Nasi Kukus is now a firm lunch option in KL. It’s cheap, fuss-free and usually comes with a wicked fried chicken. Here are our picks for satisfying and finger-licking nasi kukus…
” Nasi, ayam goreng, gulai, sambal… sorted… “
In the past five years nasi kukus places have been opening up all over the city. Usually comprising freshly steamed rice, crisply fried chicken, sambal belacan, acar and a curry gravy of somekind, it is a perfect simple meal. In addition it’s also easy on the wallet, with prices ranging from RM5- M8 for a good, filling meal. Over the years nasi kukus proprietors have been perfecting and evolving Nasi Kukus to also include different dishes and gravies. Here are 5 must-try nasi kukus in Klang Valley.
Nasi Kukus Ilham
Probably you have heard of Nasi Kukus Ilham before, located at Mutiara Nasi Damansara. Nasi Kukus Ilham is one of the most popuar nasi kukus places with their trademark three gulai that merges on your plate in a melange of flavours. They serve their nasi kukus with acar nenas (and this goes brilliantly with the whole meal), sambal ikan bilis and a wickedly spicy sambal belacan. Not only that, because of the unending customers at the shop, their fried chicken is fried around the clock so you are bound to get piping hot ayam goreng berempah to tear into. We like to have our nasi kukus here with a pack of keropok and in-house chilli sauce.
Location: No.7,jalan PJU 7/16,Mutiara Damansara, PJ
Nasi Kukus Farni
Nasi Kukus Farni opens for a short time from 11am till 2pm on Mondays till Saturdays. They tweak the original Nasi Kukus to suit local tastes. The chicken curry has been replaced with a fish curry to suit the Indian and Chinese customers, and the beef curry has been replaced with Daging Masak Kicap. This adds an interesting dimension, the spiced curry and the sweet daging kicap. This is a hit and you can see people of all races and culture flocking to her stall during lunch hour. She also offers ayam kampung on top of the usual ayam goreng berempah.
Location: Jalan Setia Murni, Bukit Damansara, KL, beside the mosque
Nasi Kukus Pok Mezoh
Nasi Kukus Pok Mezoh is under the radar in the Nasi Kukus world as there is not much information out there about him. Trust us, he serves delicious Nasi Kukus from Terengganu. Formerly a Tom Yam Chef, Pok Mezoh opened his stall three years ago and over the years have expanded his menu to nine different dishes. There is the usual ayam berempah, ayam percik and burung puyuh alongside the very popular kambing and ayam bakar and even an asam pedas pari (his Aunt married a Johorean and he learnt the recipe from her). A special dish here is the Ayam Mati Air, a native Terengganu dish that cooks down gulai spices until it has a rendang-like consistency. He’s not stingy on sauces and gravies and you can top them up from large container to your heart’s content.
Location: Along Jalan Rejang 1, Setapak Jaya, KL
Nasi Kukus Wafie
Nasi Kukus Wafie started off on the streets of Gombak. At first they only planned to do business for a couple of years but it became so successful they ended up opening branches. Here they incorporate family recipes to the original nasi kukus with two gravies. There is the curried gulai an Wafie’s mum’s kari kicap that is suitable for kids. Their sambal belacan here is green and it’s served with a big piece of fried chicken.
Location: No. 11, Jalan Wangsa Setia 3, Wangsa Melawati, KL
Nasi Kukus Sotong Besar
The owner of this eatery has a real passion for food and cooking. Since he’s from Kelantan, nasi kukus seemed a good choice but knowing that he needed a good selling point, decided on serving it up with a huge fried squid. Hence, Nasi Kukus Sotong Besar was born. The squid is cut open like a butterfly, battered and deep fried not more than five minutes to get the perfect texture. This makes is super crunchy on the outside but still soft on the inside. The batter is perfectly salted and is accompanied with a nice cili sauce. They also have good grilled lamb with a super special black gravy that came from months of experimenting and learning from friends and family. They have a shop in Klang and Shah Alam.
Location: No.1, Jalan Kemuning Prima G33/G, Kemuning Utama, Shah Alam