Pangkor Island Nasi Lemak (Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre)

Served with achar, sambal ikan bilis, peanuts, and half a boiled egg. The coconut rice was so fragrant and clearly the centrepiece of the dish. While the chicken was tender and crisp, I did not appreciate the lemongrass aftertaste, although it was covered up when eaten with the sambal. Overall, would return to try the other options.

I wanted to try their Nyonya nasi lemak belacan set, but sold out so I ordered their Nyonya Nasi Lemak turmeric Chicken set.
The rice colour was light soft blue from blue pea flower, it’s not lemak (which I expect will be more lemak n fragrant) , the chicken was fried till the skin crispy , inside remain juicy, the turmeric gravy taste like thicker curry, not too spicy.
💰$6.9
📍Pangkor Island Nasi Lemak.
21 Canberra link #01-17
Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre

Yet another opening that has happened in much anticipation for the northies would be Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre — with its opening delayed due to construction works that had to be paused / slowed down due to the pandemic, Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre had finally launched with much fanfare in December 2022. With the hawker centre being managed by Food Canopy which runs several food courts, cafeterias and canteens across schools, government buildings and HDB estates across the island, Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre boasts of 44 stalls serving a mix of local and foreign cuisines in one location — a special feature for all stalls located at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre would be how each stall lists down the calorie count of every dish that they have to offer; great for those who are watching their calorie intake. Whilst there are some tenants located within the food centre who run stalls located in other parts of Singapore, there are also a number of first-time hawkers such as that of Pangkor Island Nasi Lemak that are exclusive to Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre. Starting off as a home-based business serving up Pangkor Island Nyonya Island Nasi Lemak, it has since become a full-fledged stall at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre which specialises in Nasi Lemak. The menu features a whole variety of their Nasi Lemak served with different meat / seafood options, though there is also interestingly a Pangkor Island Chee Cheong Fun that has also found a space in the menu here.

We were really enticed by the various forms of Nyonya Nasi Lemak which they are serving up at Pangkor Island Nasi Lemak, but we found ourselves being intrigued by the Nyonya Nasi Lemak Lemongrass Chicken Set, which sounds pretty close to the Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng Berempah from The Coconut Club, Wild Coco etc. that has been trending for quite a while The set is also described to come with Boiled Egg, Achar, Sambal Ikan Bilis and Peanut as stated on the menu. First look at the Nyonya Nasi Lemak Lemongrass Chicken Set and one would be able to notice how the Nasi Lemak comes with a pale blue hue which suggests that it has been infused with blue pea flower. It also comes with two pieces of the Ayam Goreng Berempah; presumably a drumstick and a thigh piece as well. Digging straight into the Nyonya Nasi Lemak Lemongrass Chicken Set, we found that the Nasi Lemak was sufficiently moist, soft and fluffy — it also carried a hint of coconut-y fragrance which was pretty aromatic. Going for the Ayam Goreng Berempah, the Ayam Goreng Berempah came with a light and crisp skin; the chicken pieces being marinated with turmeric for good flavour — we especially liked how there were bits of lemongrass that further provided an aromatic hint of flavours to the chicken, all that whilst the crispy bits added on to the texture of the Ayam Goreng Berempah. The addition of fried curry leaves provided yet another flavour contrast and a crisp texture to the chicken. Inside, the meat was tender, juicy and fell off the bone easily — pretty delightful to have. The other highlight for us apart from the Ayam Goreng Berempah would be the Sambal Ikan Bilis — much like the sambal that one would expect out of a Malaysian-style Nasi Lemak, the sambal is not that sweet, red concoction that Singaporeans would be used to seeing for their Nasi Lemak. Instead the Sambal Ikan Bilis here would be a mildly savoury one closer to rendang that comes with the sweetness of caramalised onions with somewhat crisp yet soft Ikan Bilis for a good chew — also not particularly spicy as well and should do well even for those who are less tolerable to lower levels of spiciness. As what one would expect, the hard-boiled egg does not carry any surprises, but it would be the Achar that really helped to balance out all of the savoury flavours and the carbs and meat that is going on for the entire plate — served slightly below room temperature, the Achar provided that refreshing, tangy crunch which is what is required to reset the tastebuds.

Whilst not being a totally new entrant into the F&B scene, it does seem that Pangkor Island Nasi Lemak does serve up very promising Nyonya Nasi Lemak done in Malaysian-style to its patrons. Make no mistake; their rendition of the Nyonya Nasi Lemak Lemongrass Chicken Set may not quite be as artisan as that as compared to the notable names in the local context such as The Coconut Club, Wild Coco, Uptown Nasi Lemak, Dickson Nasi Lemak etc. — that being said, the version of the Nyonya Nasi Lemak Lemongrass Chicken Set that Pangkor Island Nasi Lemak serves up is a pretty respectable version which we found to be one of the most memorable variants which we have had in the North. Each element in the Nyonya Nasi Lemak Lemongrass Chicken Set is well-executed; from the rice to the chicken — even the sambal ikan bilis and the achar, all of these were definitely worth a mention and were highlights to our experience with the dish. We also liked how the entire Nyonya Nasi Lemak Lemongrass Chicken Set felt pretty thoughtful — the inclusion of achar for example was a great touch to cut through all of the heavier elements which are at play here. Prices at Pangkor Island Nasi Lemak are pretty reasonable — considering how they are serving up a slightly different variation of Nasi Lemak as compared to other similar stalls situated in the neighbourhood; the Nyonya Nasi Lemak Sets priced between $6.90 to $7.90. Given how the Nyonya Nasi Lemak Lemongrass Chicken Set was, we would reckon that we would be returning to Pangkor Island Nasi Lemak soon to give their other variations of meat a go some other time — definitely one of the stalls that is worthy of making a trip to Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre to check them out!