Qi Ji Guan Nasi Lemak (Amoy Street Food Centre)

I opted for their Chicken Drumstick Nasi Lemak ($6.50), which was served in a really huge portion! The skin was crispy and chicken wasn't dry - only qualm is the meat wasn't super well-seasoned, so it wasn't as flavourful as expected. The rice could be more flavourful as well, although chilli was q decent!

Yet another day back to the office and a trip to Amoy Street Food Centre for lunch — always looking forward to be here considering how many stalls that I have yet to check out here. Located at level two of the food centre, Qi Ji Guan Nasi Lemak is one of the newer additions to Amoy Street Food Centre having opened their doors only slightly past a year at the time of writing this post. Mainly having a focus on Nasi Lemak, the stall serves up various forms of Nasi Lemak featuring different meat options — think renditions such as the Curry Chicken Nasi Lemak, Tempura Fish Nasi Lemak and the Sambal Tiger Prawn Nasi Lemak; they also do serve Fried Radish Cake for those who are looking for other items apart from their Nasi Lemak.

While we have heard that the Chicken Drumstick Nasi Lemak is pretty much one of the most popular items here at Qi Ji Guan Nasi Lemak, we decided to go for the Chicken Wing Nasi Lemak instead considering how we are small eaters here. It is noted that each Nasi Lemak item does come with a sunny-side-up, cucumbers, Nyonya Achar, Ikan Bilis, peanuts and sambal. Starting with the Nasi Lemak itself, we found the rice here to be pretty much on-point here; the rice is sufficiently moist, yet carried a lingering coconut-y aroma that remains evident throughout even when had with the other elements on the same plate. Moving to the fried chicken wing, the fried chicken wing was also pretty well-fried; served piping hot, it comes with a golden brown batter. The exterior is crisp, while the flesh within is juicy and tender; also falls off from the bone easily as well — an item which they had also seemed to have nailed pretty well. The sunny-side-up was also pretty promising; featuring a runny yolk, a touch of the fork reveals all that oozy golden goodness within while it is also free from any undesirable stench from overused oil. Nyonya Achar was also pretty refreshing; apart from being a palate cleanser by providing a tangy and nutty note, we liked how it provided a really fresh crunch from the vegetables as well. Ikan Bilis were also really well-executed here; liked how they remained light and crispy — pretty noteworthy considering how some stalls would serve limp and stale ones. Sambal was also pretty decent; apart from providing a mildly spicy kick to just tingle the tastebuds, it also carried a slight hint hint of sweetness that is synonymous with Nasi Lemak chili. Overall, a really competent offering that fares better against the same that is usually served in coffeeshop and hawker stalls in the heartlands.

Hadn’t really been able to find a good Chinese-style Nasi Lemak within this area ever since Spice & Rice had ceased operations a while ago — Qi Ji Guan Nasi Lemak does fill up this void pretty well however; this is especially considering how they seem to have nailed every single component that is on the plate, which we find to be a real feat considering there is usually one or more elements that may not turn out as well as the others on the same plate. It is difficult to say if it justifies making one’s way to the Central Business District just to give it a try considering how crowded Amoy Street Food Centre is these days with the office workers gradually returning to work, but this certainly one stall which we will find ourselves returning to when we head down here for lunch again!