Hon Ni Kitchen is not a big fame, high media profile stall but their nasi lemak ticks all the right boxes for an excellent rendition of the dish. Prices are very wallet friendly too.
There's always a long queue for Hon Ni Kitchen's nasi lemak from 6am till closing at around 1pm but service is quick and efficient. They clear the queue fast, so don't worry - just join the line.
There are many freshly cooked side dishes to choose from, to go with the coconut flavoured rice and sambal chili. The prices are very reasonable.
Hon Ni's nasi lemak is served in an unpretentious takeaway packet.
Day 1 - Rice, fried chicken wing, fried long beans. Price was less than $3 (I forgot the exact amount lah). I didn't order much as Hon Ni was the third stall I was trying out for the day, so I had little stomach space left.
Day 2, I came with more stomach space. Rice, sambal chili, ikan bilis, chicken wing, fried egg, ikan kunning fish, fried long beans. Price less than $4 (again forgot lah).
First things first, the rice. Hon Ni use good quality jasmine rice to make their nasi lemak. The rice was tender with a slight nutty bite which I like. The rice was sweet with coconut milk flavour and aroma. There was a subtle saltiness to balance the sweetness. Nice.
I like Hon Ni's sambal chili. Each batch is freshly fried every day. It's a blend of sun dried and fresh chilis, anchovies and spices.
The result is a savoury sweet sambal chili with anchovy umami and a fleeting spicy hot kick in the aftertaste. Very unlike the too sweet or too salty sambal chili commonly found in other nasi lemak places.
I like Hon Ni Kitchen's fried chicken wing. The wing is lightly battered and deep fried to a golden brown crisp outside. Inside, the white meat was warm, juicy and tender. The wing tasted savoury sweet with a bit of natural chicken sweetness.
The two fried ikan kunning looked dry and stiff. Truth be told, I didn't expect much as last week I tried two big fame nasi lemak stalls and their fried ikan kunning didn't have any taste.
So, I was delighted that Hon Ni's ikan kunning, though crisp had some kunning fish flavour. I like it.
Hon Ni scored again in the fried egg department - the egg yolk is runny! Frying runny yolk in bulk requires skill and attention during the cooking.
Last week, at the two big fame nasi lemak stalls, the egg yolks were fried through, firm and hard.
The ikan bilis (deep fried anchovies) were crisp and crunchy, and not overly salty at all. The fried long beans were tender-crunchy and juicy.
A big surprise was their otak otak. Hon Ni make the otak otak paste themselves, wrap it in banana leaf and grill them right there at the stall.
Hon Ni's otak otak is rich with coconut milk and mildly hot spice flavours. The taste and aroma of lemongrass was quite pronounced. The meat inside is soft with a bit of squeakiness to the bite. Nice!
Let you in on a little secret.
Hon Ni's otak otak is made with minced chicken thigh (not fish). It worked really well. I wouldn't know it had the boss Jackie not shared the "secret" with me.
Boss Jackie said she was concerned about tiny fish bones in otak otak as many customers buy her nasi lemak for their children. After trying different solutions, she came up with chicken thigh meat otak otak and it was a great success with her customers. I worked for me too. Bravo Jackie 👏👏👏
$1 a piece.
I had the opportunity to lim kopi (sip coffee) with Jackie. Jackie hails from the seaside town of Kuala Sanglang in Perlis, Malaysia. She was born in a Malay kampung where she learned how to cook nasi lemak. Jackie lives and breathes nasi lemak since her Malay kampung days.
Jackie came to Singapore 40 years and worked in factory canteens and later as a caterer. Twenty years ago, she realised her dream of owning her own nasi lemak business. She has been running this same stall in 216 Bedok Central since then. To be ready to serve at 6am, Jackie comes to the stall at 3am 😮
Jackie is passionate about cooking and a generous person by nature. She has mentored many disciples who now run their own nasi lemak stalls.
Jackie is a highly committed and resourceful mentor. When hit by COVID-19 Circuit Breaker measures in 2020, Jackie continued to mentor her disciples using video chats.
Jackie's disciples include the two popular nasi lemak stalls in Old Airport Road hawker centre, so you will find the Hon Ni Kitchen DNA there.
Other popular stalls at 216 Bedok Central hawker centre 👈 click
Written by Tony Boey on 27 Feb 2021
Hon Ni Kitchen was awarded two pairs of chopsticks by Makansutra in Mar 2021. Read the details in the Makansutra online Singapore food guide 👈 click
Which 2 popular nasi lemak stalls in Old airport road? Really dun recall any.
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