[ Food Review — Happy month of Ramadan! Ft. my (nearly) daily nasi padang lunch spot ] Idk where my original draft for this went, which is why this got relegated to today instead of yesterday, welp. For those who missed my post last week, this beautiful spread is from the nasi padang stall at BKT’s Kim San Leng Coffeeshop!

A quick tidbit for my fellow neighbours: Remember the really good — and only — nasi padang stall in the other coffeeshop in Binjai Park a decade plus ago? (Where Peperoni Pizza, and now LINO is.) You don’t have to lament the loss of rendang and assam stingray anymore — turns out they to, you guessed it, Kim San Leng Coffeeshop! (Thanks for the intel, Dad!)

Alas, with every silver lining, there’s a cumulonimbus cloud. (That’s 100% how the saying goes.) A couple of years after, the macik sold her brand to another fam who’ve been running the place since. Don’t get me wrong, the flavours are still good, but old signatures haven’t quite lived up to their previous rep. But hey, their sambal got a fair bit spicier, they’ve kueh for sale, and there are many more veggie dishes now!

If you’re apprehensive about visiting, don’t be. Let’s adjust your expectations on what this rebranded stall offers.

Contrary to what many non-Muslim diners believe, traditional nasi padang here tends to be more Indonesian — which is also its place of origin! — than Malaysian, making the term “Malay rice” a little bit of a misnomer. However, this particular stall flips that, and serves Malaysian-styled nasi padang instead! Say bye to rich, heavy sauces typical of Indo food, the spices here are a lot lighter (but no less gentle!) — which is why I can eat this daily without feeling overwhelmed.

So what should you get from this “new” stall? Proteins: Get their assam fish (the mackerel is better) and their squid ink sotong for seafood; go for their lamb dishes otherwise. Veg: Yes, with a variety like that, you have to get their veg! You can’t go wrong with their sayur lodeh, spinach, tempeh, or eggplant. If you’re looking for a lil extra something, get a few fishballs, roll them in their belachan, and bam! That’s the ribbon you need to tie the entire meal together!