Nanyang Spices Kitchen 南洋馆

The Foodini food court situated within Matrix in the Biopolis district does seem to have introduced quite a number of new names to the local F&B scene here — one of the stalls of which had piqued our interest being Nanyang Spices Kitchen. Nanyang Spices Kitchen takes up a stall in a corner of the food court adjacent to the stall serving up Western food; Nanyang Spices Kitchen should be relatively difficult to miss considering how the stall does feature a display warmer whilst also has quite a large menu board being situated on-site — television screens installed on the stall’s frontage detailing the dishes that the stall has to offer also sees the menu using a dark green background as well. Nanyang Spices Kitchen is a stall that seems to hop on to the current trend of Nanyang Kopitiam-themed eateries around that serves up Malaysia-style Nasi Lemak amongst other offerings — the menu is being split into sections dedicated to Main Dishes, Specials, Curry Sets and Mixed Platters with rice dishes dominating most of its menu; the only noodle dish offered by Nanyang Spices Kitchen being the Cheesy Pork Cutlet / Crispy Chicken / Ebi Fry with Maggi Mee.

Having went past the stall multiple times, what stood out in the menu at Nanyang Spices Kitchen for us would be the Spanish Crispy Pork Belly Rice that is being listed in the Main Dishes section of the menu. Nanyang Spices Kitchen does not describe the elements that are being included in the various dishes on their menu; that being said, it can be observed that the Spanish Crispy Pork Belly Rice was served in a way that was intended for it to be a Nasi Lemak offering — think coconut-infused basmati rice, sunny side-up, anchovies, peanuts and Muruku; all these whilst the Spanish Crispy Pork Belly takes the form of a Babi Goreng Berempah which is essentially the version of Ayam Goreng Berempah but coming with pork.

Going straight for the Spanish Crispy Pork Belly, we did feel that the pork belly pieces were a little bit on the fatty side; the meat does turn out a little gelatinous but also not quite as juicy as what we expected and needed some chew — that being said, the notes of turmeric were pretty evident along with the lemongrass that was used in the cooking process as well, while deep-fried exterior still comes pretty crisp without being particularly greasy. Otherwise, the entire plate of Spanish Crispy Pork Belly Rice wasn’t quite memorable — while the use of basmati rice does make the coconut-infused rice feels lighter with looser grains, the fragrance of coconut milk and the other aromatics involved in the making of a typical Nasi Lemak didn’t really quite pull through evidently here, while the sunny side-up was a missed opportunity being quite a generic one with a fully-cooked egg yolk. The anchovies were thankfully well salted and was served crisp, while the sambal chili does come with the hint of sweetness that one would be typically looking for in the local rendition of Nasi Lemak.