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Penang Nasi Kandar

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Penang Nasi Kandar (2 May 2008)


Penang Nasi Kandar a popular rice meal of Indian Muslim origin. It is one of the most famous hawker food of Penang, and is one that all races can enjoy, as it is sold by Muslims.

The nasi kandar got its name from the rod that was once used to shoulder the food from place to place. In the old days, itinerant nasi kandar vendors would carry the rice and various dishes suspended from either ends of a pole to their customers. This portable style of selling nasi kandar has entirely disappeared, and the dish retains nothing from the old days but its name. Today nasi kandar stalls are more likely to be stationed on a permanent site, either in a coffee shop or, in its most recent incarnation, 24-hour Nasi Kandar Shops.

Patrons choose a variety of side dishes that may include curry fish, curry beef, curry chicken, roasted chicked, boiled egg, kacang bendi (lady's fingers/okra), sotong (squid), terong (brinjal/aubergine/egg plant), and fish roe.

Nasi Kandar (15 September 2012)


Although there are many 24-hour Nasi Kandar stalls in Penang, in my opinion, none (not one!) of them is able to capture the authentic nasi kandar taste that Penang is famous for. If you want the traditional nasi kandar, seek out the standalone stall in a coffee shop or against a wall or alcove in George Town or elsewhere in Penang. That is where you can enjoy the genuine taste of Nasi Kandar.


Nasi Kandar is available not only in dedicated nasi kandar restaurants, but also as standalone stalls in Chinese coffee shops, or sold my itinerant hawkers by the roadside. It is however rare and probably no longer available to see nasi kandar sold in the traditional way, which is, carried on a rod from place to place.

In my food map below, I point out all the locations I've discovered nasi kandar stall, and will add to it from time to time.

Nasi Kandar Stalls in Penang

Recommended Stalls for Nasi Kandar by members of Hawker Food Planet

  1. Adrian Goh recommended the nasi kandar at Hans Food Centre on Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim in Jelutong, Penang, on 31 October, 2019.
Join Hawker Food Planet and share your hawker food recommendations, which will be cataloged into this website under Recommendations by Location and Recommendations by Food Type.

Where to find Nasi Kandar Stalls in Penang

Nasi Kandar is available at the following outlet. Check out also my Penang Nasi Kandar Restaurant Directory.
  1. Kedai Kopi Melo
  2. Hameediyah Restaurant, Relau
  3. Nasi Kandar SMR
  4. Restoran Tajuddin Hussain
  5. Restoran Ros Mutiara
  6. Restoran Farsal, Jalan Utama
  7. Sulaiman Nasi Kandar, Pinang Restoran
  8. Rahim Nasi Kandar
  9. Restoran Qayyum, Bayan Lepas
  10. Nasi Kandar Line Clear Bayan Lepas
  11. Restoran Kassim Mustafa, Chulia Street
  12. Restoran Khaleel, Chulia Street
  13. Maj Muslim Food
  14. Restoran Seven Star
  15. Restoran Nasi Kandar Safaa
  16. Restoran NS Nasi Kandar Queensbay
  17. Restoran NS Nasi Kandar George Town
  18. Restoran Nasi Kandar Salam
  19. Restoran Khaleel Bukit Gambir
  20. Restoran Kapitan Queensbay
  21. Pelita Nasi Kandar, Lotus's Penang
  22. Pelita Nasi Kandar, Giant Bayan Baru
  23. Pelita Nasi Kandar, Sungai Dua
  24. Pelita Nasi Kandar, Macalister Road
  25. Nasi Kandar Makbul, Bukit Jambul
  26. Nasi Kandar Makbul, Batu Maung
  27. Merlin Nasi Kandar
  28. Kassim Nasi Kandar
  29. Ali Ameir Nasi Kandar
  30. Restoran Habeeb Nasi Kandar
  31. Nasi Kandar Kampong Melayu
  32. Restoran Nasi Kandar Istimewa, Plaza Ivory
  33. Nasi Kandar Subaidah, Taman Pekaka
  34. Restoran Minah, Gelugor
  35. Al Hass Cafe, Burmah Road
  36. Dinas Nasi Kandar, Batu Maung
  37. Nasi Kandar Pokok Ketapang, Hutton Lane
  38. Nasi Kandar Zamruud Bayan Baru
  39. Nasi Kandar Zamruud Bukit Jambul
  40. Restoran Deen, Jelutong
  41. Hameediyah Restaurant Jelutong
  42. Restoran Kapitan Queensbay
  43. Selera Sim, Jalan Tengah
  44. Seng Lee Cafe, Bangkok Lane
  45. Padang Brown Hawker Centre
  46. Nasi Kandar Nana, Kampung Jawa, Bayan Baru
  47. 77 Bali Bali Cafe, Sungai Dua
  48. Kedai Kopi Tai Min, Jelutong (relocated to Ali Ameir Nasi Kandar )
  49. Kedai Kopi Cameron Highland, Batu Lanchang
  50. Restoran Farhah Maju, Farlim
  51. Bayan Baru Hawker Centre (Restoran Farsal, Bayan Baru)
  52. Beratur Nasi Kandar, Pitt Street
  53. Hai Beng, Burmah Road, Pulau Tikus
  54. Hameediyah Restaurant Campbell Street
  55. Hup Guan, Burmah Road, Pulau Tikus
  56. Kafe Bamboo, near Jelutong Market, at corner of Jalan Jelutong with Jalan Penaga
  57. Line Clear Nasi Kandar, stall at lane in Penang Road, between Chulia Street and Kampung Malabar
  58. Mohd Raffe, Burmah Road, Pulau Tikus
  59. Restoran Kapitan Chulia Street
  60. Restoran Yasmeen, Penang Road
  61. Jelutong Market (evening)

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About this website



Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.

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