“She’s My Pillar” — Meet The Bangsar Chef Who’s Been Cooking Indian Fusion With His Wife For 40 Years

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By the time most of Bangsar's office crowd starts thinking about lunch, Uncle Panir Selvam has already been on his feet for hours

Every weekday morning at 7am, he and his wife, Aunty Kalavathy, open Stall No. 9 at the Medan Selera food court in Menara Mutiara Bangsar.

By 10.30am, the stoves are fired up. By 11.30am, lunch is ready. By 3.30pm, another day of feeding officegoers wraps up.

According to him, Stall No. 9 has always been a partnership.

If he is the hands of the operation, his wife is the heartbeat. She is his "pillar", the one who ensures the kitchen is ready for him to work his magic.

"This is my wife, she's Kalavathy. In 1984, we got married. She's been with me for 40 over years. She's my pillar — without her, I'm nobody," Uncle Panir said simply, while introducing his wife proudly to SAYS.

Their stall, CM Panir Selvam & Kalavathy Fresh Indian Flavours, specialises in Indian fusion dishes made entirely from scratch.

Uncle Panir's relationship with cooking didn't begin in a restaurant. It began at home, as a schoolboy forced to grow up early.

He explained that he started cooking as a young teenager due to family circumstances.

"I started cooking at the age of 13 because my mother was bedridden… So before I go to school, I would cook for the family, go to school, then come home and take care of her," he told SAYS.

That early responsibility grew into a lifelong skill, which eventually became a career spanning more than 40 years in the food industry.

Long before the Bangsar stall, Uncle Panir worked at one of Petaling Jaya's first hotels

He was beaming with pride as he shared that Hotel Jaya Puri, where he worked as a senior chef, is now known as PJ Hilton. For Malaysians who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, the name evokes nostalgia and culinary prestige.

Even after leaving the hotel industry, Uncle Panir maintained the same high standards in his own business. Their dedication is evident in the newspaper clippings from a 2005 Sunday Times feature, still proudly displayed at the stall.

Like many veteran food operators, the couple began as street hawkers before relocating to their current premises.

"We were all street hawkers, and then [the local authorities] shifted us all to this building. I started my life there, and then I shone like nobody's business," Uncle Panir recalled.

For Uncle Panir, cooking isn't just mechanical, and food isn't just about feeding customers: it's about craft

So if you ask him about recipes, he'll just shake his head.

According to him, he doesn't rely on fixed recipes or take shortcuts, just muscle memory built from a lifetime in the kitchen.

"Cooking is an art. There's no basic recipe… how you start is where you start, how you finish it is the end product," he told SAYS while tossing spices into a large wok.

"I'm very hands-on in what I do because I put myself into what I do, because I don't do anything for granted, and I do everything for the love of art."

Despite his age, Uncle Panir has no plans to stop as long as his health allows.

"If my health permits me, I'll keep doing until my health carries me on. The best I'll give," he said.

While Uncle Panir handles the stove, Aunty Kalavathy quietly keeps things running, prepping ingredients, organising the workflow, and making sure everything is ready when the cooking starts

And although he does not rely on fixed recipes, their workday follows a precise rhythm.

"I come here in the morning, and then we prepare breakfast. And then I'll rest for some time, and my wife prepares for me all the things, and then I start cooking," he said, listing down the exact schedule they follow.

When asked about running the stall together, Aunty Kalavathy smiled and said, "I'm very happy we open here. Aunty is very happy with my husband. [If] he's okay, all okay."

The couple operate only on weekdays, catering mainly to the Bangsar lunch crowd

"We're be here from Monday to Friday. We start serving lunch from 11.30am to 3.30pm," Uncle Panir explained.

He also stressed that affordability matters to them.

"Our price is very reasonable. We'll [serve] you from our heart," he said.

Where to find them

CM Panir Selvam & Kalavathy Fresh Indian Flavours

Stall No. 9, Level 2, Medan Selera, Menara Mutiara Bangsar
Operating hours: Monday – Friday, 7am – 3.30pm
Lunch service starts at 11.30am

And if you're planning a visit, don't come on a weekend. They're closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

Watch our interview here:

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