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.

The word Nasi Kandar, came about from a time when nasi [rice] hawkers or vendors would kandar [balance] a pole on the shoulder with two huge containers of rice meals. The name has remained and today the word Nasi Kandar is seen on most Tamil Muslim or “Malaysian Mamak” restaurants and Indian-Muslim stall meals.

The rice for a nasi kandar dish is often placed in a wooden container about three feet high, giving it a distinctive aroma. The rice is accompanied by side dishes such as fried chicken, curried spleen, cubed beef, fish roe, fried prawns or fried squid. The vegetable dish would usually be brinjal (aubergine), okra (lady fingers or “bendi”) or bitter gourd. A mixture of curry sauces is poured on the rice. This is called ‘banjir’ (flooding) and imparts a diverse taste to the rice.

Traditionally, nasi kandar is always served with its side dishes on a single plate. Nowadays, small melamine bowls are used for the side dishes. Nevertheless, the curry sauce mix is always poured directly onto the rice.

The most famous nasi kandar stalls in Penang are,Kassim Restaurant and Line Clear.In Selangor, one chain of nasi kandar restaurants is Restoran Syed. In recent years, several chain restaurants have appeared such as NASI KANDAR NASMIR, Pelita Nasi Kandar and Kayu Nasi Kandar. Purists have disputed its tastiness compared to the original Penang versions. In Perlis, the rice is coloured yellow with herbs and the dish is referred to as “nasi ganja”, though in fact no “ganja” (cannabis) is actually used in its preparation.

Food POI List : Yaseen Nasi Kandar Pulau Pinang (KL), Restoran Nasi Kandar Haji Ibramsha (KL), Bayan Baru Pasar Nasi Kandar (Penang), Nasi Kandar Masjid Kapitan Keling (Penang), Nasi Kandar and Nasi Padang In Car Park & Food Court at PJ States, Restoran Kampung Baiduri Sdn . Bhd., Kedai Makanan Sithique Nasi Kandar Pulau Pinang (KL)

Cendol [pronounced 'chen-dul'] or es cendol is a traditional dessert originating from Java, Indonesia, but is also popular in Malaysia, Singapore, and Southern Thailand . The dessert’s basic ingredients consist of shaved ice, coconut milk, starch noodles with green food coloring (usually sourced from the pandan leaf), and palm sugar. Red beans, glutinous rice, grass jelly, and creamed corn are optional additions. Cendol has become a quintessential part of cuisine among the multi-racial population in Southeast Asia and is often sold by vendors at roadsides, hawker centres and food courts.

Cendol vendors are also a common sight in Indonesian cities. In the Javanese language, cendol refers to the jelly-like part of the beverage, while the combination of cendol, palm sugar and coconut milk is called dawet.

In Malaysia, cendol is usually sold on the roadside by Indian Muslim vendors. It is common dessert fare in Singapore popularly found in dessert stalls, hawker centres, coffee shops and food-courts, and served by vendors of various ethnic background. The first Indian Muslim vendors learnt the skills of making the cendol from the Javanese in Indonesia and brought the recipe and preparation methods with them to Malaysia and Singapore. Cendol is also popular as a snack, particularly after Friday prayers among Muslims.

The relative affluence of Singapore, as well as Western influence, has given rise to different variations of cendol. One can occasionally come across variants such as cendol with vanilla ice-cream or cendol topped with durian.

In Vietnamese cuisine, a similar dish is called chè ba màu or chè thập cẩm.

* Source Article from Wikipedia.org

Food POI List : Penang Road Famous Teochew Cendol, Melaka Jonker 88 Durian Cendol, Melaka Bibik House Durian Cendol and Palm Sugar Cendol