NASI KANDAR - Penang Street Food

Nasi Kandar is synonymous with Penang as this is where this famous meal originates from. The interesting part about Nasi Kandar is that it is not a stand alone dish, but rather a whole subset of the Indian-Muslim cuisine in Malaysia!

Nasi Kandar - Penang Street Food

The Nasi Kandar is basically rice served with a host of curries, meat, vegetables and other side dishes. What sets a plate of the tantalising nasi kandar apart from other rice dishes is the curries. Yes, curries, lots and lots of curries. 

Here's a tip for the untrainded: when ordering Nasi Kandar, ask for 'kari campur | mixed curries' which means a combination of the various curries on their menu. You will experience an explosion of taste unlike any curry you have enjoyed before. The curries served are chicken, fish, prawn, squid and beef, with the occasional crab and fish roe, as well as the popular no-spicy lamb kurma. 

The word Nasi Kandar, came about from a time when nasi [rice] hawkers or vendors would kandar [balance] a shoulder pole with two huge containers of rice meals. The name has remained and today the word Nasi Kandar is seen on most Tamil Muslim or "Malaysian Mamak" restaurants and Indian-Muslim stall meals.

Prices range from RM5.00 to above RM10.00 per plate depending on your order of side dishes. Since it is often sold in restaurants owned by Muslims, Nasi Kandar is a halal dish.