Nasi kandar shop in Penang draws crowd with century-old recipes
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Nasi kandar shop in Penang draws crowd with century-old recipes
Hameediyah Restaurant has thrived for 112 years, a testament to its curry and masala recipes that have been passed downwards for generations.
Hameediyah Restaurant at Campbell Street, Penang, has been selling nasi kandar since 1907. (Photograph: Amir Yusof)
GEORGE Boondocks, Penang: Queueing for up to an hour nether the hot dominicus is no outcome for customers of the famous Hameediyah nasi kandar restaurant in downtown Penang.
During most days, the line spills out of the premises and into the busy street, a sign of the restaurant's popularity.
Options are aplenty, with fried seafood, cabbage with masala spices, ladies' fingers and more.
The workers operate with efficiency, piling the customers' picks on either white rice or yellow briyani.
And and then comes the best part - ladles of pipe hot gravy are poured on the rice, covering almost the entire plate.
The curries – choices of chicken, mutton, fish head and prawn – fill the air with a mouthwatering spicy aroma.
Mr Muhd Lufti Hamzah, a Penang resident who frequents the restaurant, said he is addicted to Hameediyah's curry.
"The curry is really the best in Penang, and when I sense of taste information technology, the flavours merely meld perfectly. I will queue for this," he added.
For more than a century since the establishment opened in 1907, the concoction of chilli powder, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and a dozen other Indian spices in the curry stew has drawn a steady stream of customers.
Today, Hameediyah continues to command a loyal following among the locals in Penang, equally well equally foreign visitors wishing to sample ane of the state's virtually famous dishes.
With its long history of serving the popular fare, it is probable the oldest nasi kandar eating house in Malaysia.
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THROUGH BRITISH COLONIAL Menstruation, JAPANESE OCCUPATION
Ahamed Seeni Pakir, the sixth-generation owner of the establishment, has his corking-great-smashing-grandfather to thank for the successful business he now runs.
He shared stories of how the late Mohamed Thamby Rawther began selling nasi kandar during the British colonial period.
A spice trader from Republic of india, Mr Mohamed Thamby rented a shophouse at Campbell Street to sell rice with curry to evidence his customers how to use the spices in their cooking.
He and other Indian traders would remainder a pole, or 'kandar' in Malay, across their shoulders, with two baskets on both ends carrying pots of rice, curry, vegetable and meat. This method of conveying food gave nasi kandar its name.
Mr Ahamed said the nasi kandar sellers would sell the dishes at the trading docks at nearby Penang Jetty, calling out to attract customers.
"The area in front of Mr Mohamed Thamby'south shophouse had an angsana tree and open field. He would walk from the tree to the jetty, yelling 'Nasi kandar!' The locals loved it," he said.
Business continued through the Japanese Occupation during World War II, Mr Ahamed said.
"The Japanese soldiers stationed in Penang were very fond of curry, and my parents told me they would come up to Lebuh Campbell to eat nasi kandar also. Information technology was universally pop," he said.
Afterwards the state of war, the British granted a permit for Hameediyah to operate as a eating house, and that was when business started to flourish, he said.
"During those days, our customers didn't accept much of a choice.
"We would scoop rice, curry, a vegetable dish - which was usually ladies' fingers - and an egg for all customers. It came as a gear up. Merely they still loved information technology, I can still retrieve the queues during the Merdeka days," he added.
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Mr Ahamed said he sympathised with customers who take to wait at to the lowest degree 30 minutes to an 60 minutes to order their food.
"They don't mind queueing for a long time, provided they get to eat," he said.
"They come with family and friends on celebratory occasions or just for a hearty meal. It'south an ideal place for a family banquet," added the 65-year-old.
In addition to this Campbell Street restaurant, Hameediyah has three other outlets – i in Penang and two about Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur.
GENERATIONS-Quondam FORMULA
What is the secret to Hameediyah's continued success?
It makes its own back-scratch and masala spices using fresh spices and ghee imported from India, Mr Ahamed revealed.
"We don't buy commercial spice mix. We don't use MSG or other processed spices to reach a certain taste. Nosotros stick to the historic period old method based on a formula that has been passed downward for generations," he said.
The spices are used for the restaurant's signature dishes - beef rendang, craven kapitan, chicken back-scratch and briyani rice - and the cooks treat each pot of back-scratch with not bad care.
"When making the back-scratch, nosotros sample it more than than 20 times earlier we declare the taste is right," he said.
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While information technology has an array of established dishes that is pop among customers, Mr Ahamed is aware that the outlet needs to offer new options to attract repeat customers, particularly with the intense competition among nasi kandar outlets in Penang.
"Nosotros have exotic choices, similar geese, rabbit or ostrich curry for those who want to try, just it's not for everyone," he said.
The outlet at Campbell Street also has a station defended to making murtabak, a thick meat pancake savoured with curry dishes, and a traditional stove for blistering naan.
A French visitor, who wanted to be known only as Amelie, told CNA that she visited the restaurant every twenty-four hour period during her 2-week stay in Penang.
"The back-scratch is something out of this world," said the 29-twelvemonth-erstwhile. "Since I don't usually eat rice, I have murtabak and naan to become with the different gravies.
"I'll wing back to Penang again just for this."
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-penang-nasi-kandar-curry-spice-oldest-229351
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