Curry Chicken Nasi Lemak (Fried Egg) It was a shame that HoYeah Cafe at Junction Nine had shuttered its door ever since our visit made there when they had first opened for business — after having tried their Chicken Wing Nasi Lemak, we found ourselves being converts of their Nasi Lemak. First establishing themselves as a stall within a coffeeshop, HoYeah Nasi Lemak has since opened a couple more stalls within coffeeshops — most of its outlets being located around the North to Central Singapore around Ang Mo Kio, Sin Ming, Yishun and Marsiling Industrial Estate. While their very first air-conditioned, stand-alone outlet with a varied menu has since been shuttered, the folks at HoYeah Nasi Lemak had recently found new digs in a shophouse at 914 Upper Thomson Road. Taking over the former premises of Top 73+1 Fishball Legacy; probably best known for serving up halal-certified fishball noodles, the shophouse is located just right across Springleaf MRT Station Exit 1 along the Thomson-East Coast Line. Being a standalone eatery rather than a stall within a coffeeshop, HoYeah Nasi Lemak’s newest outpost does look like an non-air conditioned coffeeshop with HoYeah Nasi Lemak being the sole-operator of the space — something much like the eateries surrounding them in the area. Serving up Nasi Lemak sets primarily (there is the classic Chicken Wing Nasi Lemak, though the more adventurous options would be the Beef Steak and Mutton Masala Nasi Lemak), patrons will be able to order their desired components for their Nasi Lemak ala-carte as well; the Nasi Lemak sets are available either with a fried egg, or with an omelette. For those who aren’t big on Nasi Lemak, HoYeah Nasi Lemak also serves are the same noodle selection that one would expect to find in an economic bee hoon stall; they also do serve up breakfast set featuring kaya butter toast in the form of a UFO Bun, soft-boiled eggs and a beverage as well. Beverages include the usual selection of local Kopi and Teh — all of which only available up to 3pm; other beverages served all-day includes Homemade Barley / Lemon Tea / Honey Lemon, soft drinks and Milo.
Having previously tried their Chicken Wing Nasi Lemak previously at HoYeah Cafe, we found ourselves going for the same; we also found interest in their Curry Chicken Nasi Lemak as well which we had also went for. Opting for the fried egg variant, the Curry Chicken Nasi Lemak consists of fried egg, Ikan Bilis and peanuts, cucumbers as well as sambal chili all in the same plate; coming in a separate plate, the bowl of curry chicken comes with a chicken drumstick and potatoes in curry gravy. Going straight for the Nasi Lemak first, the Nasi Lemak itself was just as impressive as it was when we had first tasted it at HoYeah Cafe — the rice being distinguishable by the grain, yet sufficiently moist and fluffy, with evident notes of the coconut milk that was infused in the rice which made it fragrant. The accompanying sambal also complimented the rice pretty well; the sambal seemingly done just sufficiently sweet, coming with bits of caramalised onions and carried a tinge of spiciness which would do just fine for those whom are able to accept moderate levels of spiciness. The Ikan Bilis here came especially crispy; quite something to mention considering how we had visited HoYeah Nasi Lemak in the evening and that the Ikan Bilis would have been left out there for quite some time. The fried egg itself was the crowd pleaser here — coming with a molten yolk, we liked how the egg yolk oozes out as one pokes the yolk using a fork; the fried egg also being free from grease for the most part. We were actually pretty impressed with how the Curry Chicken went here; whilst the Curry Chicken was served at room temperature and that the drumstick could be a little more tender, we liked how soft the chunk of potato was, while the curry came especially thick and rich — definitely one that we would like to have some bread to go along to mop up all of that gravy for how incredibly flavourful it was.
While we were initially quite skeptical about the HoYeah Nasi Lemak when we had first heard about them, we were actually pretty much blown away by the quality of food ever since our first visit to the now-defunct HoYeah Cafe at Junction Nine at Yishun. Despite being a relatively new name that has only established its presence in the local F&B scene in recent years, HoYeah Nasi Lemak has seem to have nailed every aspect of the Nasi Lemak that they serve — there was not one bit that we disliked about the various components that are served on the plate. It does seem that they had placed a lot of effort in the research and development process to deliver a product which they are proud of presenting to their patrons; whilst most Nasi Lemak stalls do have strengths and weaknesses that coexist on the same plate from different elements, we really loved every single bit from the rice, to the sambal and the fried chicken (we would buy these alone on their own if they allow for it) , and even to minute details like the Ikan Bilis. This spirit is still especially evident in their operations now — we noticed how they would only serve up the fried elements only after warming them up again despite them being readily available at the display shelf; a dedication to bringing piping hot fried dishes to the patrons so that they can enjoy them at its best. Food quality at their newest outlet at Springleaf is also pretty much on par with what we have had at Junction Nine previously, if not better. Considering how the Nasi Lemak at HoYeah Nasi Lemak is seemingly quite an artisanal creation despite its pretty unpretentious looks, the price point of $4.50 to $6.00 for the more usual sets do seem really value-for-money. It is needless to say HoYeah Nasi Lemak is probably one name which we would associate with good Nasi Lemak within Ang Mo Kio and Springleaf; a spot that we are already fans of, and also somewhere which we would be most happy to return to have some quality Nasi Lemak with delicious chicken wings given its proximity to us now!