KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 — A plate of fried rice a day keeps the gloom away.

Just ask the eager fans who turned up at Malaysian-born comedian Nigel Ng’s, popularly known as Uncle Roger, newly opened restaurant at Pavilion KL here.

For university students Hakimi Mohktar and Nadhirah Wirizilkarnai who began queuing at 11am prior to the restaurant’s grand opening at 1pm, they were all smiles after their meals.

Despite having only able to secure their seats hours later at 2pm, they nevertheless said the dining experience consisting a serving of Uncle Roger’s Special Fry Rice surpassed the expectations they had.

"We got to meet Uncle Roger himself and took a group photo with him.

"Would we come back? Definitely, when the crowd lessens,” Hakimi told Malay Mail when met at the FUIYOH! It’s Uncle Roger restaurant at Pavilion Elite here.

Asked to summarise their dining experience in one word, Hakimi said it was "superb” while Nadhirah said it was "incredible”.

Hakimi and Nadhirah were one of several hundreds of "nieces and nephews” — as Uncle Roger’s fanbase is called — that showed up to catch a glimpse of Ng himself.

Ng, who was dressed in his signature orange polo shirt, phone belt case, long black pants and white sneakers, was also present at the restaurant to welcome his fans.

For 11-year-old Jovee Ng, seeing Uncle Roger in person was the "best” experience he had as a fan who has been there when Uncle Roger made his debut during the Covid-19 pandemic some three years ago.

Beaming with pride, he and his siblings also showed off their orange T-shirts autographed by Uncle Roger himself.

Ng was accompanied by his parents, who were also dressed in orange.

Asked if he would return again, Ng nodded his head.

Another patron and fan, Soo Choy Kit said his expectations were "high” and described today’s dining experience as "satisfactory”.

As one of the early birds in the queue, he took had the opportunity to take a group photo with Uncle Roger.

"Interesting,” the 35-year-old big data analyst said when asked to describe the food offered at the establishment.

Asked if he would patronise the restaurant in the future, Soo said he probably would.

The 33-year-old Ng has achieved significant success — including 9.34 million subscribers on YouTube — critiquing and "reviewing” videos of chefs and other individuals cooking while in character, which is most commonly associated with egg fried rice.

Uncle Roger initially teased the restaurant’s launch in a YouTube video on July 1, describing it as a "little secret just for loyal niece and nephew watching.”