It’s available at practically every street corner and row of shops, almost as ubiquitous as, if not more so, than hawker food. Indian Muslim (mamak) vendors would walk around the neighbourhood, carrying the rice and curries which were balanced in tiered baskets on either end of a long pole (kandar) lain across their shoulders, shouting out their wares. When beckoned by a hungry patron, they would stop, lower the pole and lay out the tiers so that he could see and select what was on offer.

Nowadays they don’t do this anymore; for hygiene and logistics reasons, they have now gone upmarket, so to speak, and nasi kandar outlets abound all over Penang and the rest of Malaysia.

It’s a particular blend of spicy food eaten with plain or flavoured rice which is subtly different to Malay or Indian cuisine, although sometimes the line is not clear, and overlaps more as time goes by.

According to 54-year old Zubaidah bt Mohd Hussein, who has been running the Nasi Kandar stall at the Lee Huat Cafe at the junction of Green Lane and Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim Road for the past 35 years, the food used to consist of just rendang (a dry beef curry), fried fish or chicken, and a curry with lots of gravy.

Nowadays, many more dishes have been added, and on top of those few staples, you’ll also be able to try many different types of curries, including one of our most famous, Curry Fish Head. There are also tau kua (firm taufu), fish, squid and prawns, different types of meats cooked in a variety of ways: in sambals and gulais (curries), in ketchup (thick soya sauce) or in biryanis.

Vegetables are also served, cooked in different styles: coconut-based soups (masak lemak), sweet and sour, plain stir-fried or with chillies and other spices. The only limitation to what you will find will be the imagination and skill of the nasi kandar cook – some places can offer up to 50 different choices – and how big your eyes (or stomach) are, and of course how deep your pocket is!