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| La Pona Snack Bar (Nasi Lemak) | 150 Orchard Road, #04-53 Orchard Plaza, Singapore 238841 π 10 minutes walk from Somerset station ☎ 8866 0453 π 10:30pm - 4am (Sun pm - Mon am off) |
Buddy has been telling us about his favourite nasi lemak joint, La Pona in Orchard Plaza for the longest time.
Took us more than a year before our band of unkers (I am the oldest one) finally made it here because of La Pona's opening hours - 10:30pm to 4am (Sunday pm - Monday am off). They are dedicated to serve the Orchard Plaza party crowd.
We could smell the fried chicken the moment the lift door opened on level four.
10pm, La Pona's regulars were already perched around the well worn wooden bar counter, waiting for serving to start. Yeah, they only have a bar counter for max 10 people knocking elbows in a tight squeeze. So, customers will mostly takeaway. For those dining in, the turnover was very quick. Most customers ate and left in around 10 minutes π
Mdm Xiao Lien ε°θ² has been running La Pona for 38 years she said i.e. since 1986. She still does most of the cooking, and now assisted by her son.
38 years ago, the dingy little stall didn't have a name. When Mdm Xiao Lien went to register her stall, she didn't have any idea what to name her business. The officer at the registry suggested, Lipona or Lapona. Mdm picked La Pona and the quirky name has been lucky for the family ever since.
At around 10:30pm, serving starts and things moved in a frenzy. The menu was pretty limited focused - just rice, sambal, fried chicken wings, fried egg, omelette, fried wiener (hotdog), fish fillet, otak otak, luncheon meat, fried dried anchovies, that's it, that's all. No fried vegetables, cucumber, peanut, or premium stuff like squid, prawn, etc.
This was kaki 1's everything serving. The rice was invisible under that jumbled heap.
Kaki 2.
Celebrity chef kaki 3 doesn't waste any time taking photos π π€
Kaki 4.
Kaki 5.
Mine. I left out all the processed food stuff.
First thing first, the rice. Old school type taste profile. Salty, sweet with coconut milk flavour and aroma at the mild intensity which I like. The tender rice had a shiny gleamy sheen, slightly tacky, not fluffy but not lumpy and did not feel starchy thanks to a micro film of grease.
Otak otak was nice too. Thin slab of soft fish paste, well but mildly spiced.
Chicken wing was well browned, crisp outside while tender and moist inside. Marinate was mildly savoury salty, simple old school type of fried chicken wing. Not the trendy har cheong gai fermented prawn paste type. Yeah, I like what La Pona is serving.
La Pona's fried egg is a winner. The white was tissue soft and the browned lacey fringe was delicately frilly crisp. Mdm Xiao Lien is a master in egg frying π³πͺπ
It's redundant for me to even say that the egg yolk oozes out like a light eggy sauce.
Pro-tip for egg lovers: Get at least two. For me, three.
One of my pet peeves about the fried anchovies many places use with nasi lemak is they are almost always overly salty. But, not here at La Pona - it was just the right salty intensity with all the crispy crunch and chew I like. Perfect with the lemak rice.
The sambal which was house made was mildly salty spicy sweet, and complemented the rice and sides well.
Fish fillet envy. Kaki kaki's fried fish fillet looked good but I didn't order, so didn't get to try.
La Pona do burgers too. That's one good way to eat their fried eggs π I know what to try next time. Customise one with double egg, double fun πΊπΊ
I have not eaten so much carbs this late for a very long time but I am now thinking when can I come back soon π
If you are a fan of late night nasi lemak at here in Kovan and here in Geylang, La Pona is another joint that can satiate your night owl cravings.
Next turn of customers after us. Business was brisk and it's not even the weekend yet.
Stall name: La Pona Snack Bar (Nasi Lemak)
Address: 150 Orchard Road, #04-53 Orchard Plaza, Singapore 238841
Nearest MRT: 10 minutes walk from Somerset station
Tel: 8866 0453
Hours: 10:30pm - 4am (Sun pm - Mon am off)
Written by Tony Boey on 24 Oct 2024
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