Michelin Recommended Kitchenman Nasi Lemak • Menu & Review📍CT Hub Kallang Ave ☎ 91426586

Michelin_Kitchenman_Nasi_Lemak_Menu_Review_CT_Hub_Kallang

Came to try Kitchenman nasi lemak, a Village Park style rendition of the Malaysian staple.

Located inside CT Hub, an office block at Kallang Ave, Kitchenman is sparsely decorated and simply furnished but air conditioned and comfortable.

It was rather quiet on this Wednesday afternoon.

The signature was nasi lemak ayam goreng berempah leg (quite a mouthful) and there were options for breast and other side dishes.

Okay.... nasi lemak goreng berempah leg is not a very photogenic dish. But, I learned long, long ago never to judge nasi lemak or any food by its look. Pretty may not be tasty and vice versa.

The first hint that this would be a delicious treat was the smell of the spice aroma from the sizzling hot fried chicken leg.

After tasting it, everything was right about this nasi lemak ayam goreng berempah.

Starting with the rice, though average quality grains it was nice as the tender rice was just slightly starchy and the grains well infused with coconut milk's sweet flavour and aroma. The sweetness of fresh coconut milk (not box santan which I dislike) was nicely balanced with a bit of saltiness.

The fiery red-brown fried chicken leg looked like a worn out bristle brush thrown into a fire 🤭

Brushed away the crust to reveal the leg and drumstick. My kaki kaki has a better eye than me 😄

The meat was fork tender, moist, and made from fresh bird (as far as I could tell) as the natural chicken sweetness was clearly discernible on first bite. (I dislike frozen birds as their meat is more or less tasteless.)

The enveloping spice and aromatics flavours were tasty, not overly salty, and their fragrance was alluring. Ginger, galangal, turmeric, serai (lemongrass), etc., made their presence felt.

Last but not least in the nasi lemak trinity, the sambal.

It was so good, sweet savoury spicy. Good sweetness from onion not from loads of sugar. A bit of umami savouriness from anchovy, and gentle heat from chili pepper.

Great with the sweet savoury rice and I was even enjoying it neat.

Kitchenman scores a hat trick for the fried chicken nasi lemak trinity - ayam berempah, fatty rice, holy sambal.

Kitchenman nasi lemak was no sloth in the other departments too.

The sunny side up with crisp frilly fringe, snowy white, and runny yolk for the obligatory photo 😄

The crispy fried anchovies were just nicely umami savoury.....

(not those common overly salty, wiry hard as nails type that can poke-your-mouth... ouch!).

The fried peanuts were crunchy, plump and flavourful (not the common chewy green pea size kind).

I normally avoid cucumber that are not peeled as I dislike the bitter chewy skin (hence no photo 🫢), but kitchenman's turned out surprisingly crunchy, juicy and sweet. The skin wasn't bitter.

Six Heavenly Kings.

Eggplant, baby French bean, lady finger, petai, tofu and tempeh. Crunchy fresh vegetables stir fried in umami belacan and chili pepper. I love it and it was a good complement to the nasi lemak.

A nice rendition of Village Park style nasi lemak, well worth the slightly premium SGD$13.80 price tag. Everything in the plate was just right - I mean almost always, something among the components in the dish may fall short but in Kitchenman's plate of nasi lemak everything was on point 👌

Everyone will naturally ask, how does it compare with Village Park? I can't really say now as the last time I had the Damansara Uptown original was in 2016 (more than 10 years ago). Time to make another trip to the Klang Valley.