The two side by side nasi lemak stalls at Adam Food Centre are among the
most famous and popular in Singapore. No.1 Adam's Nasi Lemak and Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak both enjoy long queues
throughout the day. Thirty minute waits are normal. Both stalls have been around for decades - Selera Rasa count Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei and Prime Minister Lee of Singapore among their fans. How do their nasi lemak taste today (in 2021)?
Stall name: No.1 Adam's Nasi Lemak
Stall name: Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak
Address: 2 Adam Rd, Singapore 289877 (Adam Road Food Centre)
Hours: No.1 Adam's Nasi Lemak ๐ 8am - 10pm (Mon off)
Hours: Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak ๐ฅ 7am - 3pm (Fri off)
This is the $5 set from No.1 Adam's Nasi Lemak. There's rice,
chicken wing, otak otak, sambal chili, ikan bilis, peanut, egg but no
fried fish. They don't have fried fish in any of their combo sets.
Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak's $6 Royal Rumble set. For $1 more, we get a
fried fish and fried potato cutlet (begedil) on top of the rice, chicken wing, otak otak, egg, ikan bilis, peanut,
sambal chili and token slices of cucumber. It's a good value deal.
No.1 Adam's Nasi Lemak's rice is tender but not soft, not greasy and
there is a slight coconut milk aroma and taste.
Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak's rice is also tender, not soft, not greasy,
slight coconut milk taste and aroma, and it has a subtle infused
saltiness. They use basmati rice - some long grains and some broken.
Basmati rice is a big selling point of Selera Rasa's nasi lemak though personally, I am more interested in flavour infusion than the glycemic index of the rice.
No.1 Adam's Nasi Lemak's sambal chili is sweet, umami-savoury, spicy hot.
The sambil chili flavours are well balanced and moderately intense.
Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak's sambal chili has a subtle tanginess overlaid with
anchovy umami-savouriness, sweetness and spicy heat. The sambal chili has
a pleasant spicy hot sting in the aftertaste.
No.1 Adam's Nasi Lemak's fried chicken wing is lightly coated with batter and spice. It is crisp outside and tender-juicy inside. Spice flavour is
gentle but there isn't much taste in the chicken flesh.
Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak's fried chicken wing is wrapped in thin but stiff shell. The lightly spiced shell, when we break it off the chicken wing could almost be a piece of turmeric-ginger spiced keropok
by itself. The meat inside is relatively dry and doesn't have much
taste.
No.1 Adam's Nasi Lemak's otak otak is like a thin sheet of soft paste
flavoured with sweet coconut milk with mildly savoury hot spices. No fish flavour.
Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak's otak otak is mildly spicy, sweet, savoury with a
bit of smokey taste and aroma from the charred banana leaf wrap. It's
actually my favourite thing in their Royal Rumble set.
Both No.1 Adam's Nasi Lemak and Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak do not do their
fried egg yolk runny. Both fry their eggs through making everything firm. Both
fried eggs don't have much flavour.
I appreciate it that I get a fried fish and fried begedil
in Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak's Royal Rumble set. The fried fish
doesn't have much taste. The begedil is nicely potato-sweet with a
savoury overlay.
Both No.1 Adam's Nasi Lemak and Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak's fried ikan
bilis are stiff and hard. Savoury-salty flavour is slight. Both are not overly greasy.
Both stalls do not skin their cucumbers, so I just left the one or two slices on
the plate uneaten. I don't like the bitter taste and chewiness of raw cucumber skin.
I feel it is not difficult to get comparable tasting nasi lemak from no fame
stalls around Singapore. If I am at Adam Food Centre and want to eat nasi
lemak, my money will go to Selara Rasa Nasi Lemak's Royal Rumble
set.
How has the taste of these two famous nasi lemak stalls changed over the years? From my memory, my personal feelings about them is the same today and twenty years ago.
Pro tip: Resist the temptation to change to No. 1 Adam's shorter queue, if you think Selera Rasa's queue is too long. You won't be saving any time ๐
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