When the names sizzle

Penang is coming up with zany names that will make you do a double take. Black Maria Koppee, nasi kaku and No Eyed Deer are just a few of the examples with unforgettable monickers!

GEORGE TOWN: For entrepreneurs in the food business, there is much to chew over in finding the right name. It has to stand out among the large crowd of competitors.

So wanna give “Black Maria Koppee” a spin?

That is what entrepreneur and photographer Muhammad Fahmi Abdul Hamid, 37, named his food truck, which he bought in his favourite midnight blue colour.

The colour made him think of a Black Maria, the universal nickname of police vans used to transport prisoners.

Muhammad Fahmi said the men in blue were particularly amused by the name and often stopped for coffee at his food truck.

Since we are on the topic of “prisoners”, how about a serving of nasi kaku?

The name comes from the Penang Hokkien term for prison: kah ku.

It is basically curry rice, taking a leaf from the Penang Hokkien phrase “jiak gu lai pui” (“eat curry rice”), which means spending time in jail. (For some reason, the Chinese community always says that only curry rice is served in prison.)

Mike Chen, 23, who is the Penang agent for nasi kaku, said the meal originated from Alor Setar in a shop which was a shout away from the Alor Setar jailhouse.

“We started selling nasi kaku in Penang in late June. About 300 to 500 packets are sold daily,” he said.

Each meal is pre-packed with eggs, vegetables, anchovies, chicken, squid, fish or prawns. They are priced from RM6 to RM8.

The packaging can make one feel like it really was prepared in a prison canteen: Pink paper rubber-stamped with the words nasi kaku in Malay and Chinese and then a logo depicting jail bars.

It is sold in small roadside stalls in several places in George Town.

Then there is a restaurant with a name that seems to be the antithesis of creativity and is yet creative in itself.

In 2000, when founders Ken Low and Elfina Ng began setting up their restaurant in Prima Tanjung, Fettes Park, they had everything worked out except for the name.

“We had no idea of what to name the place. And that was pretty much how our restaurant’s name became No Eyed Deer.

“It is a long-standing joke among our customers, who like saying they have ‘no idea’ where they should eat,” said Low.

The restaurant’s signboard is visible to all and sundry at the Jalan Tanjung Tokong-Jalan Fettes junction.