Makan Place – Chong Pang Nasi Lemak and a Culinary Lesson

People who stay in the North of Singapore complain that they don’t get much by the way of good food. That’s true. They have significantly less options apart from the chain restaurants.

But it’s not a complete culinary dessert.

There is the Sembawang White Beehoon at Sembawang Road, Karu’s Indian Banana Leaf Restaurant at Upper Bukit Timah (now at the Sime Darby Centre), Al Azhar Indian Muslim food at Beauty World and Poison Ivy Cafe at Kranji.

And then there’s food across the causeway in Johor Bahru.

To this list, add Chong Pang Nasi Lemak in Yishun/Chong Pang.

First open in 1973 at the Chong Pang Village Food Centre, the store is today an institution among followers of Chinese style Nasi Lemak with branches all over the island. The main branch is obviously the most popular with a queue that never seems to go down.

But rather gets longer as the day goes on.

While commonly taken at all times of the day, Chong Pang Nasi Lemak opens for service only in the evening and carries on throughout the night till 7am the next day.

Nasi Lemak is translated into English as fatty rice. The rice gets its flavour from being cooked with pandan leaves and coconut milk and is found in the Malay-speaking world (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Southern Thailand and Southern Philippines).

Source

The long queue at Chong Pang Nasi Lemak is made up mostly of Chinese customers and takes about 20 minutes before you get to your turn.

There is a wide variety of choices to add to your Nasi Lemak, just take a look.

I got my food and sat down to eat, I was hungry and it looked good.

Here’s a closer look.

“Hmm, somehow I like the Adam Road version a bit more…” I said. The chicken here was very good, simple, juicy, cripsy on the outside and tender on the inside, the ikan bilis (dried anchovies and peanuts) was crispy and slightly sweet but the sambal chili seemed to lack something for my palate.

Malay-style Nasi Lemak from No 1. Adam Road Nasi Lemak

“Look at the clients again,” said my friend.

The customers were almost exclusively Chinese (scroll up and take a look). My friend went on to explain that the what Malays like in Nasi Lemak is not what Chinese like in Nasi Lemak.

Singaporean Malay Nasi Lemak places strong emphasis on the sambal, which is usually sweet with a slight spicy after taste. This is to enhance the flavour of the rice and not detract from it. The rice being central to the dish, the condiments are more basic in a Malay style stall with eggs, ikan bilis, chicken wing, sambal, fried kuning fish and cucumbers. In contrast, Chinese style Nasi Lemak focuses less on the rice and more on the condiments – just look at the large display of food choices.

Chong Pang Nasi Lemak is worth a try, especially to compare the flavour with Malay style Nasi Lemak in Adam Road and an Indian influenced style at Poision Ivy Cafe.

See which one you like!

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