Lomak - Nasi Lemak

Was scrolling through social media casually when we found out about Lomak that seems to have recently opened in NTP+ near Lorong Chuan MRT Station — the mall does seem to have seen a recent revamp in its tenant listing, and now sees a bit of a change in the various F&B establishments that currently operate within the mall. Lomak can be found within the ground floor of the mall itself; occupying a shop unit which is situated rather near to the outlet of ACE Signature there. Lomak had taken veered former premises of the now-defunct Keb's - German Döner Kebab which is mostly operating as a takeaway kiosk within the mall. Lomak has pretty much retained the furniture and fittings left behind by Keb's - German Döner Kebab — even to the extent of adopting the purple shop facade which is in itself a contrast from the other stalls within the vicinity. Whilst primarily operating as a takeaway kiosk, there is a wall-facing high table with four (4) high chairs which patrons are able to use if they so choose to dine in within its premises. The menu at Lomak is kept rather simple considering the style of operations here — serving up their Nasi Lemak in sets, Lomak offers three (3) different sets each featuring a different choice of meat, with patrons able to add on more meats if they wish to do so. Beverages available at Lomak are limited to a small variety of sodas , as well as bottled water.

With a menu this concentrated, it is needless to say that our attention was drawn to the Set B when we were looking through the various set combinations that Lomak has to offer on their social media pages. The menu describes Set B to come with elements such as coconut rice, marinated chicken leg, sunny side-up, anchovies, peanuts, cucumber and a “Special Mak Sambal”. Considering the operations of Lomak, it is not surprising to find that the Nasi Lemak at Lomak is served in disposable ware. That being said, it is worthy to note that the marinated chicken leg does come in a separate paper bag from the bowl containing all the other elements — this is so since the marinated chicken leg wouldn’t have fit into the container with the lid on. For an establishment that is Muslim-owned, we are a little surprised that these folks had opted for serving their Nasi Lemak with short grain rice instead of long grain rice as most establishments would go for. Despite so, the short grain rice does seem to have fully absorbed the flavours of the coconut milk that has been added during the cooking process; whilst some grains do come with a slightly harder texture in some parts, the rice is still pretty aromatic and fragrant. The marinated chicken leg is similar to, but not entirely being the Ayam Goreng Berempah that most would be hoping for — whilst being all crisp on the outside and juicy within, the notes of galangal, turmeric and lemongrass aren’t exactly that pronounced as compared to some that we have had in the past; it also does not come with the crispy crumbs and the wok-fried curry leaves that some would be looking forward to having. Nonetheless, the marinated chicken leg was still pretty enjoyable despite its shortcomings. The sunny side-up came with soft whites and a runny egg yolk — the egg yolk eagerly revealing the flowy, golden goodness as pierces through it with the cutlery. The anchovies were a little less crispy than what we had expected it to be; a little bit limp considering how we had dropped by the establishment during dinner service on a weekend. That being said, the “Special Mak Sambal” was another element that was a hit to our tastebuds; there’s a good balance of sweetness in the sambal here all that whilst delivering a spicy kick that those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness should be good with — definitely goes well with the rice and anchovies that each set at Lomak comes with.

Considering how Malaysian-style Nasi Lemak has always commanded a slightly higher price tag than true-blue Singaporean-style Nasi Lemak all along, the prices of the sets at Lomak can be described as pretty affordable; the lowest-priced sets are listed at $5.90, while Set B which we had is priced at $9.90. There is definitely some room for improvement when it comes to the Nasi Lemak that Lomak serves; that being said, these folks do seem to know what they are doing and their offerings for a newly-opened establishment is off a good start. Will be interesting to see how these folks would further improve their recipes and develop their menus over time, though they do seem to be an establishment that would likely serve the residents around Lorong Chuan well considering the lack of Muslim-friendly establishments around the area.