Nasi Lemak Tanglin @ Jalan Cenderasari

After watching an episode of a Nasi Lemak battle between Village Park Nasi Lemak and Nasi Lemak Tanglin @ Jalan Cenderasari on Food Wars Asia recently, I decided to check out the latter as I've not eaten it before (as this original nasi lemak place is in an area that I don't usually come to).

Arriving at the place (there's ample parking) on a late Sunday morning, we immediately saw a queue of about 20 - 30 people lining up already in what looked like a food court although there was only one other stall opened that Sunday morning.

Actually, the stall is pretty small but there are many workers, so service is fast and furious and the queue moves quite quickly (we probably waited in line for about 10 - 15 minutes).  The wait turned out to be a breeze coz you have buskers keeping you 'entertained' with their fairly good rendition of English songs (there was another group of buskers singing Malay, Chinese and English songs in the alfresco dining area outside).

While waiting in line, we quickly made up our mind of what we wanted but all hopes were dashed when we reached the serving counter.  They had run out of almost everything....daging (beef rendang), ayam (chicken), ikan (fish) and even begedil (potato patty)...I asked! :'(

Looking at their "waktu perniagaan" (business hours) sign, we realised why....they close at 12 noon on weekends and public holidays...and we were there close to 11am (late comers can't be choosers)!

Their food and drink prices are displayed on a board behind the counter (so, you can mathematically count how much your plate will cost starting with the base "nasi lemak biasa" (the basic plain nasi lemak) @ RM2.  By the way, that's the daughter of the boss (in the blue apron).

This was my son's plate of Nasi Lemak with Sotong @ RM5.50 (with a request for less sambal).  My husband had the Nasi Lemak with Hati & Telur @ RM6 (no choice as there weren't any rendang or chicken left)! T_T  Although I must warn you that the serving portions are pretty small and one with a good appetite may need two plates to be fully satisfied.

As for me, I ordered a plate with 'everything that was left' minus the paru (I don't eat lungs).  This was my plate of Nasi Lemak with Sotong (squid), Telur (egg) & Hati (liver and heart) @ RM8.50 (I asked for just 2 pieces of hati, so the price was RM2 instead of the standard 3 pieces serving @ RM3).

Let's start with the basics....the nasi lemak (the "santan" aka coconut milk infused rice) and standard condiments of crispy ikan bilis (fried anchovies), crunchy peanuts and cucumber.  The steamed rice, which was fluffy with nicely separated grains, had a good aroma and a fragrant taste of santan...just lovely!  I liked the fact that the ikan bilis and nuts had more ikan bilis than nuts (unlike some places where it's all nuts and hardly any ikan bilis).

The sambal was slightly sweet but wasn't spicy at all (that's why they scoop a lot of it on the plate, but if you can't take that much sambal, remember to request for less).

The sambal sotong, in a sweet and spicy gravy, was (luckily) the only thing that was left but, at least, I was heartened by the fact that the sotong was in the biggest container, so it must be really good...and it was!  The sotong was super tender (I love it this way, almost falling apart) and the sambal that it was cooked in was also delicious (but those wanting the sambal to be on the spicier side would find this level of spice rather mild). 

I added a hard-boiled egg @ RM1 but this was not the usual hard-boiled egg (served at other nasi lemak stalls) but what looked like a crumbed egg that has been deep fried.  I'm not sure why they took the trouble to fry the egg as it didn't bring about a different taste to the egg except that the outer layer had a slightly more chewy texture (similar to the outer layer of a fish cake).

I also added on two pieces of hati @ RM2 which turned out to be over-fried with a fairly hard and chewy texture...something you can definitely skip having here.  But then, even if you have hati elsewhere (be it nasi lemak or Malay rice stalls), they'll probably be fried until overdone as well coz that's how they usually do it (quite unlike how the Chinese hawkers like to keep it soft and tender).

My Personal Opinion

So, who won the nasi lemak battle in Food Wars Asia, you ask?  Well, I think the right one did!  To me, a good nasi lemak should be judged on only two things....one is the rice and the other is the sambal.  And, for me, I preferred Nasi Lemak Tanglin's sambal (with a more authentic kampong-style taste and not too sweet) and rice (fluffy with a good dose of santan flavour).

But, if it was specifically a fried chicken nasi lemak challenge, then probably Village Park would have taken it home coz their chicken is really good! ;)

So, if you're ever in the area, drop by this one and original stall...and get the 'must have' sambal sotong which I highly recommend.  I would want to return to try their chicken and rendang one day (although the dining comfort/cleanliness isn't entirely to my liking).

Nasi Lemak Tanglin
Tanglin Food Court
Jalan Cenderasari
Tasik Perdana
50480 Kuala Lumpur