Lunch today was at ๐๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ช๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ kiosk at the Kompleks Makanan Persiaran Gurney (Gurney Drive Food Complex) run by the personable owner-chef Syazana Khan, assisted by her husband, Fairuz.
Tall, statuesque Syazana Khan is half-Zambian, half-Malay. She owed her exotic looks to her Zambian mother, Beryl Yvette Howes, who descended from the Ndebele tribe of Southern Africa, renowned for their artistic talents, their painted houses and colorful beadwork. As a child, Syazanaโs mother nicknamed her โBoomaโ, meaning โchubby dollโ in their native Bantu language. Her regular customers still called her by this nickname today!
Her motherโs English surname was due to her great-great-grandfather, Harry Scovell Howes, an English adventurer whoโd settled in Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe) and married an Ndebele tribal princess (Syazanaโs own maternal great-great-grandmother!). Syazanaโs father, Mohamed Rabbiyal Khan, is a Penang-born Jawi Peranakan, with Malay, Punjabi and Afghan roots.
Syazana named her food kiosk โAfrosianโ to reflect her African and Asian parentage, and draws upon her rich, mixed heritage to provide the inspiration for her food offerings.
The ๐๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ-๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป is an obvious nod to her Southern African roots โ the early Portuguese settlers arrived in Africa with chile peppers (known as โpiri-piriโ to the Swahili tribesmen). The chicken needs to marinate for at least four hours before being grilled.
The succulent grilled chicken drumstick I had was smothered with a lightly-spiced, pureed capsicum sauce.
African Rice with Piri-piri Grilled Chicken. The bowl of chickpea-based gravy is drawn upon the North African ๐ก๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ soup.
Syazana offers a variety of cakes, but the favorite one among her regulars is the ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ & ๐๐๐น๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฎ (palm sugar) ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ.
Address
Afrossian Western Food
Kompleks Makanan Persiaran Gurney (Gurney Drive Food Complex)
10250 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +6012-440 6515
Opening hours: 8am to 5pm, Mon to Thu, Sat & Sun. Closed on Fridays.
