His invitation sets my mouth drooling and while I haven’t been back to Penang for a while, I yearn for the nasi kandar at the Kapitan Kling mosque in, I think, Pitt Street. I learnt about the place when I was a kid when Mum dragged my Dad and I to pray at the Kuan Yin temple. While she was kneeling to and worshipping the Chinese Penangites' most revered deity, Dad and I were eating at Penang’s most revered nasi kandar in front of the mosque, just a short walk away. Mum has always been pious while Dad and I were always hungry.
My dad loved any form of Indian food [Muslim or otherwise], and exposed me to these fares such as the one at the Kapitan Kling mosque, a row of stalls next to the old bazaar in Penang Road, Dawood restaurant somewhere in the vicinity of Penang Road, Sri Merah Minah* restaurant in Glugor and a stall right opposite Kuantan Road. I believe there were also some old stalls along Bricklin Road but I can’t be sure about this last one because after my old man passed away, I left Penang to work in another state.
* thanks to ali allah ditta's correction
Well, Ali, I’ll most certainly drop you a line next time I come Penang’s way so we may meet up. I look forward to this rendezvous.
Till we meet, cheers!
Anak PP
ali, I love to meet up with you - nice of you for your offer, I accept with thanks. Wonderful all my Penangite kinfolks are damn generous ;-)
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks too for refreshing me with all these wonders - how could I forget Craven A - I am only surprised it's still there but I wonder whether the kucing jumping through the No 9 is still on its roof? As a kid I used to steal a puff or two of Craven A.
Yes, it ought to be Minah and not Merah [at least I've got the 'M' correct] - I am sorry to hear that Dawood has gone, I remember my Dad ordering me to go by City Council bus all the way to Penang St (thanks for the correction) for Dawood's fantastic curry bawal putih - my Dad likes the tail so as a kid I would carry a tiffin carrier all the way there and then ask for the 'punggung' instead of 'ekor'. Years later my Bahasa teacher venerable & highly respected Mr Abdul Karim had a jolly good laugh when I told him what I said to the restaurant man.
I was only a kid then under Mr Abdul Karim so I am not sure whether he was a NUTP leader in Penang. He was, I think, an Indian Muslim, stout like a man who enjoyed his food, yes, he had a paunch, wore specs, shaven but always carrying the faint signs of a growing beard, superb in 3 languages - English and Melayu [he taught me both] and also Arabic[he mentioned this to me once].
ReplyDeleteI vaguely recall he lived somewhere in Lorong Aboo Sittee or Lorong Selamat, you know that area between Jalan Burma and Jalan Macalister. But I last heard from an old school mate that he had moved to Bayan Baru in the south. I would imagine, if still alive, he would be quite old and definitely retired by now.
Truly one of the best teacher I had the privilege of studying under.