Travel like a local

Nasi Kandar Beratur Original

MALAYSIAN STREET FOOD

One of the most famous and popular nasi kandar restaurants in Penang. It only opens at 10pm. Not to be confused with the little nasi kandar stall that occupies the same space up until 10pm. "Beratur" means queue and it's been known to have queues all night since it opened in 1943, so the nickname has stuck.

I arrived at 9.45pm and a few minutes later they started to spring in to action and set up the restaurant. The queue starts from the left. I was 3rd in the queue and by about 10.15pm, I was choosing my food from the amazing buffet that had just appeared from the kitchens.

I had rice with "kuah campur" (mixed curry sauces - 8/10), ayam ros (6.5/10), mutton (9/10), beef (7.5/10) and omelette (9/10). It's all topped with some fantastic crispy onions (or shallots). It all came to about RM15. The meat portions are pretty small which means there's room for a selection. I also had the ais bandung (a pink rose syrup milky iced drink) after reading good things but it was a bit too sweet.

The whole experience was great and I understand why it's so popular. It definitely rivals Line Clear but it's different in a lot of ways. Highly recommended, especially if you're hungry after 10pm!


Update: I went back a few nights later, just after 11pm and was served after a couple of minutes. This time I had the fried chicken (8/10), mutton, omelette and salted egg. The chicken was great.

Update: Dec 2016 - I went at 10.30pm and queued for 20 minutes in the rain. I had the fried chicken (8/10), mutton (6/10), omelette (9/10) with the kuah campur (8/10). So it seems the omelette and mixed sauces are consistently great but the mutton was only great the first time.

Tip: If you like lots of curry sauce, try asking for "banjir" (flood) after you've ordered the "kuah campur".

Tip: Make sure you ask for a dollop of the chutney when you collect your plate. It's seems to be made of coconut and is quite citrusy.

Note: There are times when you might have to wait up to an hour.


Overall rating... 8/10