Lunch at Nasi Lemak

When I came back from the USA last August, Nasi Lemak was the first restaurant I ate at with my friend Tisay who was in town from Hong Kong.

I really like Singaporean food but haven’t found any good ones in Manila. I’ve read in several blogs that Nasi Lemak is authentic so I decided to try it. Another plus is it’s proximity to my office. Nasi Lemak is just a short walk away in Robinson’s Galleria in Ortigas Center.

Char kway teow is my favorite Singaporean dish and I always order it to judge a restaurant’s merit. This version was quite good but a tad too sweet for me. For me the best char kway teow I’ve ever eaten was at Thye Hong in Singapore.

Penang char kway teow P210

The laksa was one of the best I’ve tried in Manila. The stock was rich with lots of coconut milk just the way I like it. You can specify if you want it mild or spicy. This dish has to be eaten right away otherwise the noodles will soak up all the soup.

Singapore laksa P210

The sautéed raddish cake was delicious. Not too oily or salty.

carrot/raddish cake P150

The best dish was the Malaysian chicken curry which the owner, HK Tan told us was cooked for 2.5 hours. The chicken was fall off the bone tender and the sauce was so good I wanted to drink it.

Malaysian chicken curry P300

kang kong w/ sambal balchan P158

When Mr. Tan saw me taking so much pictures he approached our table and asked if I was a blogger. He was a very amiable man. He told us how he has traveled to 31 countries collecting recipes of the best dishes hoping one day to open his own restaurant.

He flies back and forth Manila and Singapore often and brings all the ingredients they use in Nasi Lemak.

HK Tan of Nasi Lemak

They had a promotion on Hainanese chicken rice set a week later so I set an alarm on my phone to remember to try it. 

I asked someone to buy a couple of sets for us to eat in the office.

It was really a good deal unfortunately I can’t say the same for the food. The rice didn’t have any flavor and the chicken was a bit dry, tough and bland.

hainanese chicken set P100 (promo price)

Nasi Lemak is one of the best choices if you are at Robinson’s Galleria. They serve good food at great prices and you might even get a chance to have a chat with the very nice owner.

Nasi Lemak menu
Chinese specialties, street hawkers’ food & soup,
poultry/seafood/beef/pork, vegetables/dessert/beverages

Nasi Lemak
Level 2, East Lane
Robinsons Galleria, 
EDSA Cor. Ortigas Avenue
telephone: 571-8988