MR.DAMODARAN NAIR was a cook with for the British settlers in a village called Pintu Padang in Raub, Pahang. He supplemented his income by selling simple home cooked Indian food in a push cart. During the Malayan “State of Emergency” in 1951, he was relocated to the nearby village of “SEMPALIT” with his wife and 2 sons.

He opened  “ Damodaran  Coffee and  Eating  Shop” a small 20 seat wooden shack.  Sempalit is predominantly a Chinese Village. He re-blended his spice mixtures and  called his new dish ‘ KARI AYAM SEMPALIT ‘. The local population took an instant liking for this new curry dish. It had its own taste profile and customers filled their rice bowls with the peppery gravy. By 1963, the shop had expanded to 50 seats. Damo's expanded his menu with delicious dishes like fish curry, mutton masala, fried chicken and sotong sambal.

In 1978 his son Mr. Asokan Nair took over the business. With the help of his wife (Saras) and family members, the wooden shack was transformed into a 2 storey brick shop with an air-conditioned room. It was the most prominent landmark in Raub at that time.

The local Chinese called them the “Kari Gai” family (the Kari Chicken family). Damodaran’s eldest son had become a successful doctor in Raub and he was lovingly called ‘KARI GAI EE SANG’. The modest cart selling 2 chickens a day was now selling over 100 chickens a day and  travelers would “tapow”  the famous Kari Ayam Sempalit for their friends and relatives in every corner of Malaysia

In 2007, Asokan, Saras and their two sons - Ramesh and Dinesh, opened Kari Ayam Sempalit at Ara Damansara. They realized that for a small town business to continue to grow in big cities, they must appeal to both their existing loyal followers and to the Gen Y/ Millennium Generation .

In 2014 Ramesh and Dinesh with the support of their family opened their flagship restaurant in Bangsar appropriately named  “KariGuys -  A Malaysian Cafe" serving their original family recipe of Kari Ayam Sempalit.