breaking fast on the 8th day of Ramadan

The essentials of nasi lemak.

Rice.

Sambal.

And I do concur!

The name literally translated means 'rice in cream'. Coconut cream of course.

And progressions in today's efficient world system means boiling the rice in coconut milk these days.

But here at Nasi Lemak Kukus, you get your coconut rice steamed the time honoured traditional way.

Making sure the calories count!

Now this was a statement that caught my eye. 

Was this a glaring reminder for the kitchen staff?

A daring guarantee for every customer?

Or a subtle challenge for a return visit?

Very nicely encapsulated in a mission statement.

And do we have a Robert Browning fan in the house or perhaps an AC boy?

Most definitely a Commando though ;)

If you know what I mean.

I love the rustic laidback feel of concrete walls filled with writings.

A perfect place to kickback and chillax with good food and great music.

The photos and banner help to highlight food choices for the fickle minded customer. :)

Settling in happily with an order of a Vietnamese drip coffee.

At $2.50.

I kid you not.

Help yourselves to dinner please.

Even as I'm typing this, the unmistakable fragrance of the steamed coconut rice floods my senses.

Past midnight, this is a disaster for my heightened senses.

The good part about this though, 

is that Nasi Lemak Kukus stays open till 3am.

Yet another foodie find going into the treasure trove for midnight supper club dates! :) 

Staying focused and moving on. 

The fragrant rice costs just $1 and it's free flow.

So please. No sharing of rice guys.

Eat up! 

The plethora of dishes that lay ahead all looked tantalizing.

I wanted a bit of everything!

It was only at the checkout counter that I saw how much my little bit of everything cost.

This was an $11 plate of nasi lemak. 

Now I understood why the serving staff behind the counter topped up my okra for me.

The charges per serving are neatly typed and pasted on the glass panel above the dishes.

Still.

I'm not sure how my serving of 3 sambal prawns would cost as compared to say 5 sambal prawns?

Costs aside,

The rice was chewy and had a good bite to it.

It's uniquely different from the nasi lemak rice found in the usual hawker stalls.

The mutton rendang was sedap nya! :)

For a non-mutton lover, the meat didn't have the gamey taste I'm afraid of and it was tender to the bite.

Ayam masak merah was a perennial fave for me till tonight.

The chicken drumstick was tough and the sauce wasn't at all appetizing.

Two choices on the sambal. 

I had the spicy option. 

And boy, that was an instant addiction.

If you ever wanted just rice and sambal,

I'd give this place a 5/5.

Dripped and stirred.

Rich with the fragrance of coffee and thickened with condensed milk.

The perfect accompaniment to my fiery sambal.

Bunch of happy campers!

Thanks to Openrice.sg for the invite and to the awesome coordinators- Calvin and Fizah. :)

Nasi Lemak Kukus 

(http://sg.openrice.com/singapore/restaurant/nasi-lemak-kukus/23724/)

Address: 908 Upper Thomson Road, S(787111)

razark's chinese muslim food

A full house at 8pm.

Friday night out in East at Changi Road for Cantonese and Sichuan style halal cze char (chinese stir fry).

To be honest, I didn't harbour great expectations.

Being Chinese, we often take for granted how lard seems to make everything smell and taste better. While I do agree that this is an entirely biased point of view, there is some truth in that.

But of course, that's nothing that's heart healthy.

Lard spells clogged arteries, cholestrol and fats, my friend.

Reality was what I was stating. Not showcasing morbidity.

Everything in moderation aye. :)

Now I've had terrible halal teppanyaki and disappointing halal sushi so we've since settled for proper Malay mamak style food whenever we want to go halal.

So imagine my surprise when I settled into my seat and looked up to see an elderly couple speaking Cantonese and heavily accented Hongkong style English coming by to take our orders.

Then I look around to see laminated menu sheets of all-day dim sum offerings. Roasted duck.
This is halal certified? 

And of course there's more.

The majority of the diners were Chinese?
How surreal.

We waited for a while before our orders were taken. Service was slow but immaculate.

They take care of orders table by table.

For good food.

We wait.
And here they come dish by dish.

Silky smooth beancurd with vegetables and mushroom medley covered in an egg drop thickened gravy. Starchy. But otherwise, tasty.

Batter at its best!
This was chicken skin-on coated in a light flour batter that gave a satisfying crunch biting into it.
And that thai sweet chilli sauce just keeps one going at it.
Order with caution.

Kangkong stir fried with garlic and home made sambal.
Crunchy signals freshness and adequate cooking time.
It's a good attempt at a balanced diet.

 Very tender beef slices.
Mildly spicy.
They took the chilli seeds out of those dried chillies so don't be fooled. :)
Evidently too generous with the oil though.

 And this?

The house specialty.

At $30, you get three average sized soft shell crabs.

And a lot of that cereal addiction.

Curry leaves and chilli padi fried into nestum cereal.

For flavour, texture and taste. 

Oh give me cereal anything.

They do cereal chicken, cereal prawns. I'm not sure if there's more. 

Or if they have an order for just cereal itself.

<3

And the after dinner party continues with a sleeping baby in a stroller, a toddler and 5 adults playing musical tables at Cafe Cartel along Siglap Road trying hard to fit ourselves into their terribly unfriendly tables.

Late night supper with finger food, milkshakes, birthday cake slices till the kids were cranky and tired.

Happy birthday!

It's just another Friday night. :)

 

ikan assam pedas and ikan happycall! :)

Mdm Takehome Chef

Appears at the door with a bag of what eventually dinner would be.

Premix blended garlic, ginger and onion.

And a pack of chilli paste

Stir fry till fragrant before adding in the chilli paste.

Mix fresh assam with water and strain the liquid mixture into the sauce.

A teaspoon of cumin and a stalk of smashed lemongrass chopped into three.

For how long?

However long it takes. You'll see the oil released from the chilli paste.

Marinated chunks of ikan patin.

Ikan kari paste premix and tumeric.

Just a dash of oil and let the fatty fish grill in the happycall!

Don't panic. It's hardly overdone.

It's just right. :)

Depending on the thickness, this took us a few flips and between 15-20 minutes?

The shadow of yellow oil? That's tumeric.

And it's back to the ikan assam pedas.

Add in water and the fish slices to boil and simmer.

And a dash of sugar and salt to taste.

Perhaps a half cube of Knorr chicken or fish cube for a fuller bodied flavour.

And if you'd like this to be spicier, add on some black pepper seeds to boil.

And making the last dip into the sauce would be daun kesun (laksa leaves).

Let it simmer for a bit till the fish is about cooked then turn it up to a boil before serving.

And just as part of a healthy diet, an assortment of colourful broccoli, carrots, prawns and sliced black mushrooms. :)

Dinner for four. And just a little more.

Don't call this takehome chef. She's not for hire.

But if you're lucky, she'll call you.

Thanks for a hearty meal and time together at dinner. The tummy and I are blessed by friends like you.

Oh all the ayam masak merahs, the sup ikans, the mee gorengs and even nuggets I would offer to fry!

To more cookouts!