TGIF lunch — Ayam Goreng Berempah nasi sets ($7.50 each)!
Friday Malay lunch — ayam goreng berempah (spiced fried chicken) nasi sets with sambal, achar, ikan bilis sambal and cucumber. $7.50 each.
Friday lunch — went for the Ayam Goreng Berempah nasi set with BB. $7.50 each. Spiced fried chicken Malay-style, two huge pieces, two takeaway boxes. 😋
What was in each box ($7.50 each):
- A bed of fluffy white rice at the centre, dusted with sambal serunding (dry fried coconut + spices) for that toasty fragrance.
- A massive piece of Ayam Goreng Berempah — drumstick + thigh attached, deep-fried with a dark crusty coating of pounded spice paste (rempah ratus). Properly seasoned through to the bone.
- A scoop of achar (pickled cucumber + carrot) for the tang.
- A spoonful of ikan bilis with sambal — small dried anchovies in a sweet-spicy chilli paste.
- A few slices of fresh cucumber for the cool palate cleanser.
Ayam goreng berempah is the proper Malay fried chicken — different from the wet-batter Western style. The chicken gets a marinade rub of pounded herbs and spices (turmeric, lemongrass, galangal, chilli) before being fried, so the seasoning is in the meat, not just on the crust.
The sambal serunding on the rice was the unexpected hero — every spoonful had that toasted-coconut + chilli depth coming through under the chicken juices.
Total: $15 for both sets.
Overall: 4.4 / 5. Chicken was the right kind of crusty (proper rempah depth, not just deep-fried plain), sambal serunding was the touch that elevated this above generic nasi lemak. Will be back. 😍👍🏼
