KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — Before my gluttony became a full-time gig, I spent most of my weekends chasing a ball around an astroturf pitch in Taman Melawati.
Over the years, I enjoyed many meals in the area with my dad, with one standing out in particular.
On the way home from an early morning kickabout, he took me to a nasi lemak stall in Taman Greenwood that was, frankly, pretty stressful getting to.
Parking was a nightmare and the queue was unholy, but the nasi lemak was glorious, even though my relatively undiscerning tastebuds at the time couldn’t figure out what exactly made it so good.
A little backtracking and some freaky Google Maps memory led me to Nasi Lemak Ujang Corner, though this time I elected to visit the branch in Selayang to avoid the massive fuss.
It proved wise.
Parking was a breeze, and what initially seemed like a long queue moved at such a pace I barely had time to digest the full range of offerings on the board.
You can order your nasi lemak with your choice of lauk or get the latter separately, though it makes no difference in price.
Interestingly, each portion of lauk, whether it's ayam rendang, sambal sotong or rendang daging, is all the same price at RM4.50.
I vaguely remembered eating delicious sambal udang years ago but was informed that due to steep price increases, both sambal kerang and udang are unavailable.
A portion of nasi lemak biasa (RM3) comes with rice, half a boiled egg and some slivers of cucumber; for an additional RM2, you can add a telur mata.
There is a pretty glaring omission — ikan bilis and peanuts is nowhere to be found, though I think you’ll hardly find its presence missed.
Fluffy, fragrant and satisfying, every grain of rice is easily distinguishable from another and is a delight when eaten with the sambal here that’s on the sweeter side.
We ordered all our lauk separate from our rice, and what arrived was a heaping mess of ayam rendang, sambal sotong, rendang daging and bergedil piled high onto one plate.
Both the chicken and beef rendang here are dark caramel in colour, with notes of galangal, garlic, lemongrass and kerisik (toasted ground coconut) washed over with rich, creamy coconut milk.
The cubes of beef may appear rock hard, but pull apart surprisingly easily under a bite.
Containing a deeply complex flavour profile, the sambal sotong is a little more savoury than most but still carries a mild kick from the chillis, and the pieces of squid are firm yet delicate.
Capping off a particularly indulgent breakfast are bergedil (RM2.50), the soft, pillowy little balls made of potato and a myriad of delicious things fried together that go great with a smear of sambal.
For most, nasi lemak is a dish close to the heart, inextricably linked with some sense of national identity and personal preferences which are often fiercely debated.
All that and more applies to me; I’m hardly about to make the drive to Selayang for anything less than brilliance, which this, wholeheartedly, is.
Nasi Lemak Ujang Corner Bandar Baru Selayang
26 & 28, Jalan 2/16, Dataran Templer, 68100 Batu Caves, Selangor
Open Tuesday to Saturday, 8am-12am; Monday, 4pm-12am; Sunday, 8am-3pm
Tel: 017-333 7791
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