We're parked here . I've heard of Projek Nasi Lemak but I must have got this mixed up with a charitable cause because I don't think this and that are one and the same .
I'm talking about one where a Malay girl is giving out free nasi lemak to the poor in Armenian Street. This place on the other hand, is a business enterprise operated by a Chinese boss , near Jaya on Dato' Keramat .
World's apart . I just wrongly presumed it was the same and that if I came and ate here I would be supporting her cause .
Never mind . It happens . My bad .
Looking around , I notice the huge deep fried squid . You can get it for free , only if you purchase above 50 ringgit .
Anyway , this is the menu . Made simple . You just point and write your order down on a slip of paper .
Upon their recommendation , we all took set A .
A deep fried chicken leg set with thigh and drumstick .
Apart from the usual condiments and sides , notice the 3 scoops of different tasting sambals in front. It got the typical Penang kia all sweaty , red and excited ( he prefers the one on top of the cucumber and ignored the other 2 )
Whereas the not so koochi moochi took one bite of the blue rice and labelled it weird as he felt it was like eating that morning glory dyed kueh ( hello , they use a pea flower or fake colouring nowadays )
Me . I feel it tastes like a pulut-nasi dagang - nasi kerabu -short grained -Isaan soft sticky rice combo .
This is why I still prefer the Malay version because I think my people can never get the rice recipe right . Ever .
Though I was rather fond of the sambal trio , it reminded me of Balinese cuisine , you know ? Fusion .
In short , the entire meal is really confusing , with flavours that are borrowed and put together because these are all somebody's favourite foods.
Terengganu nasi dagang ? Kelantanese nasi kerabu ? Someone misses their Chiangmai fix ?
Nyonya sambal ayam kapitan with limau purut ? New Village fried chicken ? Balinese sambal ? With Taiwanese squid ? What ?
It's all there on one plate. Which could be interesting for some but you can see what a fan of Malay cuisine I am so I tend to be more opinionated when it comes to that .
Consequently , this should score high marks amongst gourmets , because like I said , they seem to have got every recipe we ever wanted on a plate . However , there is simply no cohesion . The drama is present , but just like a Quentin Tarantino flick it is not for everybody .
There is nothing remotely Malay about it apart from the name .
Not even the sambal on cucumber.
Most likely they are more influenced by Balinese due to their travels and yet the deep fried chicken though quiet yummy has a ginger marinade which makes it so Chinese ( like one place near Komtar once upon a time ) . Which makes me think this is yet another Taiwanese operator. I could be wrong .Or I might be right. They could have Sarawakian roots. Who knows ? There are just so many East Malaysians who came here and tried to serve us their mee but failed to entice us . Just a wild guess . Don't listen to me . I'm just thinking out loud .
I can't say it works for me . Besides , not so koochi felt sick all the way home .
But the Penang kia approves so even though it is 2 against and 1 for , I guess you will have to come and try it for yourself so you can judge if this is ngam with you or not .
Takes some getting used to .
Location : Penang
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