Inside my 60-hour nasi kandar binge

Seeing Malaysia beyond the superficial Without the kith-and-kin ties of older generations, young Singaporeans know Malaysia mainly through food and shopping. Can that be enough?

- Bhavan Jaipragas

The spread at Nasi Kandar Line Clear in George Town. nasi kandar, a Tamil Muslim fare, is one of the culinary treasures of the northern Malaysian state of Penang. What truly makes the dish a thing to lust for is the kuah campur, or mixed curries (mutton, chicken, black sotong), says the writer. ST PHOTOS: BHAVAN JAIPRAGAS

(ST PHOTOS: BHAVAN JAIPRAGAS)

At the ride-hailing pickup point at Penang’s Bayan Lepas airport, a porter pushing empty luggage trolleys throws me an impatient look. I am blocking his way, lost in a daydream on this rainy November morning. Not about the dreadful crawl into George Town, or even the literary festival I have timed this weekend getaway around, but about the nasi kandar order I am about to make.

It is 9.10am; my Grab is set not to the hotel to drop my bag off, or to the festival venue, but to one of the hallowed shrines of nasi kandar, the Tamil Muslim fare that is one of the culinary treasures of this northern Malaysian state.

I visualise — as Cristiano Ronaldo does before a free kick — how my order of this dish, first cooked for stevedores and labourers, will go.

I will say, ya makan (“having here”, as opposed to bungkus, “takeaway”). After the man scoops the steaming white rice onto the plate, I must not dawdle and show myself up as a nasi kandar noob. Hide your excitement, rattle off the dishes you want nonchalantly. First, ayam bawang (fried chicken marinated with a generous amount of spices and fried shallots), followed by kobis (cabbage) and telur rebus (boiled egg).

And then what truly makes nasi kandar a thing to lust for: Ask for kuah campur (mixed curries), and the man will slather the lot on the rice with practised ease, all the curries — mutton, chicken, black sotong — in different amounts so it is not overpowering. It is a “melange”, as I imagine Jahabar Sadiq, the Malaysian journalist who wrote a book on this dish, would say.