Nasi Lemak is one dish that is loved by every Malaysian and it is a dish that you can eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper. It also happened to be my favorite dish as it is a simple yet delicious dish.
Nasi lemak comes in many forms and taste and thus it is a very difficult to have a Top 5 list that is consistent as everyone got their favorite places that suits their taste buds. This is my personal list and it only applies to pork-free nasi lemak and nasi lemak with choices of protein (not nasi lemak bungkus).
So here we go .. I would say until recently, my favorite nasi lemak spot Bumbung Nasi Lemak but my recently discover has made it drop down on my list.
My current favorite is no other than Wanjo Nasi Lemak in Kampung Baru. This nasi lemak outlet is relative big in size and serves only nasi lemak. The time I visited the place was during the Covid-19 lockdown so all the items were for take-away. I ordered their standard nasi lemak with add-ons of ayam goreng berempah and begedil (which was an Indonesian-style potato fritters). Their sambal are the sweet spicy type, full of umami and this is definitely the type of sambal that I like. If you did not bring your own container, they will wrap you nasi lemak in an aluminum-foil paper wrap that is suppose to keep your food warmer. Everything item in Wanjo just hit the right note for me – the nicely cooked fragrant coconut rice, my type of sweet spicy sambal, flavorful juicy ayam goreng berempah and the nice begedil.
My second favorite spot, also overtaking Bumbung Nasi Lemak recently is Botak Nasi Lemak in SS3. I have heard of it for awhile now but only recently got to try it out and would say it’s my favorite nasi lemak on Petaling Jaya side. They have choices of fried chicken, curry chicken or sotong as their protein, alongside with their standard anchovies, peanuts, egg and cucumber. Again their sambal here is nicely balanced, not too sweet not too spicy and their rice is well-cooked. I went for their fried chicken and it is flavorful and tender. Apart from Nasi Lemak, their Mee Siam and Lo Mai Fan is also quite nice.
Bumbung Nasi Lemak was my favorite nasi lemak spot for a long time until I tried Wanjo Kampung Baru and Botak Nasi Lemak. Located behind Maybank in Seapark, Bumbung Nasi Lemak comes alive like about 6pm and during pre-Covid days, you will see the whole alley filled with diners either going for their famous nasi lemak ayam berempah or their maggi goreng. Bumbung also serves a sweet-spicy sambal, and although some complains their sambal is slightly watery and their place lack hygiene (you might see rats in the drain besides where you dine), I still rank it highly. Their chicken is also very flavorful and crispy on the outside yet juicy and tender on the inside.
Coming in number four for me is Nasi Lemak Saleha in Ampang where it is a nice joint that serves up some great nasi lemak (with quite a few options of proteins), nasi kunyit, roti canai and murtabak, noodles and etc. Their sambal is more towards the spicy with some sweetness and during my trip, I just had their nasi lemak biasa but I had a wonderful piece of ayam masak merah with my nasi kunyit.
Wrapping up my Top 5 nasi lemak in Klang Valley would be Village Park Nasi Lemak in Damansara Uptown. I know many rank Village Park much higher than me (including my mom) but I felt I like the other four above to suits my taste buds slightly better than Village Park Nasi Lemak.
All these are my five favorite 5-star nasi lemak places (and there are a few more on my 5-star list) and usually I see where I am at and if I am game for nasi lemak, these would usually be my choice places to go.
Do give me some comment of your favorite nasi lemak spots in the Klang Valley and I will surely go to give it a try.
Wanjo Nasi Lemak Kampung Baru
8 Jalan Raja Muda Musa
Kampung Baru, 50300 Kuala Lumpur
Hours: 8:00am to 8:00pm
Botak Nasi Lemak
13, Jalan SS 3/37, Taman University
47300 Petaling Jaya
Hours: 6:30am to 3:00pm
Bumbung Nasi Lemak
6, Jalan 21/11B Seapark
46300 Petaling Jaya
Hours: 3:00pm to 10:00pm
Nasi Lemak Saleha
3 Jalan Pandan Prima 1, Dataran Pandan Prima,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Hours: 8:00am to 8:00pm
Village Park Nasi Lemak
5, Jalan SS21/37 Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya
Hours: 8:00am to 5:30pm
