We had lunch at one of the oldest nasi kandar spots in town: ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐บ๐ถ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป on Lorong Pasar (Market Street).
๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐บ๐ถ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป harked back to the 1930s, although it was not a registered business back then. Current third-generation owner, Faizan Ali, shared his grandfatherโs tale of having Japanese soldiers around during the time he was hawking nasi kandar through the war years. Penang was occupied by the Japanese imperial army from 1941 to 1945.
Formally registered in 1949, ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐บ๐ถ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป got its name from its original location outside the Immigration Office on Beach Street. They were forced to relocate when a new immigration director didnโt like having a hawker food stall located in front of the office. Despite being offered to relocate to the well-established Esplanade Food Court, ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐บ๐ถ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป decided on its current street location, which the owners felt is more suitable for their type of business.
Today, itโs still one of the most dependable and most recognizable nasi kandar spots in town - well-known for their milder curries, and the gentle demeanor of Faizan Aliโs father who, despite relinquishing control of the business to his son 20 years ago, is still present at the stall to serve all the customers himself.
We were served by the old boss, Pak Ali, himself yesterday: famously soft-spoken and very polite to all his customers. He recommended the stallโs specialties to first-time customers like us: ๐ข๐บ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ด๐ข๐ฌ ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด (red-hued chicken curry) and ๐จ๐ถ๐ญ๐ข๐ช ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ (a dark, thick beef curry).
Pak Ali then drizzled his stallโs famous trinity of curry gravies: ๐ฌ๐ถ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ช๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ (fish gravy), ๐ฌ๐ถ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ข๐บ๐ข๐ฎ (chicken gravy) and ๐ฌ๐ถ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ (beef gravy) onto our lunch plates. To him, a plate of nasi kandar is ๐ฃ๐๐ซ๐๐ง complete without a mix of these gravies. A generous sprinkling of crisp, aromatic ๐ฃ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ (golden-fried onions) crowned each of our plates of messy deliciousness.
Pak Ali reminded us not to miss the ๐ด๐ข๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฏ๐บ๐ช๐ฐ๐ณ, the Mamak adaptation of Tamil kara-chutney (an opaque-colored chili-spiked coconut chutney), set in a large serving bowl upfront for customers to help themselves. Iโd seen similar coconut chutneys at Merlin Nasi Kandar (at Union St, Penang) and Nasi Kandar Ganja in Ipoh, but those were dispensed out sparingly by the respective nasi kandar-men, ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ as generously offered as here at ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐บ๐ถ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป.
We understood why Pak Ali turned down the offer to locate his business in a proper food-court - nasi kandar has its roots in the early 20th-century as a street food, serving one-plate meals to its customers: mainly dock-workers at the Penang port, coolies and other blue-collar workers. The dish retains its one-plate identity today, even though present-day customers tend to pile on much more side-dishes and garnishes onto their respective lunch plates nowadays.
No beating the casual feeling of street-side dining.
Address
Nasi Kandar Imigresen
8, Lorong Pasar (Market Street), 10200 George Town, Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: +6016-453 0046
Opening hours: 9am to 7pm daily, except Fridays (Closed)
