Popoki Nasi Lemak (Kallang Wave Mall)

Managed to learn about the existence of Popoki Nasi Lemak whilst walking by the Food Junction food court at Junction 8; did a Google search and found out that they actually do have another outlet that is located within the My Kampung halal food court situated within Kallang Wave Mall. The outlet of Popoki Nasi Lemak in the My Kampung food court at Kallang Wave Mall is actually situated next to the stall serving up Omu Rice and Donburi there; one can look out for the signboard that says “Nasi Lemak” that can be found above the stall. Popoki Nasi Lemak had stood out to us during our walk around Junction 8 previously due to the way the stall presented the various condiments that they have to offer in the display shelf — the items are being plated rather aesthetically whilst the display shelf also looks pretty neat; all of items on display coming with a description tag identifying the item and listing the price for the dish as well. Considering so, the patrons visiting Popoki Nasi Lemak do have an option to either opt for the various sets which features a fixed selection of elements for their Nasi Lemak, or pick and choose the elements that they desire to go for according to their own preferences. The various sets which Popoki Nasi Lemak offers on their menu would include items such as a Sambal Petai Set, Beef Rendang Set and Curry Fish Set — just to name a few.

Whilst not being mentioned in the menu on the elements that each set comprises, it can be observed from our order of the Ayam Goreng Berempah Set that each set does come with blue pea flower and coconut milk-infused rice, sunny side-up, cucumbers, sambal, peanuts and anchovies. Ordering the Ayam Goreng Berempah Set would also see a Ayam Goreng Berempah (Leg) being served together on the same plate. Visually, the Ayam Goreng Berempah (Leg) does look the part; it does come with ample amounts of the fried spice crumbles and wok-fried curry leaves that made the dish look particularly enticing — to their credit, the folks manning the stall also did re-fry the Ayam Goreng Berempah (Leg) upon order considering how they were prepared en-masse way ahead of time and stacked up in the display case. Whilst the fried chicken does come with a crisp exterior, this was slightly marred by the loss of moisture within the flesh — possibly from how it has been sitting around in the display shelf for quite a while. There is a slight fragrance of lemongrass and turmeric that can be detected, while we were glad that the chicken didn’t feel overly greasy given the circumstances. We did really like how much wok-fried curry leaves they have included with the item to bring out a nice, spiced fragrance that perfumes the fried chicken; that being said, the fried
spice crumbs were a little underwhelming for how they came being soft and limp — not quite desirable to say the least.

The Nasi Lemak does come with specks of blue considering the infusion of blue pea flowers in the preparation process; there is a slight hint of coconut-y fragrance that runs through at the back of the tongue, though this flavour does get overwhelmed by other elements fairly easily while the rice is a wee bit too moist as well. Pairing the rice up with the sambal does help to increase the level of shiokness of the dish however — adds a mostly sweet yet earthy savouriness that also provides a kick of spiciness that should work just about right for those whom have a lower tolerance to spiciness. While the consistency of the anchovies are worth a mention considering how they had maintained a crispness whilst being suitably saltish despite being left in the display for the entire day before we made our visit for dinner, the sunny side-up was a tad uninspiring having also been prepared way beforehand and comes with a fully cooked egg yolk and at room temperature. Whilst there is definitely better renditions of Ayam Goreng Berempah Nasi Lemak around, Popoki Nasi Lemak does work as an option for those whom aren’t too picky with their food; their Ayam Goreng Berempah Set being able to scratch any developing cravings for the dish, though definitely not a must-go or go-to option for us if we do desire to have a very good one to have our cravings resolved.