Okay..., come to Kuala Lumpur must of course try their nasi lemak. One of the most popular / famous places is Nasi Lemak Wanjo in Kampung Baru.
We walked from KLCC which is about 5km away. We enjoyed the walk but don't be like Tony. Take the LRT or a taxi π
Wanjo is just 10 minutes walk from Kampung Baru LRT station.
As far as nasi lemak places go, Wanjo is a huge space, the largest that I know of. It has a canteen type of atmosphere but serves only nasi lemak. Air conditioned and clean, Wanjo has come a long way from its street side push cart days in 1963 πͺ (Note: Air con section has a RM1 surcharge.)
There was a constant queue but it moved fast.
The serving station was well laid out and staff well drilled, hence the quick clearance. So, don't be put off by the long queue - you will get your food in almost no time π€
Pardon me if it was not pretty π
It was lemak rice with fried egg, rendang chicken and rendang beef with plenty of sambal plus some token fried ikan bilis.
Wanjo uses good quality fragrant rice with most grains loose (no lumps), whole, tender, nutty, with just the right amount of moistness, grease, sweetness and coconut flavour.
The sambal was robustly sweet (onion), spicy hot but not overwhelming and had an underlying anchovy umami. There's also a trace of zest, perhaps from tamarind. I like its "power" - flavour and aroma-wise.
The rendang beef cut into meaty chunks was moist tender, slightly chewy, and smothered with a savoury salty mildly hot spice coat.
The rendang chicken was a winner. Tender succulent meat blanketed with savoury spicy sauce that didn't take away the natural chicky flavours and sweetness of fresh white chicken meat.
Pricing was very pocket friendly in my opinion (in today's market).
Worth a try if you are a nasi lemak lover visiting KL. Today, we had only rendang because we had no tummy space π¬ Need to come back to try other dishes like my favourite bergedil, beef spleen, sambal squid and fried paru (lung). They also have sambal cockles (kerang).
In Klang Valley, you can also try Village Nasi Lemak in Petaling Jaya and Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa also in Kampung Baru (but I have not been here since 2015).
Over in Malacca, you can check out Nasi Lemak Ujong Pasir which I like a lot. Another one is Ah Ho Nasi Lemak but this is non Halal.
Recently, Singapore chef Bob, a media personality compared Nasi Lemak Wanjo favourably with their Singapore counterparts. The lemak rice and sambal really do give Wanjo the edge. (But, if you don't like sweetness in your sambal, this likely won't suit you.)
The sides (lauk) are a little harder to compare as Wanjo is heavy on rendang dishes while in Singapore the sides are mainly deep fried. Personally, I prefer rendang type sides π€ This reminds me to go re-visit Mana Lagi in Johor Bahru soon.
For fried sides, my favourite is Nasi Lemak Wak Kentut of Kulai, Johor.
Restaurant name: Nasi Lemak Wanjo Kampung Baru
Address: 8, Jalan Raja Muda Musa, Kampung Baru, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Nearest LRT: 10 minutes walk from Kampung Baru station
Tel: +6011 6336 1963
Hours: 6am - 12 midnight
Written by Tony Boey on 11 Jan 2025
i’m not used to having rendang with nasi lemak. coconut gravy on coconut rice. was it a bit overkill for you or did they tweak to make it work?
ReplyDeleteStanley Ling actually I prefer rendang as I like wet and soft tender food. Old already π flavour wise also balanced
DeleteTony Boey yeah - but odd to serve with coconut rice as it is a very rich dish. usually plain rice or ketupat. there seems to be a trend of nasi lemak places adding nasi campur dishes to the menu.
DeleteThe sambal was a bit too sweet for me, unfortunately
ReplyDeleteGood “old rice” Nasi Lemak cook with over ripe coconut suntan …
ReplyDeleteThis kind of serving, cook over a fire pot. Old Kampong style the best.
For me it’s the rice. The ingredients are decorative. lol.
For me, NL Burung Hantu is way tastier. If original taste, it would be Nasi Lemak Ali Daun Pisang in Penang.
ReplyDeleteSo so η½·δΊ，ζ²ζι©ε
ReplyDeleteChef bob probably havnt eaten gd nasi lemak. I tried his food a few times. I rather dont comment. Gd saleman thou
ReplyDeleteWanjo is ok. But the rice lack of santan taste. Maybe you can recommend him to go for Wak Kentut or any of those within JB first before further explore up to KL. Manmila is also a good option too.
ReplyDelete