Aromatic Soups Beckon

By BONNY WEE

Many are drawn to the hot, herbal spicy soups at M. Nasir Soup Kambing in Malacca.

FOR a delicious bowl of piping hot mutton or chicken soup, make your way to M. Nasir Soup Kambing at ‘Medan Selera Datang Selalu’ located along Jalan Tun Lanang in Malacca city centre. The food court is sandwiched between two hotels, namely, City Bayview and Orkid.

For Mohamad Nasir B. Mohd Ahmad or popularly known as ‘M. Nasir’, age 44, who has been operating the stall since the food court opened in 2000, the demand for his “aromatic, herbal, spicy and thick” soup dishes has been growing steadily over the years.

Apart from dishing up mutton, beef and chicken soup using his own “secret recipe”, he also serves speciality dishes like those with bones, tongue and stomach.

According to Nasir, the torpedo soup is among the top sellers and his customers comprise not only locals but also those from out of town and who are attracted no less by claims of its aphrodisiac value. For side orders, there are cube slices of white bread or white rice available.


Hard at work: Mohamad Nasir dishing up his special soup.

“The soup takes seven to eight hours to prepare and cook and it’s done over a slow fire to ensure that the meat is tender and cooked just right.

“I have to be careful not to under-cook or over-cook the meat, and to use the right amounts of fresh herbs and ingredients, otherwise it won’t taste nice.

“I also go to the market every day to choose the right meat which I make sure is fresh. Above all, I cook it on a daily basis and there’s no keeping of left-overs,” says Nasir.

He readily admitted modifying the “flavour” in the initial years after checking it out with his customers and has now got it “perfectly right – not too hot nor too spicy” – and which everyone can enjoy.

Over the years, foreign tourists have also dropped by to try his mutton and chicken soup and some have even made return visits. With the aptly named food court, Nasir says in jest, “When craving for hot herbal spicy soup the customers ‘selalu datang’ (come always)!”

His stall is open daily from 6.30pm to 12.30am.