Some KLites used to count the days until they’d hop on a train or a bus heading north again, just so they could drop by George Town’s famous nasi kandar restaurants for a heady taste of rich northern cooking.
Those days might be coming to an end, with the announcement that two of Penang’s most celebrated names in nasi kandar excellence – Nasi Kandar Line Clear and Hameediyah – will be opening up outlets in Kuala Lumpur.
Finally!
The KL branch of Hameediya Restaurant will be opening on a soon-to-be announced date at a location in Kota Damansara, the owners, brothers Ahamad Seen Pakir Abdul Sukkor and Syed Ibrahim, told The Malaysian Insider‘s Looi Sue-Chern.
“Expanding out of Penang was complicated. We use wet spices, which we grind ourselves,” Ahamad said.
“Now we can freeze the spices. So we are ready now to bring our food to Kuala Lumpur and open a restaurant with our name at the door…it is time we also cater to the KL crowd.”
Nasi Kandar Line Clear, Penang’s other go-to eatery for scrumptious curry rice, will be opening in the first half of September in Jalan Raja Abdullah, Kampung Baru.
The KL branch of Line Clear wil be managed by four descendents of the original restaurant’s founders, including 36-year old Salim Madinah, and his cousin, former hotel chef Zainul Alam Hamid.
The KL restaurant will carry the slightly updated name Line Clear Curry House.
“Our family is excited. Our customers have always been asking us to open in KL too. Now we are doing it,” Salim said.
It remains to be seen how much of a dent Line Clear and Hameediyah will put on existing KL nasi kandar institutions like Kudu in Chow Kit and the Pelita and Kayu restaurant chains, but no doubt KLite excitement will be at an unprecedented high. Bring on the plates, we say!
Also, aren’t you glad this news came out after buka puasa?
Have you seen: TOP TEN THINGS TO DO IN PENANG?
