It felt too much like "chap cai png" except for rice cooked with coconut milk. "Chap cai png" was what I endured during the worst work day lunches when I had no time to enjoy my food at leisure because of pressing deadlines.
Thirty years on, because of my friend, I dragged myself out for Ponggol Nasi Lemak supper at Kovan. (I am not a supper person because I can't sleep on a full stomach.) Aaron is a hardcore Ponggol Nasi Lemak fan but he only likes the outlet next to Kovan MRT station. The Tanjong Katong outlet "cannot one..." he said.
It's about 11:30pm (30 minutes to closing time) when we got here but the coffee shop was still buzzing. Most people were here for Ponggol Nasi Lemak.
Fortunately, a couple just got up and we got our table quickly. Aaron went to queue as he is the veteran here who knows what are the best dishes.
Aaron got each of us almost identical sets. Total cost was $14 for two sets.
First things first, the rice. The coconut milk fragrance was pronounced and I liked its sweet, slightly savoury taste. The rice was nutty and borderline dry, and had the texture almost of glutinous rice sans the lumpy stickiness. Overall, I enjoyed this rice mainly because of the coconut flavour and aroma. The quality of rice used was also relatively good.
I like the sambal because it has layers of flavours - sweetness from onion and umami from anchovies, savouriness from dried shrimp and mild spicy heat from chili pepper.
Ponggol Nasi Lemak provides hae bee hiam in addition to sambal. HBH has more umami from dried shrimp, a slight "kum heong" taste from fried spices and a bit of chili heat.
Next, the fried chicken wing.
I like their batter - well fried till evenly golden brown, crackly crisp, and the meat inside stayed tender (though I wish it was also juicy). I like it that the batter had a bit of spice flavour. Not much taste from the meat though.
Customers can help themselves to the crispy crumbs which I enjoyed. Nice spice flavours in the crispy crunchies.
Aaron is a big fan of their eggs. He gets two every time he is here 🤣
The egg white was tissue thin, so it's like a delicate wobbly silk purse holding the golden yolk inside. The yolk was runny, and flowed out like eggy tasting lava when I slit the silk purse by touching it softly with the fork.
It's perfect when mixed with the nutty rice.
Pro tip: Be smart like Aaron. Order two eggs per serving 😬 Good things come in pairs 好事成雙 😬
The otak otak was pretty nice. Mildly spiced, moist with visible soft bits of fish.
I like their crunchy, juicy sweet tasting cucumber slices too.
Okay, I am converted. After this sampling, I am planning when shall I come back with a bigger group.
Aaron actually also wanted to have fried drumsticks which he said are juicier than wings but these were sold out. Also sold out was the curry chap cai, which would perfect the slightly dry rice with a bit of spicy moistness.
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