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Motormouth From Ipoh

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

REAL Addictive Stuff - Nasi Vanggey aka Nasi Ganja

To imagine a plate of curry rice sooooo addictive to deserve the moniker ; Nasi Ganja, or Marijuana Rice, direct translation.


Vanggey !!! Vanggey !!! (Come !!! Come !!!)

Since 1955, the Nasi Kandar stall at Yong Suan, on Jalan Yang Kalsom, Ipoh has been making waves, ripples, tsunami and all, serving thousands, if not millions of plates of those yummy, spicy, fiery and addictive stuff.

Drool away at the selection of savoury curries and dishes to tingle that tastebuds ...

Earlier this year, they've since expanded from that small, constricted and God-knows-how-hard-t0-find-a-parking-space area, branching out to a spacious lot in Greentown, previously occupied by a food court. They still retain that old shoplot though, for that evergreen sense of nostalgia dining there.

A plate of white rice, with fried dry curry drumstick, spicy egg omelette, vegetables, papadam, and that KILLER sambal (coconut chutney?)

What makes the curry rice so special from the rest (those dastardly imposters masquerading as nasi kandar proprietors ...)? For one, the 'kuah campur' or the mixed gravies the guy poured/doused onto the heaps of rice was SPICY. Yet a subtle bitterness aftertaste ensued, for unknown reason. But if you're not a fan of spicy food, refrain from being macho/adventurous/show-off/sadistic.

The spicy coconut chutney. A perfect accompaniment to the cucumber slices.

Good things do not come cheap. That's life. RM5.70 for a plate of white rice with a drumstick, vegetables and egg. Oh, the chicken deserves a mention here. Marinated with spices and curry powder, then deep-fried, the taste and juiciness gives your average Mamak's fried chicken and KFC a run for their mon$y.

Nasi Vanggey Sdn Bhd
Location : Sorry, no address taken. But here's a roughly estimated map !!! Tel : 605-2546786.
Need directions? Drop a comment here, or mail me.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is the original shop located at the corner, of the row of shops facing the old Tanjung Rambutan bus station? I always observed a long queue waiting to be served, on a Sunday! I must try it sometime. The chicken drumstick looks yummy!

Hulk said...

Darn!! this my 2nd as I encounter difficulty to leave comments.

Repeats. Tips to park ur car.
1st Park the back of Mikes place by driving along the lane from the front.
2nd. Coming from the other direction , left turn b4 traffic light & left again . Drive in towrds the Malay Seafood Rest & Tile Trsding showroom. Ended parking the back of Mike's Place.

Food there is average & is pricy. No longer additive. Had similar like urs & is bill RM5.80 the last time. Tried also Thosai & Nasi Lemak.

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

wah..nasi ganja ar?..wats next? nasi E?

not cheap for ipoh food hor?

worldwindows said...

2 words. Simply awesome!

Tummythoz said...

Same name is given to a backlane nasi kandar stall in downtown KL. Many patrons claim they have to have it at least once a week or else makan tak lalu mandi tak basah. Sadly I've yet to try.

email2me said...

Wah .... If only they flood the rice.... I sure dive in dude .... Do they sell at night?

I'll be dropping by for a nasi kandar banjir diving soon .... hahaha

J2Kfm said...

peng : yeah. that shop is named Yong Suan. perpetual queue during lunch hours.

hulk : other than the spiciness, it's nothing much. Penang's nasi kandar still takes the prize though. how's their Thosai and Nasi Lemak?

joe : Nasi Morfin and Nasi Heroin comes to mind, but a tad too adventurous eh?

worldwindows : haha ... add 2 more. AND PRICEY.

tummythoz : ouch. they've been bitten by the NASI GANJA bug as well? for me, I can live without the plate of curry rice. No more kas-kas = Less Ganja-fied.

email2me : yeah they're opened at night as well. go flood yours today!

Anonymous said...

Ooh you speak Tamil. :-P :-P (vanggey vanggey!)

HairyBerry said...

i heard the damn also damn shiok already! yeah, there's a similar one in kl but i've also yet to try.

it's all about the fantastic gravy, isn't it? *salivating*

Ciki said...

lol.. the only place you can mention GANJA, MARY JANE , in one sentence without getting lynched by the cops! oo-yar, i can see way nasi would be called nasi ganja. I am one of those who get addicted to this sinful rice dish too!

J2Kfm said...

lyrical lemongrass : not only that, tangachi, i know most words for food. capati, thosai, puri and all. nandri. vanakam. or something .... LOL.

nic : yeah. but Pg's nasi kandar still the best. sweet, spicy, sour all in one. drenching the rice underneath, who needs meat?

cumi & ciki : maybe last time kas-kas was used. therefore the addictiveness. nowadays cannot already. but STILL addicted. hehe

PureGlutton said...

This is practically an institution in ipoh! At one time there were rumours of headless ghost eating in this place - did u hear about that? Probably spread by their competitors! I remember their chutney sambal's absolutely explosive!!

Anonymous said...

LOL...you must join me for some indian food when you're in KL next coz I need someone who can order in tamil. :-P

J2Kfm said...

pureglutton : headless ghosts?!!!!
haha, probably rumours. but can be true you know ... some bury their heads deep into their servings. too addictive kot ...

LL : !!! aiya, KL Indian ALL can speak perfect English one. Manglish, the very least. (*ran off to hide in one corner*)

Precious Pea said...

I dunno how true of this, but i was told the authentic Indian dishes especially those in India uses a lot of poppy seeds, making it additive and crave for more. So maybe should ask around if this is true.

Hulk said...

The Nasi Lemak bungkus is is nothing to shout. Nasi banyak, side sambal too little but it does taste nice. I simply like my Nasi Lemak rich with sambal toppings, cucumber, anchovies etc. This came in short.
Stay away from Thosai something...rost. I couldnt finish it so & I eat the Nasi Lemak instead.

Anonymous said...

The original stall in Yong Suan doesn't have a name isn't it? Can't really remember that.

J2Kfm said...

precious pea: poppy seeds some more ah? I knew in Msia they used Kas-Kas. think banned liao.

hulk :thanks! you can be my personal adviser, before I dive in. hahaha ... so when do we go food-hunting? =P

jason : no name lah. only a stall inside the shop, which coincidentally, belongs to a fren's bf's family.

PureGlutton said...

Eh really got ghost story abt this place leh. I remember this story even tho' that time i was just very small la, hehe! It seems there was this woman who was eating there and then when it was time to pay, she took off her own head and started to comb her hair... *eek...hair standing now!*

mycroft said...

wil giv tis a try tomolo... any dishes to recommend beside the chicken?

J2Kfm said...

Pureglutton : HA??????!!!!! at night or daytime? that's so fictitious though. but I admit, I can imagine the horror of it all.

I mean, nothing beats watching a lady ghost taking off her head, all the while curry dripping off her mouth!

mycroft : erm, the sotong and fish looked pretty OK to me.

Anonymous said...

I cannot 'tahan' the mouth-watering photos of this nasi vanggey. So on Saturday, I went to the shop near the police station and ordered rice with the fried chicken and 'sotong'! Costs me RM7.50. The curry was so fiery that I have stomach ache throughout the whole of Sunday! Very spicy but tasty though.Next time I will ask them to put less of the curry!

J2Kfm said...

hi peng, very spicy right? haha
but one thing though, the quality not that consistent in the Nasi Vanggey in Greentown.

i went again today, and the curry not so spicy, but tastier than the 1st time. and the tandoori chicken chunks also not bad.

email2me said...

I went to try the one you said hard to find parking at Yong Suan. That one taste real good especially the ayam masak merah with sambal.

And I tell that macha I need something spicy. He go dig a big bowl of sambal at the bottom of the cupboard and put it in my rice. What a fantastic fire sauce ! Will be visiting the Vangey soon to compare. Nice intro !

J2Kfm said...

email2me : a big bowl of sambal precipitated at the bottom of the cupboard?! wah ... sure years of hard work. hehe ... some say Vanggey here pales in comparison to the Yong Suan.

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roccaholic said...

the best of da best!!!! believe me dude!!