Transporting Original ‘Nasi Kandaq’ Fresh From Penang To KL

By Balkish Awang

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) – Want to enjoy a plate of none other than the original nasi kandar (or nasi kandaq as pronounced by the Penang Malays) in a restaurant setting without having to travel all the way to Penang?

One enterprising man is making this possible by bringing freshly cooked nasi kandar from Penang and serving it to his customers at a restaurant in Equine Park in Seri Kembangan, Selangor.   

Penang-born Mohamed Hidzir Mohamed Nordin, who is also known as Mamu Zir, introduced this service a month ago through his company Nasi Kandaq Transporter (NKT) and it has been drawing a positive response from people hankering for the original nasi kandaq.

Mohamed Hidzir Mohamed Nordin. --fotoBERNAMA (2022) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Mohamed Hidzir told Bernama to enjoy the mouth-watering meals at the Equine Park restaurant – where he has entered into a deal with the owner to serve nasi kandar every Saturday – customers have to pre-order them.

“The concept of bringing nasi kandar directly from certain popular restaurants in Penang and serving it to my customers at the restaurant here is my latest tactic to fulfil the demand for this food.

“I’m sure many people will feel nostalgic when enjoying the taste and flavours of the fresh nasi kandar that I bring to them… they may feel they are eating it in Penang itself,” he said.

RESTAURANT DINING

Mohamed Hidzir serving the nasi kandar from Penang to his customers at the Equine Park restaurant. fb.com/hashtag/nasikandaqtransporter

Elaborating on this concept, Mohamed Hidzir said the idea came to him after the government lifted interstate travel restrictions and the demand for nasi kandar deliveries dropped.

“For the nasi kandar that I serve at the Equine Park restaurant, I order the rice, dishes (such as fish curry, mutton curry and fried fish) and gravies from a particular restaurant in Penang. They are all transported to the restaurant here in big pots and containers and served to customers who pre-ordered the food,” he explained.

Customers here who wish to tuck into their favourite Penang nasi kandar at the restaurant must place their orders with NKT a week earlier.

NKT delivers nasi kandar from Penang to its customers in the Klang Valley every Saturday and Sunday. fb.com/hashtag/nasikandaqtransporter

Every Saturday, Mohamed Hidzir picks up the food from Penang and transports it to the restaurant in Taman Equine where he himself would be present to serve his customers between 5 pm and 7 pm, which is the time allotted to them to savour their nasi kandar. 

Each week he brings enough food for 200 to 300 servings. Each serving is priced at between RM7 and RM14, depending on the dishes selected by the customers. According to Mohamed Hidzir, the prices are the same as those charged by the original restaurant in Penang, adding that he imposes a service charge of RM10 on his customers.   

DELIVERY SERVICE

The nasi kandar packs are handed over to NKT drivers in Sungai Buloh. --fotoBERNAMA (2022) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Mohamed Hidzir, meanwhile, has also been offering nasi kandar delivery services to his customers in Kuala Lumpur and other states in the peninsula since June 2020.

He said he embarked on this venture after his previous office cleaning business was hit by the enforcement of movement controls.

“When I first started the delivery service, I used to bring back only 24 packs of nasi kandar to Kuala Lumpur each time I made a trip to Penang. But the response was so good that the order even went up to 2,000 packs a day at one time,” he said, adding that these days he only makes deliveries to customers in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor on Sunday and would receive orders for 400 to 500 packs each week.

Orders for the nasi kandar from Penang must be done one week ahead. --fotoBERNAMA (2022) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

To ensure the freshness of the nasi kandar delivered to his customers, Mohamed Hidzir leaves for Kuala Lumpur at noon after picking up the orders at selected well-known nasi kandar restaurants in Penang. He then stops at Sungai Buloh where several drivers appointed by NKT would collect the nasi kandar packs for customers in locations such as Shah Alam, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Setiawangsa, Cheras and Kajang.

NKT also delivers Penang nasi kandar to customers in Kelantan, Terengganu, Melaka and Johor on alternate weeks, as well as to Kedah and Perlis every Thursday and Perak on Friday.

Customers can place their orders for their favourite Penang nasi kandar via NKT’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. They can also join NKT’s Telegram and WhatsApp groups.

Translated by Rema Nambiar

BERNAMA