramshackle yet somewhat quaint wooden bench.

 Both Hari Raya cookies and cakes looked gorgeous and were incredibly tantalising!

One of the most amazing sights had to be the Malay man making satay. As the flames got higher, he fanned them down; reducing them to merely a fog of smoke. As the air cleared a row of perfectly browned chicken satay lay on the grill. The smell was incredible and made my mouth water.

I literally cannot wait for ramadan next year, to experience the sights and sounds of the market during my last year in Brunei.