Original Penang Kayu Nasi Kandar- SS2 — Restaurant in Petaling Jaya

To be honest, this is a direct remark to the management to improve the business and stay in it longer.

First and foremost, the service is not even worth one star, and instead of having robotic assistants, they should train their employees on how to speak respectfully with customers, accept criticism, and deal with customer frustration. Despite my husband's warnings not to come here since the service is awful and the pricing is slightly higher for individuals of Chinese ethnicity, I came with him to eat lunch here. I persuaded my husband to accompany me, and because I was craving so-called Nasi Kandar, he agreed.

When we arrived and sat down, a foreign worker approached our table and asked, in a very rude Malay language, "Lu sudah scan?" We were both taken aback because the worker addressed us as "Lu." I'm not sure what kind of language this is. We politely replied, "Yes.. Sudah Scan," to which he replied, "Bila Lu Scan?" (using "Lu" again), to which my husband replied, "Tadi masuk sudah scan, tengok phone ni (showing the scanned information on our MySejahtera app) & check CCTV," to which the worker replied, "Okay2.. apa order?" to which my husband replied, "Order Nasi Kandar nanti.. 2 Teh Ais.. pergi," my husband said firmly, and the worker walked away, harshly glaring at my husband.

What sort of staffs do the Kayu have? What kind of training has been given to the staff? They are foreign workers who are behaving in an obnoxious manner toward the local customers who have paid for their services. Why are you speaking to your customers in such a harsh and disrespectful manner? Do you think we are beggars? We're paying customers!

Second, we both ordered Nasi Kandar and were charged exorbitant prices. I was charged RM45 for a plate of Rice, Ayam, Veggie (Cabbage), and Sotong that was about the size of your thumb! My spouse was charged RM38 for a plate of rice, two vegetables, and two pieces of Udang. What made the Kayu Nasi Kandar so remarkable till the prices were raised so high? The dish size is modest, and the flavour is unimpressive. All of the meals were cold, and the Ayam had a horrible smell. The price does not reflect the quality, taste, or portion size of the food served!

Fried chicken costs more than KFC and MCD. Sotong is a very small size, while Udang is medium-sized. The vegetables aren't even close to being fresh. The Kuah is nothing but powders! This Kayu Restaurant should be investigated by KPDNHEP because of its CUT-THROAT prices. It does not follow that because a business has been in operation for a long time, they can simply demand a high price. We can get better meals at a lower price in a Michelin Star restaurant; however, this Kayu Restaurant does not even have one Michelin star, and the prices are higher than a five-star hotel. Spend your money on great meals with large portions at another Mamak Restaurant or Chinese Kopitiam. This Kayu Restaurant is way too expensive!

Doesn't mean that having Air Conditioning and Robotic Assistants allows management to slap the costs on the customers' bills. If the quality justified the price, it would be fine, however the food quality here has deteriorated even more than the roadside Nasi Kandar Melayu style.

My husband inquired the manager on who the boss was and how to contact him in the event of a complaint. Many of us will be surprised by the manager's response; "Kayu punya Boss.. Roshan.. dan tak ada guna complain sebab Boss Roshan sudah cakap customer complain jangan layan sangat.. kalau customer ada high standard.. ada kaya.. itu macam customer boleh makan sini.." remarked the manager, shocking many of us. Hearing this from the manager left both of us stunned.

To Roshan, the Boss; Your restaurant's food and service don't even come close to those of a typical CHINESE HAWKER STALL. The hawker offers far more honest, respectable, inexpensive, and high-quality food than your so-called curry powdered food and nasty staff.

Good luck with your greedy and...

Pros

Good food as usual. Nothing to brag much on it as that's Kayu's flavour from day 1 even when En Burhan had his small shop at the Chinese Restaurant exactly behind current shop.

His chef's/cooks are very hard-working and have perfected the art of Nasi Kandar, even its maggi soup where its noodle textures and soup flavour is just perfect. Flawless to be honest including its presentation. ( Hence why I feel they deserve a maximum 1 star)

Cons

Very very poor customer service :

Extremely slow service : ie 1st waiter cleaned my table which took 20 minutes after multiple clicking on the hopeless table bell. 2nd waiter came after 15 minutes to take my order. This is despite 3 attempts of me asking them politely face to face to take my order. Not including clicking bells.

After which I approached the manager who's been there since SS2 establishment to please take my order while he and 2 of his workers was playing with their phones and giggling probably seeing the latest Rajini movie if he's still acting.

I'd asked the young man who later quickly came to take my order without having the courtesy to apologise why did he take so long in his mothers tongue? He casually replied we are short staff which I can see. However I continued to say, you had time to entertain yourself with your phone. He than said I was actually waiting for the roti canai to be made so thats why I was hanging out with the man in white dress ( manager)

This scenario is common especially the slowness of staff in 1st paragraph which is everytime I visit. However this happens only at night time after 10pm. Rarely day time as the owner often is there.

To give critical feedback I'll start with my experience since En Burhan started. He has always looked after his business very well so is his food which till today none of his competitors can come close to him. He takes pride in his service especially cleanliness and ingredients he uses in his recipes/cooking.

I've known his business since I was 12 years or so, 23 years back where I used to personally collect food from him when my dad is travelling overseas as he misses his hometown friend's cooking.

It will be sad and wasteful to see his efforts approaching 3 decades goes down the drain in matter of few years.

All the best. Hope services improves the next timeI visit upon my return to Malaysia before Christmas in sha Allah.

Compliments to the chef please, Dr M Ehsan...

If you're heading to Nasi Kandar Original Kayu SS2 for a quick takeaway, brace yourself—not for the spice, but for the price.

This place thrives on its name and prime location at the end of a busy block in SS2. With its round-the-clock service and constant foot traffic, it looks like a reliable local mamak. But once you’re at the counter, it’s clear this is less about good food and more about playing a game of “Guess the Price.”

No visible pricing. No clear explanations. Just a server hastily piling on items you didn't really ask for—like three premium cuts of fish when you only wanted plain curry for three people. And just like that, your simple mamak order turns into a small luxury splurge.

It feels designed to exploit first-timers and takeaway customers who don't know better. There’s a cunning subtlety to the upsell that leaves you too awkward to protest and too hungry to walk away. You’re lured in with the promise of local charm, and smacked with a bill that feels more PJ fine dining than casual comfort food.

Hard to find delicacies like curried fish and cuttlefish roe can be very pricey for a relatively small serving, therefore it would be prudent to ask for their prices before letting the server load up on your plate.

As for beverages, expect to pay north of RM4 for iced tea, when other establishments charge just RM2.50.

Sure, the food is fine. But “fine” doesn’t justify the price tag or the sneaky approach to customer service. If you're a tourist or someone unfamiliar with how things typically go at a mamak, be very cautious, or you'll find out the hard way what "Original" really means.

Finding parking here is a nightmare as the entire row of shop houses are lined up with popular restaurants. You'd have to be very lucky to find an empty spot within 10 metres of this place or prepare to walk quite a distance from the beginning of the shop...