If there’s one thing we Singaporeans can agree on, it’s that we love to eat.
When we see a long queue outside a restaurant or food stall, we queue without even thinking because we want to get a taste of the good food attracting such a long queue. If queuing was a category in the Olympics, Singapore would win every year.
Anyway, good news for all foodies – this year’s Kampong Gelam Ramadan Bazaar 2024 will be bigger and better than ever.
Ramadan 2024
Ramadan, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar.
Yes, there are different calendars apart from our usual January to December. In fact, Chinese New Year starts on a different date every year because the Chinese also follow another calendar.
During Ramadan, Muslims fast, pray, and reflect. Fasting generally entails abstaining from food, drinks, and sexual relations from dawn to dusk. Even drinking water and chewing gum are prohibited during this period.
For Muslims, fasting acts as a private form of worship and as spiritual discipline. It allows Muslims to empathise with the less fortunate and grow closer to Allah, increasing their dhikr (remembrance of God).
Every Ramadan season brings with it a plethora of festive activities rich in culture and history. And of course, we all look forward to the exciting Ramadan Bazaars in March.
When you think Ramadan Bazaar, the one at Geylang Serai probably comes to mind. After all, it is usually the biggest and buzziest bazaar during this period. It even attracted some three million visitors last year.
However, there are actually many other bazaars with the same lively atmosphere and delicious food (and maybe even shorter queues). Skip out on Geylang Serai this year and see what the Kampong Gelam Ramadan Bazaar has to offer.
Or go to both. Don’t say bojio.
Kampong Gelam Ramadan Bazaar 2024
This year’s Kampong Gelam Ramadan Bazaar returns with the theme “Gemilang Kampong Gelam”, which translates to “Glorious Kampong Gelam”.
This bazaar not only celebrates the beginning of Ramadan 2024 but also pays tribute to the 200th anniversary of Masjid Sultan, also known as Sultan Mosque. Sultan Mosque, located at Muscat Street and North Bridge Road, is the oldest mosque in Singapore, and will be spotlighted during the Ramadan festivities.
Starting a week before the Muslim fasting month starts, the Kampong Gelam Ramadan Bazaar will be open for business on 2 March, and will operate for nearly five weeks until 5 April. Previous editions of this Bazaar only ran for about three weeks, making this year’s Bazaar significantly longer.
You know what that means – you can keep going back again and again throughout the month to try food and drinks from every single stall.
From 2pm to 11pm daily, 107 stalls will be open across three streets, selling culinary delights and retail items. Of these 107 stalls at the streets of Baghdad, Kandahar, and Muscat, about 80 will dedicated to selling food and drinks, with the rest selling handicrafts and local wares.
Crowd favourite food trucks and popular vendors like Broti and Kream will be at this year’s Bazaar, and you’ll be absolutely spoiled for choice by the wide variety of food and drink options available there.
If you haven’t tried Broti’s drinks or Kream’s hot dogs, you’re seriously missing out. Do your tastebuds a favour and head down to the Kampong Gelam Ramadan Bazaar to try them out.
Apart from the usual food and handicraft treasures sold there, this year’s Bazaar will feature exciting live cooking shows and performances by Malaysian artistes such as Tomok and Alif Satar. Local star Taufiq Basitah will be performing too, so don’t miss your chance to catch this dashing singer.
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Sultan Mosque, this gorgeous national monument will be included and spotlighted during the month’s festivities.
You can expect several curated series of art installations as well as light projections on Sultan Mosque every Friday to Sunday evening from 7.30pm, highlighting key happenings from the mosque’s history.
The light projections will see archival images from the National Archives of Singapore being cast on the 200-year old monument, creating a bridge between the past and the present.
The organisers, One Kampong Gelam, are expecting about 700,000 guests to jalan jalan and makan at this year’s Bazaar, so run, don’t walk.
Mass Iftar
Apart from the Bazaar, a mass iftar will be held on 23 March along Arab Street. Mass iftar aims to promote the community spirit of iftar and to raise funds for the unfortunate.
You can expect good food, great decorations, and fantastic vibes as the community comes together to break fast.
This event will host an estimated 1,500 attendees this year, including charity beneficiaries. Last year’s mass iftar saw about 1,200 attendees.
Tables will be open for the public to attend at a price, and part of the proceeds will go to Sultan Mosque and its beneficiary groups.
Last March, our eyes were peeled as we watched the drama unfold around Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar’s rental prices.
Some stall holders complained that despite paying high rental and receiving verbal promises that they would be the exclusive seller of a particular type of food in that area of the Bazaar, those promises were not delivered. Some stall holders were even paying up to $25,000 for rental!
I think that qualifies as daylight robbery.
Fortunately for vendors, it has been announced that this year, the Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar will have a rental cap of $15,000.
Following last year’s drama, this year’s organisers of the various bazaars are being extra careful.
One Kampong Gelam, the association responsible for the Kampong Gelam Ramadan Bazaar, announced that stall rental prices this year will be capped at $13,800 for food and beverage vendors, and $3,500 for retail vendors.
The Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar was also caught up in another set of drama last year involving the lack of sufficient seats. A man complained on Facebook that there weren’t enough seats for Muslims to break their fast in the evening, and specifically blamed non-Muslim bazaar patrons for filling up all the seats. He even suggested that some seats should be explicitly reserved for Muslims from 6:30pm onwards.
Many netizens, including Muslims, were quick to call him entitled and said that all people are welcome to attend Ramadan Bazaars. However, there were some that agreed with him.
While reserving seats might be a bit much, non-Muslims who want to leave seats for Muslims to break fast can eat at the bazaar before dusk, when Muslims have not yet broken their fast. Alternatively, finishing your food quickly and leaving instead of sitting down to chat could also make way for more Muslims to sit and enjoy iftar – their fast-breaking evening meal.