Where have you been…

I think I have mentioned in my posts before how I encountered the nasi lemak at this hotel in Penang that changed the way I looked at the Malaysian dish completely.

Prior to that, I would eat it sometimes and to me, it was nothing more than just something different for a change and we would always have that at the buffet breakfast at any hotel in the country though most of the time I would go for something else and give it a miss…until one morning at the aforementioned hotel when I was helping myself to the peanuts and fried anchovies to go with my porridge and somebody opened the tub beside me with the steaming hot rice inside. The fragrance literally swept me off my feet and for the rest of my stay there, that was what I had every morning.

I did not think any that I had had since came anywhere close until this one here in Sibu way back in 2013 but my happiness was short-lived. The guy disappeared after a while and yes, I did go searching for him but to no avail. I had long given up trying to locate him and all this while, I went round the places in town looking for any nasi lemak that might be as good but no, none came anywhere near.

Well, the other morning, I saw a new nasi lemak stall…

…at Bandong Walk here and there was a girl buying from the guy so I went over to have a look.

I opened the insulated tub to have a look at the rice and yes, it was very fragrant so I ordered the special, RM4.00 a pack with a piece of fried chicken…

…and yes, there was the salted fish…

…that I like too but of course, to me, the rice must be very lemak (rich in santan/coconut milk) and indeed it was, truly worthy of the name. Ever so often, I had lamented at how some people could call theirs nasi lemak when the rice was not lemak at all, so much so that I might as well have been eating plain white rice.

I chatted with the guy and much to my delight, I found out that it was that very same guy from 2013 (he was not wearing spectacles then and he looked darker now) and for one thing, his nasi lemak, the regular, still costs exactly the same as before…

…despite the escalating prices of everything these days. The special used to be RM5.00 but he did not have all those varieties that he had then, just fried chicken and that is selling for RM4.00, a ringgit cheaper, believe it or not!

The sambal was really good, spicy…and I liked it a lot as well. I did try the kerang (cockles) before but I did not like it as he used the canned ones then but I certainly would be going back again and again for more of the special with a piece of chicken…

…or the regular everytime I feel like having it.

I did try the rojak tambi (RM3.50) and yes, it was good. It had half an egg unlike all the rest here, but no potatoes. I did not take a photograph of it though so I guess that would have to wait till I go back there and get some more of that…and I sure would love to try his mee jawa too.

This nasi lemak stall (2.313869, 111.825808) is located at Bandong Walk, Jalan Bandong a few stalls away from the roti canai stall, somewhere in front of this shop in the block where the 1Malaysia clinic is.