Nasi Kandar in Dubai?

believe it!

 

nasi kandaq in dubai!

 

the self-confessed kandaq-freak mr. khairul was clearly the happiest to have nasi kandar for dinner in dubai. he was savagely enjoying his plate of nasi kandar, and in a few blinks, everything was gone from his plate. and this is in the comfort of our home in dubai marina.

me? let’s just say i still don’t get what’s all the fuss about! kari? kari is kari la. apenya yang baguih sangat nasi kandaq tu! hihi.

nasi kandar is a popular northern malaysian dish, which originates from penang. it is a meal of steamed rice which can be plain or mildly flavored, and served with a variety of curries and side dishes such as fried chicken, curried spleen, cubed beef, fish, prawn or squid and okra (lady fingers). nasi kandar is seen on most tamil muslim or "malaysian mamak" restaurants and indian-muslim stall meals.

a mixture of curry sauces is poured on the rice. this is called 'banjir' (flooding) and imparts a diverse taste to the rice. ~wikipedia

 

the happy penang boy enjoying his plate

 

where the heck did that nasi kandar come from? a newly opened mamak nasi kandar corner in dubai marina? has his prayer been answered? hihi.

to malaysians staying in dubai, don’t get too excited yet.

actually, mr. khairul’s mom, his younger brother and family just arrived for cuti-cuti dubai. upon my sis-in-law’s request, they had actually brought along neatly packed curries and nasi kandar dishes from their favorite restaurant in puchong. like, for real!

 

my sis-in-law teh (also the happiest little clam to get nasi kandaq since she’ll be going back to egypt soon insyaAllah), mr. khairul’s younger bro angah and my mom-in-law

 

it’s no ‘line clear’, or ‘nasi kandaq beratoq’, but from an equally established ‘brand’ of nasi kandar – ZNK, or ‘zainol nasi kandar’. this is also mr. khairul’s favorite nasi kandar haunt, apart from the two restaurant i mentioned previously.

we usually go to the one in pj – which is the first ever branch. this one in puchong is a branch ran by the original owner; mr. zainol himself! the one in pj is now manned by his children. if you want good nasi kandar in the klang valley, with taste closer to penang, try ZNK (attention to ica! hihi). read about my review of ZNK here.

i’ve heard of malaysians ‘smuggling’ in durian to dubai from malaysia, but nasi kandar? this is a first!

my mother-in-law were sniffing the curries to make sure they survived the 6-hour flight – and they’re still okay! as she heated it up, the lovely smell of kari nasi kandaq filled our dubai home.

unbelievable!

 

there’s the must-have gulai ikan (fish curry)…

 

…along with the fish curry’s perfect partner – the thick gravy of daging masak hitam…

 

 

..complemented by the crunchy crispy ayam goreng kunyit berempah!

 

 

oh, and don’t forget the telur mata! lagi lembik lagi kaw! – btw, ini masak kat rumah ok. kalo ni pun nak import dari malaysia tu malampau la kan haha.

 

tada! mr. khairul’s plate!

 

actually this plate was very mild compared to what it’s supposed to be – hot steamed rice, checked! kari mamak, checked! but the rice should be more soggy, soaked in thick curry. it’s also compulsory for the rim of the plate to be comot with smudges of poured curry! pinggan nasi kandaq nih kemas sangat ni! hihi.

sigh. if it were mine, the gravy would be much, much less – and on the side!

anyway, mr. khairul even saved the curry for lunch the next day. yes, that’s how sayang he is with the kari nasi kandaq! thanks a bunch to my mom-in-law for flying in the dishes all the way from a humble little restaurant in puchong.

thanks!