As a nasi kukus lover, I was thrilled to stumble upon Nasi Kukus D'Cempaka during food hunting in Johor Bahru's public hawker centres. (The signboard at the stall says Nasi Kukus Gulai Kawah.)
When I see a lunch time queue like this, I can't help but stop to check it out. As we already had a heavy lunch at the popular nasi campur stall at the other end of the hawker centre, we made a note to come back the next day.
(How did I find this place? This old uncle very technology hor.... 😜 I just key in search "Medan Selera" which means hawker centre in my WAZE App and see what comes up. Sometimes we find a gem, oftentimes it is a wild goose chase but it is always fun and tummy full filling 😄 )
Owner Cik Yasmin hails from Kota Bahru, Kelantan the home of nasi kukus. She uses her mum's recipes at Nasi Kukus D'Cempaka.
Owner Cik Yasmin hails from Kota Bahru, Kelantan the home of nasi kukus. She uses her mum's recipes at Nasi Kukus D'Cempaka.
It was in Kota Bahru during a road trip in 2002 that I had my first taste of nasi kukus and fell in love with it. Since then, I will order nasi kukus whenever it is available.
At Nasi Kukus D'Cempaka, fresh chicken is marinaded with spices at the shop.
The chicken are freshly deep fried at the shop in small quantities at a time.
The fried chicken are brought out and served piping hot in small freshly fried batches.
Rice is cooked from grains by steaming which is the way of authentic nasi kukus.
The breakfast session starts around 10am and nasi kukus kak wok ayam is on the menu 😋 For RM5 (2018 price | RM6.50 in 2024), we get a mound of steamed rice splashed with chicken curry with claws thrown in, about 5 or 6 pieces of fried chicken, chopped cucumber and a dollop of sambal chili. (There are beef and lamb options as well.)
The small pieces of chicken were fried a little dry and stiff but they were well infused with savoury spices which made them very delicious.
The plain steamed rice was in a tightly moulded mound. It went very well with the mild savoury sweet spicy chicken curry. The savoury spicy sambal chili had a rather sharp lingering hot sting and tangy zing.
We love the soft springy crunch of the naturally sweet subtly spicy chicken feet.
At around 11am, they start to serve "nasi bajet" (budget lah) which is rice with chicken curry, chopped cucumber and a large piece of chicken either breast or drum stick. (Price RM6.50 in 2018.)
We had a nasi bajet each (after finishing the nasi kak wok).
The chicken breast meat was slightly crisp outside, savoury with spicy hints while the inside was tender, moist and naturally sweet. So good!
Before noon, they were ready to serve their "nasi special" which comes with a choice of upper or lower quarter chicken (price RM8.50 in 2018).
At Nasi Kukus D'Cempaka, fresh chicken is marinaded with spices at the shop.
The chicken are freshly deep fried at the shop in small quantities at a time.
The fried chicken are brought out and served piping hot in small freshly fried batches.
Rice is cooked from grains by steaming which is the way of authentic nasi kukus.
The breakfast session starts around 10am and nasi kukus kak wok ayam is on the menu 😋 For RM5 (2018 price | RM6.50 in 2024), we get a mound of steamed rice splashed with chicken curry with claws thrown in, about 5 or 6 pieces of fried chicken, chopped cucumber and a dollop of sambal chili. (There are beef and lamb options as well.)
The small pieces of chicken were fried a little dry and stiff but they were well infused with savoury spices which made them very delicious.
The plain steamed rice was in a tightly moulded mound. It went very well with the mild savoury sweet spicy chicken curry. The savoury spicy sambal chili had a rather sharp lingering hot sting and tangy zing.
We love the soft springy crunch of the naturally sweet subtly spicy chicken feet.
At around 11am, they start to serve "nasi bajet" (budget lah) which is rice with chicken curry, chopped cucumber and a large piece of chicken either breast or drum stick. (Price RM6.50 in 2018.)
We had a nasi bajet each (after finishing the nasi kak wok).
The chicken breast meat was slightly crisp outside, savoury with spicy hints while the inside was tender, moist and naturally sweet. So good!
Before noon, they were ready to serve their "nasi special" which comes with a choice of upper or lower quarter chicken (price RM8.50 in 2018).
But, we were already full and had to take a rain check for this. Cik Yasmin also suggested that we should try her nasi gulai kawah kambing (curry lamb). That just means that we have to come back again soon 😄
Recommended for you 👍 Nasi kukus lovers, I found a nice Kelantanese run nasi kukus stall in JB which I think you will love too 😋
Johor Kaki's best Halal food in Johor list 😋 👈 click
Restaurant name: Nasi Kukus D'Cempaka (Nasi Kukus Gulai Kawah)
Address: Gerai No. 11, Medan Selera Taman Cempaka, Taman Cempaka, Johor Bahru
GPS: 1°30'54.1"N 103°41'50.9"E 🌐 1.515033, 103.697476
Waze: Medan Selera Taman Cempaka
Parking: Ample free parking at the hawker centre
Tel: 013 734 8178
Hours: 10:00am - 10:00pm (Monday off)
Halal
Date visited: 27 Dec 2018 | Reviewed 6 Sep 2022
Ajung Selera Cempaka is one of many public hawker centres run by the Johor Bahru City Council. The idea is to provide affordable and accessible cooked food for residents, hence public hawker centres are located in residential districts. Stall rental is nominal ranging from RM50 to RM350 per month. This helps create entrepreneurship opportunities and allow heritage hawker food to stay authentic (less pressure to adopt factory methods). The nominal rentals help hawkers stay commercially viable using traditional recipes, preparing and cooking relatively small quantities on site as authentic heritage food is hard to mass produce.
👆 Click to go to JB Best 100 Hawkers page
Recommended for you 👍 Nasi kukus lovers, I found a nice Kelantanese run nasi kukus stall in JB which I think you will love too 😋
Johor Kaki's best Halal food in Johor list 😋 👈 click
Restaurant name: Nasi Kukus D'Cempaka (Nasi Kukus Gulai Kawah)
Address: Gerai No. 11, Medan Selera Taman Cempaka, Taman Cempaka, Johor Bahru
GPS: 1°30'54.1"N 103°41'50.9"E 🌐 1.515033, 103.697476
Waze: Medan Selera Taman Cempaka
Parking: Ample free parking at the hawker centre
Tel: 013 734 8178
Hours: 10:00am - 10:00pm (Monday off)
Halal
Date visited: 27 Dec 2018 | Reviewed 6 Sep 2022
Ajung Selera Cempaka is one of many public hawker centres run by the Johor Bahru City Council. The idea is to provide affordable and accessible cooked food for residents, hence public hawker centres are located in residential districts. Stall rental is nominal ranging from RM50 to RM350 per month. This helps create entrepreneurship opportunities and allow heritage hawker food to stay authentic (less pressure to adopt factory methods). The nominal rentals help hawkers stay commercially viable using traditional recipes, preparing and cooking relatively small quantities on site as authentic heritage food is hard to mass produce.
👆 Click to go to JB Best 100 Hawkers page
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