Nasi Lemak - coconut flavored rice with chili ?

This is the kind of Nasi Lemak that has retained its simplicity throughout these years. Unfortunately, prices for such simple pleasures succumb to inflationary factors. What used to be less than one dollar is now about $1.20-$1.50.

When you look at the rice and think hard, it is obvious this rice dish does not have too much ingredients. It's typically some ikan bilis slathered with chili, one-two slices of cucumber doused with chili and a piece of fried ikan kuning (ikan - malay word for fish, kuning -malay word for yellow. Ikan Kuning ~ a yellow- or gold-banded scad fish ~ a small food fish often served fried in Nasi Lemak).

So what is the attractive aspect of traditional Nasi Lemak? Is it the packaging - coconut flavored rice wrapped in banana leaves ? Or...or...

..or...the chili ? Essentially, it is the satisfaction of eating coconut-flavored rice with chili, isn't it ? :D


Modern Nasi Lemak has seen changes in the ingredient offerings. You can have spicy chicken wings and spicy chili eggs. Everything can change but essentially, the coconut flavored rice and chili must be there for it to be called Nasi Lemak.

Tag: nasi lemak, Singapore eating