Penangโs iconic nasi kandar men all descended from the Ramnad district of Tamil Nadu, South India. Since the late-19th-century, the spice retail trade in Penang was dominated by the spice-women from Tenkasi and Kadayanallur, inland Tamil-Muslim towns in Tamil Nadu. The Ramnad cooks got their spices from these women in the old Chowrasta Market (founded 1850s), so Penangโs nasi kandar was unique in the sense that it was essentially a hybrid dish, where Tenkasi or Kadayanallur spice mixes were cooked using Ramnad techniques.
The owner of ๐ข๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ, Burhan Mohamed, said that his grandfather came to Penang from Ramnad district during that time. After learning the trade, Burhanโs father, Mohamed, left Penang in 1968 to seek greener pastures in KL. Over there, Mohamed had initially started work as an itinerant mee goreng seller in Jalan Kilang and Section 8 in Petaling Jaya.
Burhan started helping his father then, first from a pushcart, then a stall inside Seaview Restaurant in PJ Section 20 from 1970. At Seaview, they decided to switch to selling nasi kandar, which was more profitable.
Back then, Mohamedโs stall did not have a name, but young Burhan had earned the nickname โKayuโ (meaning โwoodenโ) from their customers, as he was rather slow and reticent. When Burhan took over the business upon his fatherโs retirement, he decided that his nickname was his โlucky charmโ, and renamed his business ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ.
Burhan then moved his business to Chow Yang in SS2 PJ in 1974, where he operated it under the name ๐ข๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ. He stayed there for 27 years, building a name for himself, before buying the corner shophouse near Chow Yang. That premises was to become ๐ข๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟโs main branch today.
๐ข๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ presently has 12 branches nationwide: 10 in KL/Selangor, and one each in Penang and Malacca. My lunch today was from its Penang branch in Bayan Baru โ Burhan Mohamedโs family history has come one full circle.
Nasi kandar lunches are essentially one-plate-meals, harking back to the days when coolies and shipyard workers had their meals standing up: holding the plates in their hands as they eat.
Our nasi kandar plates today:
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With chicken curry, curried eggplant, hard-boiled egg, sauteed okra, chopped cucumber/onions/pinepaple/ green chili
The rice is drenched with chicken curry gravy (โkuah ayamโ) and beef curry gravy (โkuah dagingโ).
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With blackened beef (โdaging masak hitamโ), curried pomfret, boiled okra, and hard-boiled egg, garnished with pappadum crisps on the side.
The rice is drenched with blackened beef gravy (โkuah daging masak hitamโ), beef curry gravy (โkuah dagingโ), and fish curry gravy (โkuah ikanโ).
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With curried chicken, blackened beef, hard-boiled egg, sauteed cabbage and boiled okra, garnished with pappadum crisps
Rice was drenched with beef curry gravy (โkuah dagingโ), and chicken curry gravy (โkuah ayamโ).
Address
Original Penang Kayu Nasi Kandar
15, Lebuh Nipah 6, Bukit Jambul, 11950 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +6012-555 8475
Open 24 hours
