Line Clear is an unassuming, 24-hour nasi kandar joint providing generous plates of traditional Penang-style Indian fare, and one of the pioneers of the genre in Penang.
Line Clear Nasi Kandar is one of the most famous and legendary Nasi Kandar seller in Penang has been selling nasi kandar at this location since 1930. Line Clear is located inside an alleyway/lorong along Penang Road, it’s highly favored by Penang locals as well as tourists.
Nasi kandar, which hails from Penang, is a popular Malaysian dish and was brought to Malaysia 70 years ago from India when Tamil-Muslim immigrants roamed the port and dusty streets of colonial Penang, dragging around heavy baskets laden with home cooked dishes and rice.
A nasi kandar server is a “mixologist” of sorts – his skill is judged by how well he mixed-and-matched the various types of curry sauces onto your plate, resulting in a potpourri of sometimes contrasting flavours which will somehow come together to become better than the sum of its parts.
The curries are mainly of South Indian Tamil-Muslim origin, with very distinct flavours and aromas which set them apart from other regional Indian, Malay, Indonesian or Thai curries widely available in Penang.
Traditionally, Penang’s nasi kandar vendors all hail from the Ramnad district of Tamil Nadu in India, whilst the spice-women who traditionally provide the spice blends and curry mixes which characterise nasi kandar curries came mainly from Tenkasi and Kadayanallur districts in Tamil Nadu. It is this very unique combination of Ramnad cooking techniques and Tenkasi/Kadayanallur spice blends which resulted in the extraordinarily aromatic and distinctive Penang nasi kandar curry flavours.
Their curry spiciness was less than most others I have tried, but I was told they can up the heat a notch if you ask. If you eat spicy, I suggest you request for spicy curry gravy (kuah pedas) during your visit.
On top of all the curries and spicy dishes, all nasi kandar stalls have their own spice blend for the fried chicken. The fried chicken at Line Clear was much simpler in terms of tastes versus the one from Deens Maju.
Nasi kandar stalls tend to have limited choice of vegetables – cucumbers, okra and cabbage. Line Clear was no different. Nevertheless, the gobi sabzi (cabbage curry) was delicious and was different to others with the inclusion of bean sprouts.
Despite what they said online, the service we got was prompt and good (except for the drink seller). Hygiene was ok, we found a strand of hair in my teh halia (ginger milk tea). Other than that, the food was spot on, and strangely for that afternoon the queue was not what they described online.
Restoran Nasi Kandar Line Clear
Beside 161 & 177 Penang Road, George Town, 10000 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Tel : +60 (04) 261 4440
Visited Jun 2024
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