hehe... So if you continue on that conversation above and ask what sort, then you'll get the list of foods which form Malaysia's staple or favorites like Char Kway Teow, Cendol, Nasi Kandar, Passembor, and if you go another step further, they will start listing down the stalls and shops which are their favourite.. haha (tried at a mamak shop with my frends once.. almost an hour gone by plotting the best shops for the above).. but beyond all that is told, irregardless of whom you ask or where you check, they will come back and mention Line Clear in Penang.
So with such a notoriety and legendary status amongst Malaysians, I decided to create that stop as a NOT TO BE MISSED portion of the trip and shortly after arrival and resting up, my appetite was ready to go and find this legend.
For something sooo legendary, Line Clear does not seem flashy or pretentious. It is literally situated at an alley in between a row of shops along Jalan Penang and basically thats it. Expect a literal alley and thats what you will get.
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| Alley tucked between buildings |
So as I said above, the place isnt pretentious but it isnt bad either... I mean i've seen worst establishments and yet I wouldnt call this place very clean or great, i've dined at worst... So check out the place in the pics below :
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| Line Clear |
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| Tables to eat |
Not bad right? Now lets get to the good stuff.. THE FOOD! So whats served at Line Clear? Well nasi kandar of course.. What nasi kandar is is basically rice with some gravy and possibly a choice of chicken, mutton, fish, fish head, fish eggs or prawns with some choices for veggies. Check out the selection below :
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| Fish Eggs (Taken from some curried fish I think thus the yellow colour) and the ayam goreng or fried chicken |
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| Other selections include egg, lady fingers, other types of curries |
So as most of my readers are foreigners, I would like to teach you how to order nasi kandar. Generally in most nasi kandar places, people tend to choose for 1 main dish and 1 veggie dish and then the gravy types. Here's how :
Step One :
Inform him you want to eat there or take away (say bungkus).
Step two:
Choose to have a main dish (Ie. Chicken (Ayam) or Fish (Ikan) or Mutton(Kambing) )
Step three :
Decide how you want the main dish to be (ie. In Curry form, fried, or some other sort of gravy)
Step four:
Add any other dish or veggie
Step five :
inform the person if you want gravy. If you dont, tell him no curry (say tak mahu kari/kuah), or if you want a little (say kari/ kuah sikit) or if you really want to go all out (say banjir which means flood in Malay) and when doing this, you can also inform them if you want mixed gravy (say campur which means mixed) or any type of curry of your choice (usually chicken curry, fish curry, lamb curry, dark gravy or kuruma)
Lastly:
Pick up the payment receipt and go pay or keep it later for payment in case you wish to add anything else.
and if all else fails, just point at what you want and you will get it...
So.. this is what we ended up getting:
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| Our dinner! |
So whats the verdict? In my humble honest opinion, I think i over did it with the gravy thus dulling certain flavours, but I must say the ayam goreng is the best, its HUGE and crispy and yummy. As for ambience wise, it is slightly ok.. but not great.. or bad either but I guess it can repel some people. I was told about the half an hour waiting line but when we got there it was quite brisk and cool... and as for the price, all of the above and a few extra drinks totalled to RM 24 which is damn cheap...
I would definitely come back to this place but I think I would try other places too as everyone seems to have a recommendation for me..
Lastly, this uncle will out of the blue blow his whistle and then shout out "Line Clear!"
oooo yeah dont forget this:
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| Anthony Bourdain was here |
