This woman’s work…

…or wok, to be exact…

Nasi is rice in Malay and kak is older sister or a term we use to address a lady a little older than ourselves and I do not know if the name means the rice from older sister’s wok or Kak Wok is the name of a certain lady who started this thing but nasi kak wok is something new that I have just come across quite recently at the Ramadhan bazaar here and I quickly bought a packet to try.

Unfortunately, it failed to impress me – I did not think it was anything exceptional, not something that I would be looking forward to having again. This is a Kelantanese dish, so I’ve been told, and from that state in the country, based on the sample that I had, I would very much prefer their nasi kerabu a whole lot more.

Then, out of the blue, this stall…

…appeared here in Bandong at the junction of Lane 3 (2.314651, 111.824698)…

…and the main road. I would see it every morning on my way home from my parents’ house and finally, the other day, I decided to stop and buy some home to try and see if this one was any better.

The guy said he is from Kelantan but he did not seem all that keen to answer any personal questions so I did not probe any further. The last one we had around here selling his very nice roti canai and murtabak was an ustaz (religious teacher) from Penang and his wife was a teacher at a secondary school here…and as he was teaching in the afternoon, he was doing that little bit extra in the early part of the morning – usually sold out by around 8.00 a.m. – to supplement their family income. They have moved back to their own home state already though so I do not get to enjoy what he used to sell anymore.

I did ask what this nasi kak wok is actually and he said that what is special about it is actually the kuah (gravy)…

…which may look like curry but is not anything like curry as we know it, be it Malay, nyonya or Indian. Yes, I would say that it did taste quite different and it seemed to have the taste and fragrance of many different kinds of herbs and spices combined.

For RM4.00 only, you would get plain rice wrapped in waxed paper (and I would give the guy my double thumbs up for not using those banned-in-Sibu polystyrene containers) with a whole lot of fried chicken…

…some cut cucumber…

…and this very nice sambal…

…to go with it…

This is a new batch of the fried chicken…

…and I did notice here and also in the tray that there were some chicken gizzard and liver mixed together with the meat. I don’t mind the latter but no, I do not eat the former and thankfully, I did not get any in my packet but there was one in the one my missus had so we just threw it away. I wish the guy would put them separately and people could request for them if they are thus inclined and people like us would have the option to do without those.

The guy was nice enough to pack the kuah (gravy) separately instead of pouring it all over the rice lest it would become soft and soggy and end up not all that palatable as a result. When we got home, we opened up the packet…

…and added the kuah…and ate. Yes, it was nice and RM4.00 is inexpensive for so much rice and so much chicken – my missus could not manage to eat all of hers and no prize for guessing who finished everything for her. I would say that it sure looked a lot nicer and very much more substantial than what Phong Hong had for RM8.90 at some place in Damansara Uptown.

Having said that, will I be having it again? Well, I would say maybe, sometimes, when I feel like it or when I am looking for something different for a change but I would not say it is anything like for instance, the nice nasi kerabu here that we keep going back again and again for more.