Heard all about Dickson Nasi Lemak — a new concept which had sprouted up along Joo Chiat Road by the folks behind Champion Bolo Bun at Tanjong Pagar Road. Being of a takeaway establishment, we were pretty apprehensive on giving Dickson Nasi Lemak a visit considering the lack of dine-in; however, we couldn’t give it a miss after hearing the raving reviews of it via social media — after all, we are pretty much fans of the Malaysian-style Nasi Lemak that replicates that of the famous Village Park Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which had since inspired the opening of establishments such as The Coconut Club, Uptown Nasi Lemak, Wild Coco, and Spice & Rice; just to name a few. Apart from the Ayam Goreng Berempah, they also do offer a Biasa which comes only with coconut rice, egg, cucumber, anchovies and sambal, as well as the Kid’s Set which is similar to the Biasa but does away with the sambal. Sets are available, but only for the Ayam Goreng Berempah — patrons can opt between the set that adds on Teh/Kopi Peng or Iced Green Tea.
Wanted to try it as fresh as it is possible so I headed down to the nearest food centre to consume it. The Ayam Goreng Berempah consists of elements such as spiced fried chicken leg, coconut rice, egg, cucumber, anchovies and sambal. Being of a takeaway nature, the folks of Dickson Nasi Lemak will also include a utensil pack comprising of disposal cutlery and serviettes for the convenience of their patrons as well. Digging into the rice, the rice is absolutely on point — it perfumes of an evident hint of coconut-y fragrance; all that whilst being light and fluffy which makes it an especially easy and a delight to finish. Moving to the spiced chicken leg, while it is noted that the chicken leg used here does seem a little smaller in size as compared to other similar establishments such as that of the recently-opened Wild Coco and The Coconut Club, it is still marinated with turmeric. The result is a rather tasty chicken leg that is tender inside, but yet comes with a crisp skin on the exterior — topped with even more crispy bites above to enhance the textures even further. While the half of a boiled egg provided on the side was nothing much to shout about (similar establishments typically serve a sunny-side-up, but we reckon a compromise is needed given the takeaway nature of Dickson Nasi Lemak), the Ikan Bilis were fresh and crisp like it should have been. The sambal chili on the side here veers towards being more savoury than sweet; pretty much to the tune of that same sambal in sambal egg at Nasi Padang stalls that also packs a fiery punch that would work fine for folks with moderate tolerance of spiciness.
Overall, Dickson Nasi Lemak works out pretty decently as an establishment that specialises in Malaysian-style Nasi Lemak — the elements are all well-executed, and does remind us of the variant served up at The Coconut Club where the general flavour profile of the various elements are of concern. That being said, the lack of dine-in for Dickson Nasi Lemak is probably the main factor that would make them lesser a choice for us to visit — especially given how we are folks who are constantly paranoid on the changes of food quality when carrying it around for extended periods of time. Still, Dickson Nasi Lemak is a great option for Malaysian-style Nasi Lemak for folks residing in the east; queues aren’t too mad on weekday lunch service, but do head down early just in case!
