Good Value $5.50 Malaysian-Style Nasi Lemak With Fried Chicken Leg At Amoy St Food Centre
To locate Spicy Wife Nasi Lemak at Amoy Street Food Centre, follow the perennially long queue to Han Kee Fish Soup. Spicy Wife, with its yellow signboard flanked by a matching standing banner plugging its signature Aromatic Fried Chicken Nasi Lemak, is the corner stall diagonally opposite Han Kee.
Opened on 9 November, Spicy Wife drew its own short queue when we visited on its fourth day of business. Tantalising wafts of the spiced chook permeate the surroundings as hawker Yeak Hong Yi, 33, fried the plump browned legs in bubbling oil perfumed with curry leaves.
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Cut his hawker teeth at a popular Western food stall
A former used car dealer and a life-long foodie, Hong Yi worked as a hawker’s assistant at a friend’s popular western food stall in Bukit Merah for the past two years. There, he honed his skills in meat marination and deep-frying of dishes like chicken cutlet, before parting ways amicably to start his nasi lemak stall. He requested not to name the western food stall as he does not want to leech off their popularity while starting his own brand.
He chose to specialise in nasi lemak because it is his childhood fave. His recipe came from another pal’s father, a retired hotel chef who used to cook the dish for Hong Yi whenever he visited Malaysia (he’s a Malaysian-turned-Singaporean citizen). “He wanted to pass his recipe on to his son but after trying to cook the fried chicken, my friend gave up because it was too much work,” says Hong Yi.
Luckily for Hong Yi, his pal convinced his dad to share the recipe with Hong Yi so he could offer a pocket-friendly, yummy one in Singapore.
Malaysian nasi lemak often includes a hard-boiled egg while the Singapore style comes with a slice of omelette or sunny side-up. However, Spicy Wife (as well as fellow Malaysian-style Nasi Lemak brands such as Wild Coco and The Coconut Club) serves theirs with a sunny side-up. Another commonality in Malaysian-style nasi lemak: ayam goreng berempah (spice-rubbed chicken) and other heartier side dishes like rendang.
Pocket-friendly Malaysian-style nasi lemak with large chicken leg
Price wise, Spicy Wife is one of the cheapest among the Malaysian-style nasi lemak offerings in town. To keep prices low, the hawker uses frozen chicken legs. The Aromatic Fried Chicken Nasi Lemak costs $5.50, compared to fellow Malaysian-style nasi lemak hawker stalls Uptown Nasi Lemak ($8.70 at Telok Ayer Street; includes an extra side of achar) and Wild Coco ($9.80, housed in a modern kopitiam at McNair Road). Of course, you’d expect to pay more at the fancier joints with their own shop space, like Dickson Nasi Lemak ($9.20 at a Joo Chiat shophouse); and The Coconut Club ($18.80, at their swish Beach Road restaurant).
Story behind that cheeky stall name
Hong Yi’s inspiration aka the Spicy Wife, Ivy, is a commercial executive who helps with the hawker stall’s social media accounts. She is clueless about how she inspired the name. “He said it’s a secret and I have to read about it in 8days.sg,” she laughs shyly.
There’s nothing cheeky about the name here. “It is because my wife is very supportive of me as I pursue my dream,” reveals Hong Yi, who says he was also chuffed to have gotten his hands on his favourite nasi lemak recipe “with the fried chicken full of spice, which I love”. “I can truly say that spice and my wife make my life so meaningful.”
Signature chicken marinated overnight in rempah using 8 ingredients
Hong Yi’s rempah uses eight ingredients, including fresh garlic, onion, ginger, lemongrass, and just enough cumin seeds and coriander seeds (“because my wife doesn’t like it too overpowering”, says the loving husband). It took him six months to perfect his recipe. “We ate nasi lemak for six months, until I got scared whenever I saw a chicken leg,” laughs Ivy.
House-made sambal that’s more sweet than spicy
His version has just a hint of belacan. It is more saucy than jammy; more sweet than spicy, which he says comes from the natural sweetness of onions that take up 40 percent of his recipe, and of course, sugar, along with fresh and dried chillies. He makes 10 litres once every two days and sloshes a generous ladle’s worth onto each plate. “I hate it when the sambal doesn’t last me till I finish my rice!” We love the generosity but we’d prefer a spicier kick.
Also serves mutton and chicken rendang
His shifu also taught him to make the Malay-style Mutton Rendang and Chicken Rendang, both popular dishes you’ll find at some nasi lemak stalls in Malaysia. “I love rendang! Back home, I’d order nasi lemak because I like all the sides that come with it, with an extra order of mutton or chicken rendang – or sometimes both!” enthuses Hong Yi.
Aromatic Fried Chicken Nasi Lemak, $5.50 (8 DAYS Pick!)
The star here is undoubtedly the juicy, flavourful ayam goreng berempah. We love its lemongrass-y fragrance. The chicken is coated in a special ratio of rice, corn and plain flours to lend it a thin but still crispy coating. Though the chook looks suspiciously dark, don’t worry, it doesn’t taste burnt. Expertly deep-fried for 13 minutes to get that golden finish without burning the spices, it’s no wonder Hong Yi’s Aromatic Chicken set is a hit among customers. The accompanying heap of freshly fried ikan bilis, peanuts, a sunny side-up and two cucumber slices are good. However, the jasmine rice cooked with UHT coconut milk and pandan leaves is not lemak enough for us — we also didn’t get much of the pandan fragrance. Hong Yi explained that he deliberately kept it not too lemak so that you can enjoy more of the sambal.
Mutton Rendang, $6.50
Bite-sized chunks of mutton are cooked in house-made rempah mix that includes galangal, blue ginger, shallots, onion, garlic and more. We’re not big fans of mutton but we enjoyed this. The meat is well marinated, tender enough to tear apart easily with a fork, but still maintains a nice bite. Unlike the set with Fried Chicken, the rich mutton gravy pairs better with the less-lemak rice so it’s not too jelak. It is also a pretty generous portion for $6.50.
Chicken Rendang, $5.50
The rendang gravy – similar to the mutton – is tasty enough, but the flavour didn’t infuse all the way into the thick chicken leg and left us disappointed. Perhaps a longer time in the pot would’ve helped.
Bottom line
A decent plate of Malaysian-style nasi lemak. Given the lower price point, it cannot compare to say, The Coconut Club’s gourmet version which uses premium ingredients like cold-pressed coconut milk. But at $5.50, the generously-sized, succulent Aromatic Chicken set is pretty good value for money, even if the rice could be more lemak. If you’re looking for something even more affordable, there’s a $3.50 breakfast set with a smaller chicken wing instead of leg (7.30am to 10.30am daily from November 28, while stocks last).
The details
Spicy Wife Nasi Lemak is at #02-119 Amoy Street Food Centre, 7 Maxwell Rd, S069111. Open daily except Sat & Sun, 7.30am - 2pm.
More info via Facebook & Instagram.
Photos: Kelvin Chia
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