Classic and delicious Malaysian breakfast food

Nasi Lemak with banana leaf

If someone were to ask me what is the best thing you can find in Malaysia? I would say it’s “Food”.

Malaysian food is unique in the World. It’s a mixture of exotic cuisine brought over by the Indians, Javanese, Thais, Chinese and Portuguese. But of course Malaysians love their ‘fish & chips’ and beefburgers too. Which they cordially call “western food”. A reminder of a time when Malaya was a British colony.

Finding food in Malaysian is a galore. Everywhere you go you’ll find food – in the alleys, by the road side in the neighborhood, in shop houses, prestigious malls and morning or night market (pasar tani and pasar malam respectively).

Nasi Lemak

What do a typical Malaysian have for breakfast? “Nasi Lemak”.

I must have been about 7 yrs old when I first savored Nasi Lemak. Nasi Lemak is served with ‘sambal’ (hot chili sauce) so you must be of an age whereby your palate is tolerable to hot food.

When I was little girl, vendors came to your house to sell their delightful food. You can hear them calling out “Nasi Lemak!!”, or what ever they are selling. I remember a little girl and her sister (she was my age and her sister is a little older) They carried the Nasi Lemak in a rattan basket. She had a strong voice. I can hear her calling out a yards away. Her mother (God bless her) whom later became a family friend cooked the best Nasi Lemak on the planet.

My father who was an officer and a gentleman would order a dozen packets wrapped of Nasi Lemak in banana leaves. Then he would take us all for a picnic at the Lake Garden park in Kuala Lumpur. The best part before you could savor the contents was when the banana leaf wrapped packet was opened up. The first thing that hit you was the combined aroma of the pandan leaves, banana leaves and coconut milk. It was heaven. I’ve never forgotten the earliest memory of my first Nasi Lemak experience.

Nasi Lemak is a simple dish, but it must be cooked with just the right balance for it to be perfect.

What is Nasi Lemak?

Nasi Lemak is rice cooked in coconut milk, made aromatic with pandan leaves (screwpine, Pandanus amaryllifolius) and ginger root. It is served with Sambal Ikan Bilis (fried dried anchovies cooked in a dry chilli paste) and garnished with fresh cucumber slices, hard boiled egg and roasted peanuts. Traditionally packages are wrapped in a banana leaf. The dish is usually eaten as hearty breakfast or for supper after a late night clubbing.

Nasi lemak to die for

A makeshift stall at the centre of Kampung Baru in Sungai Buloh is making a name for itself with its speciality

Kampung Baru in Sungai Buloh has been receiving some media attention recently but for all the wrong reasons. But here’s a piece of good news.

There is a makeshift stall at the centre of the small village that sells “nasi lemak pandan kukus”. Frankly, I am not a big fan of nasi lemak but I will allow myself a plateful of the sambal, anchovies and curry sotong now and then.

So when I cruised past this stall in the middle of the Kampung Baru town, my “co-navigator” exclaimed “stop, looks like great nasi lemak”. Since I was in no mood to argue with a hungry person, I brought the car to an abrupt halt.

The guy in charge called himself Tok Mat but he doesn’t really look that old to be called “Tok”. He looked liked someone in the late 50s or early 60s. Tok Mat was a jovial guy who was talkative and funny at the same time.

He humbly admitted he was not in charge although he seemed to be giving orders to his daughter and a guy who looked like his son. “She’s the manager,” he laughed, pointing at his daughter.

“I just help to fry the chicken. One can’t simply put the chicken in the wok with oil and be impatient about it. Otherwise, the chicken would look nice on the outside and still a bit raw on the inside,” he commented.

How true, I thought. Here was a man who knew his fried chicken. He happily added that he used to carry out his business in Kota Damansara but that didn’t work out. Business was slow there.

Then he mentioned another kampung nearby. There, too, the going was discouraging. Finally, he took a chance with Kampung Baru, Sungai Buloh.

Suddenly, his business took off. “The Chinese here love my nasi lemak. To them, money wasn’t an issue. So long as the dish is excellent, they will pay,” he said confidently.

Seven variations

Altogether Tok Mat had seven variations of his home-cooked nasi lemak. Beginning with “nasi lemak kukus biasa” which costs RM1.50, Tok Mat also took great pride in promoting the “nasi lemak kukus dengan ayam berempah”.

That nasi lemak special costs RM4.50. It didn’t even come close to be labelled as expensive, at least not in my books. The big container of nasi lemak had a wonderful aroma. Embedded in the rice were pandan leaves.

While we were having a nice buddy conversation, Tok Mat was eyeing his chicken in the wok. We had earlier said we wanted really “fresh fried chicken”. So he gave us a rundown of what it was like to produce fried chicken of the finest quality.

Then Tok Mat imparted some sound advice against consuming too much “kari kambing” because it might be too much for those who were prone to gout. He jokingly said that if a large portion of this particular dish was taken, within an hour, the person could feel a “twitching in his big toe”.

Both of us had a good laugh. He must have had some experience with that, otherwise he wouldn’t be so graphic about that ailment.

Since it was not the time of day to sit and eat, we just ordered a couple of takeaways and kept our fingers crossed about the much acclaimed nasi lemak as advertised on the banner.

An hour later at home, we sat down to have our first taste of Tok Mat’s speciality. True to his word, the nasi lemak pandan kukus was easily the best I have tasted in the last five years.

Looks like I have to re-establish rapport with Tok Mat soon. I now know the short cut to that place.

“Nasi lemak pandan kukus dengan ayam berempah”is right at the top of my agenda. I am sure Tok Mat will be happy to see me again.

I simply love a man who loves to eat and knows how to make great nasi lemak. Thank god, there are still people like Tok Mat out there. They are a vanishing breed.

Best Nasi Lemak & Milo Dinasour @ Village Park Restaurant

Know where to get the best nasi lemak in town?

Head down to Damansara Uptown, located near one of the corner, is a new joint (ok, not so new) called Village Park Restaurant.

I've heard a lot of raving reviews of the Nasi Lemak here, so I decided to check it out one day.




We ordered each a Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken. At RM6.80 per plate, it's one of the pricier mamak Nasi Lemak you find these days.

But oh god, it's so worth it.

The fried chicken was one of the crunchiest and tastiest fried chickens I've tried in a long time. KFC was so below par compared to this.




The key ingredient however, in my opinion, was the sambal. Not too spicy and rather sweetish, it blended too well with coconut milk rice and fried chicken drumstick.

I topped it off with a heavy drink, hailed from Singapore culture - Milo Dinosaur.



Priced at RM4.90. It was rather pricey for a Milo drink. But if you look at it as a ice blended chocolate drink, it's really quite reasonable, and definitely sharable between two people.

Normally Milo Dinosaur is just Milo mixed with condensed milk and topped with a generous tablespoon of Milo powder. I first heard and drank such drink was in Singapore two years ago.




But the one in Village Park served the drink ice blended. Thick, rich, icey cold and chocolate-y. What more can one ask for?




Try it. It's worth the visit.

Though the restaurant can get really packed during lunch hour, then it's much faster to self service and queue order your own Nasi Lemak from the counter.



Food Rating: 4/5
Overall Rating: 3/5


Village Park Restaurant (Damansara Uptown)
5, Jalan SS21/37,
Damansara Utama,
47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Tel: 03-77107860
Open from 7 am to 8pm daily, 7 am to 6 pm on Sunday/Public Holiday

Nasi Lemak Cilibilis at Gurney Drive Hawker Center, Penang

One will find numerous hawker stalls serving a wide array of local delights at Gurney Drive Hawker Center in Penang. Nasi lemak lovers should try the all-time favourite at Nasi Lemak Cilibilis. The stall specialises in nasi lemak kukus (steamed rice in coconut milk).

The rice, cooked with ginger, coconut milk and pandan leaves that give it an amazing aroma, is steamed on the spot on large metal trays in a giant steamer.

Rice and egg steamed in the premises itself

Once cooked, the fluffy rice is transferred and kept warm in a wooden tub. They will repeat the entire cooking process once the supply runs low.

A plate of nasi lemak cost between RM2 and RM4. The basic set comes with a half hard-boiled egg, cucumber slices, sambal, deep-fried ikan bilis and fried peanuts. The sambal is not too spicy and is slightly sweet. Together with the ikan bilis, it gives a good balance with the rice.

Simple tasty meal of Nasi Lemak with fried egg cost RM2.50

Deep-fried chicken and crunchy peanuts and anchovies

Nasi lemak goes well with Ayam Goreng (deep-fried chicken). The well-marinated succulent chicken with crispy skin makes an excellent accompaniment. The chicken is replenished with a new batch constantly by the workers.

This stall also sells Santan Pulut. The glutinous rice steamed using fresh coconut milk is eaten with either durian or mango.

The pulut durian looked delicious and I had one packet on the go. The sticky rice comes with a generous amount of durian and a small packet of fresh coconut milk. The whole concoction was delightful, a burst of creaminess and sweetness. However, this mouthwatering sticky dessert is only available when the owner has the fruit.

The stall faces directly opposite Sunrise Mc Donald. If you are looking for hawker food in Gurney Drive, do consider dropping by Gurney Drive Hawker Centre. It is an idyllic place to sample the range of Indian, Chinese and other Malay hawker fare. Click here for the Map Location.

Nasi Lemak CiliBilis
No 1 Gerai Kawasan Penjaja Gurney Drive
Padang Kota Baru
Pulau Pinang

Tel: 017 4928848

Business Hour : 5pm to 10pm

Closed on Sunday