It has more contemporary, cleaner, cafe style lines now compared to its famous dingy gritty old Geylang Lor 15 location where it had been for 27 years (Actually, the two places are less than five minutes walk apart.)
This post is to inform Bali Nasi Lemak fans about their move.
Bali Nasi Lemak is part of Singapore nasi lemak's largest family. The same family is also behind Ponggol Nasi Lemak, Mount Faber Nasi Lemak and Fong Seng Nasi Lemak (at NUS Kent Ridge / Pasir Panjang).
The first in the family to start a nasi lemak business was second sister, the late Mdm Koh Ah Kim of Mount Faber Nasi Lemak fame.
In 1984, auntie Susan Koh's husband lost his job as a shipyard worker during the global reccession. Auntie Susan with three small children turned to sister Koh Ah Kim for help.
Auntie Susan with three children in tow, tried to sell her first twenty packets of nasi lemak door-to-door in Paya Lebar at daybreak but there were no takers. They tried again in MacPherson and was unsuccessful as well. They then went to Jalan Veerasamy road and approached the sundry wholesalers there. The 20 packets of nasi lemak were quickly sold.
This was auntie Susan's first break and she remembered it vividly. They were basic simple rice cooked with coconut milk, garnished with fried anchovies, a thin triangular sheet of fried egg, and sambal. Auntie Susan still serves the same sambal at Bali Nasi Lemak today.
Auntie Susan's business then kept on growing steadily and went on to the famous hole-in-the-wall nasi lemak shop in Geylang Lor 15 till Nov this year (2023). The dinghy old shophouse found a new owner who increased rental substantially leading auntie Susan to move to their current location at 142, Sims Ave.
Despite the move, sinking money into renovation, inflation, and higher operating costs due to air conditioning, etc., Bali Nasi Lemak is maintaining their pricing from Geylang Lor 15 days.
Auntie Susan is happy about the upgrade, and proud of her grown up children and spanking new shop. She said she never dreamt about this day when she struggled with selling her first twenty packets of basic nasi lemak with three toddlers in tow.
Even today, auntie Susan still does her own marketing, hand picking the best ingredients that go into her nasi lemak. She was so proud, showing off the fresh petai she bought from Geylang Serai Market this morning ๐
Today, son Kaitat and sister Weimin are supporting auntie Susan at the shop. Mum just can't stop doing what she loves, they said. Tat and Min are looking at ways to modernise the operations and tweaking the menu to bring it up to date (with auntie Susan having the last word, so tradition is maintained).
Fans of Bali Nasi Lemak, your favourite hangout is now at 142, Sim Ave - bigger, cleaner, more comfortable. Food menu and pricing are the same as when they were at Geylang Lor 15.
Restaurant name: Bali Nasi Lemak Fast Food Shop ๅณๅๆคฐๅญ้ฃฏๅฟซ้ค
Address: 142 Sims Ave, Singapore 387464
Tel: +65 6841 4102
Hours: 5:30pm - 4:00am (Sun off)
Written by Tony Boey on 31 Dec 2023
✍ 6 Mar 2021. Need a fix for midnight cravings in the city but still wouldn't settle for anything but the best? Bali Nasi Lemak is probably the best nasi lemak one can find on the graveyard shift in Geylang - it opens from 5:30pm to 4am.
Restaurant name: Bali Nasi Lemak Fast Food Shop ๅณๅๆคฐๅญ้ฃฏๅฟซ้ค
Address: 2 Lor 15 Geylang, Singapore 388596 142 Sims Ave, Singapore 387464 (new address since Nov 2023)
Tel: +65 6841 4102
Hours: 5:30pm - 4:00am (Sun off)
I like this rustic old building where Bali Nasi Lemak is in. It reminds me of
old air traffic control towers I see around the world, though this, of
course, is not ๐
Bali Nasi Lemak has been in Geylang since 1985 and here at the intersection of Geylang Lor 15 and
an unnamed side lane for the last 20 years.
There's a constant stream of customers at Bali Nasi Lemak. There's folks who work or live around here, and fans from around the island as Bali Nasi Lemak ranks in the top band for the Chinese version of the Malay dish.
Typical of Chinese nasi lemak stalls, Bali Nasi Lemak has a wide range of sides to go with the coconut flavoured rice. It's like an economic rice stall - affordable but Bali Nasi Lemak differs in that the dishes are freshly cooked in small batches.
For nearly forty years, Mdm Susan Koh still personally cook the side dishes one wok at a time. So, you will get hot or warm food as the turnover is high and quick. Mdm Koh is busy in the kitchen, while her daughter and staff serve at the counter.
Daughter Weimin helping out at the stall. I can smell the spices and aroma of charred banana leaf.
How did the name Bali Nasi Lemak come about? When Mdm Koh started the stall with her husband nearly forty years ago, she was wearing one of those pasar malam "I ๐ Bali" t-shirts and so Bali Nasi Lemak it is. No great ambitions, no brand consultants, just finding a way to earn money to raise their family. Till today, Mdm Koh has not been to Bali before.
(Kaypoh kaypoh snippet: Mdm Susan Koh is the sister of the founder of Ponggol Nasi Lemak. Another sister owns Mount Faber Nasi Lemak.)
Three of us, we went the whole hog, piling our tray with our favourites.
Mdm Koh cooks her sambal chili every day, so they are always fresh.
Robust anchovy umami-savoury, sweet and mildly spicy.
Ebony and Ivory - Bali Nasi Lemak serve a "white" and a black fried chicken
wing.
The "white" fried chicken wing is actually crisp golden brown outside. The batter
is thin but crackly like Indonesian keropok (crackers) with slight spice flavour and smell.
Mdm Koh started with the "white" wings and added the black wings on the
suggestion of Weimin who was formerly a SIA cabin crew. From one of her flights to New York City, she tasted
Buffalo wings
during an excursion to Buffalo (to see the
Niagara Falls).
Based on Weimin's description, Mdm Koh came up with this black fried
chicken wings with an Indonesian twist, coating it with kicap manis sauce. This
is Bali Nasi Lemak mah
and Mdm Koh can only rely on Weimin's description as she cannot tabao (takeaway) the
Buffalo wings from New York mah.
Anyway, this sweet-savoury black chicken wing is one of Bali Nasi Lemak's
signatures for decades.
The fried ikan kuning fish is crisp outside, not too dry inside and still has a bit of natural fish sweetness.
The fish otak otak has nice mild spice flavours with a bit of sweetness, toasty taste, smokey banana leaf smell as it is freshly grilled. Again, grilling is done in small batches so the otak otak is always fresh and warm.
I prefer fried white bait than fried anchovies because white bait is less salty and has a subtle underlying sweet taste.
Get the hae bee hiam - savoury-salty, subtly sweet, not spicy. Perfect with the sweet coconut flavour rice.
I could go on some more but you got the idea. There are many dishes and there are "surprise" ones depending on what Mdm Koh finds in the market. Yes, decades on, Mdm Koh now in her 70s still goes to the markets in her panel van to handpick her ingredients just like mums do.
On the way home, can't help but stop to take a picture. It must be the psychedelic green light, or was it that suave man looking back at me?
Written by Tony Boey on 5 Mar 2021
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThey were previously at Lor 17, not 19.
ReplyDeletePrior to that, they were at the corner shop on the other end where Keng Wah Sung is situated. had eaten at both places .