Bali Nasi Lemak

Ever since my friend told me that @ilovebalisg’s Chinese-style Nasi Lemak is a favourite of her family’s, I have been wanting to visit. Finally found the opportunity to drop by the other day right after their opening time of 5.30pm. We were the first few to place our order but in mere moments, a queue formed right behind us.
I found the rice here very fragrant, light and fluffy, and without a trace of oiliness. It went very well with the sweet-savoury sambal which you can still spot onions in.
The highlight for me was the petal and wing bean dish. Stirfried quickly in a savoury “hae bee hiam”, both vegetables retained a fresh crunch which I adore.
Of the two options for chicken wings, I preferred the one coated in black sauce - it’s deepfried before being tossed in the sweet “kicap manis” so there is a bit of crunch when you sink your teeth into it. If you are a fan of the “keropok hard crunch” style of batter, then go for the golden-brown fried wings.
Eggs were cooked on point with a semi-runny yolk, and the grilled Otah was thick, aromatic and spicy - worth getting both of these as well.
I did miss my sliced cucumber though. It’s a vital part of my Nasi Lemak experience but unfortunately, they didn’t have it that evening.

Sweet sauce chicken wing, curry vegetables, hae bee hiam. There aren't many places that survive on being average. This one does. I'd return, but I always found it meh.

Bali Nasi Lemak can be easy to miss hidden in a nondescript Geylang lorong, but if you’re hankering after decent Chinese-style nasi lemak in the area you can’t go wrong with these guys. What distinguishes them from the crowd is their signature kicap manis fried chicken, but this time round I stuck with the classics – a crisp on the outside, juicy on the inside freshly deep-fried drumstick, accompanied by sambal longbeans, otah, ikan bilis, a sunny side up and a measly but relatively potent dollop of chilli.

Taste: 3/5

Nasi Lemak (~$7/pax)
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A rather expensive nasi lemak affair being located in coffeeshop setting but having paid more elsewhere, I was prepared for the price if the quality was on par. Whilst the signature black chicken (essentially fried chicken coated in kecap manis or sweet sauce) was tasty, the fact that the chicken was cold and the sauce made the coating lose its crispiness was a letdown. The ikan bilis also came across as hard and stale rather than crunchy and aromatic.

A good alternative to punggol nasi lemak with lesser que. The black sauce chicken is crispy and the other dishes are superbly tasty too! Reasonably priced!

You must try their black chicken!