Nasi Kandar Line Clear

As a visitor to Malaysia, I haven’t had Nasi Kandahar before. I visited with the family and was immediately taken by all the deliciousness that you can pile on top of your plate.
I took advantage and visited for an early lunch before the crowd started to gather. I can definitely see how a repeat visit was necessary, as there were so many dishes I wanted to try. I love that Yu can get a small serving of lots of things too and share it with the family.
As with all street food, hygiene is always going to be an issue. I think it’s a matter of do at your own risk, but I can never go past a good local eat!

So I came here after seeing it on Anthony Bourdain, that and the fact it was walking distance from my hotel.
When I arrived around 10pm there weren’t many people but more started streaming in after about half an hour — this is a 24 hour place so you can eat any time of the day!
I got a fried chicken leg with biryani rice and an assortment of curries. I was lamenting that I didn’t have a closer look and choose some more things to stack on my plate. Ordered an old favourite of teh tarik (pulled milk tea) and after my meal felt like something sweet. That’s when I noticed the roti vendor further down — flagged over a staff and ordered a roti tissu (thin tissue like roti with condensed milk). It was delicious but not consistent in the thinness and crunch. Perhaps more butter was needed.
Overall the meal came to a grand total of $ 13.3 ringgit. Pretty good value I’d say!

So I grew up eating nasi kandar and I have tried many places over the last decade or so. I was told by my Penang friends that Line Clear Nasi Kandar is the best of the best nasi kandar anyone could have in Penang or probably in Malaysia.
While I was in Penang last month, I decided to give Line Clear a try. And yes, I had my hopes high that it would be the best that I have ever tried. My parents and I decided to not drive here but to walk as our hotel was just 10 minutes away.
We almost missed it and mistook the mamak in front was Line Clear. Luckily I saw their sign board pointing inside. It look rather clean rather than dirty, as it was reported in the news Line Clear was a rather unhygienic eatery.
I saw them cooking lot of fish head curry, tempting really but they don’t serve them for lunch. So I went on to have their nasi briyani, fried chicken, cabbage and squid, with curry flooding my rice. Well, I would say, it looked good but really it didn’t taste as great as I thought it would be.
To my standards, it is like any mamak but not a good one. I have had better nasi kandar in KL and PJ and the nasi ganja in Ipoh is way lots better than this.
I don’t understand the hype, I may have gone at the wrong time but nonetheless, I did not enjoy my lunch.

Line clear is well one of the most famous nasi kandar places in penang! Penang is well known for its nasi kandar and for it to be best in the finest, that’s saying something. The queue for the place can take awhile, takes about 15 to 20 minutes on average dinner time. It is practically a tiny alley which is set up to resemble a mamak but it is much smaller. There are platters of curry and rice. It comes with a standard chicken, your choice of curry and of course rice. You could also pick some other seafood like squid and such if that’s more of your liking. Drinks are served to your table as they will come for the order. Make sure you grab some seats before you head on to the queue. Everything is pretty much self service except for the drinks.
Parking can be a pain but there is a parking lot right across Line Clear so have a look our for that.

To eat the perfect Nasi Kandar, you just need to drive to Penang, and find for the only place that really gives you the only plate of Nasi Kandar that you will want; Line Clear.
Line Clear may be a long lost slang in Malaysia, but its notion of providing a large plate of rice with a variety of different, assorted things on it has been a tradition for all foodies in Malaysia, or around the world for that matter. You can complement the rice with copious amounts of curry beef, or have it be doused with squid ink, a unique combination that will keeps you wanting more.
Do not go there in the afternoon though; my afternoon experience in this sacred place is a huge no-​no in comparison to the midnight escapades, where the crowd is lesser, and there are arguably more choices of food. It is also a ²⁴⁄₇ restaurant, a plus for its already growing status to be legendary.