Nasi Lemak At Changi Village
The International Food Stall at the Changi Village hawker’s center is the farthest place I’ve been in Singapore (what S., Mrs. Unlawyer’s Singapore-based friend calls the “back of the beyond”) to eat Singaporean hawker cuisine, in this case a serving of nasi lemak. Nasi, by the way, is both the Malay and Kapampangan word for rice
This dish was once served as a breakfast staple – and I did eat it for breakfast once, and it was a fiery one at that – but it is now taken at any time of day, and is available most places on the island and across the Straits of Johor as well.
The foods that make up a complete nasi lemak dish.
In truth, it’s really nothing more than what Filipinos would call kanin at ulam – a mound of rice and ikan bilis, a fried chicken wing, a fried egg, and maybe an otah fish cake [Also known as otak... hey, that's Malay for brains! - Ed.] – but what really makes it special, and the example served by the International Food Stall in particular, is the intensely-coconut-flavored rice.
Question is, who is now the manager of this stall, when I just discovered that the owner had recently moved to Melbourne, Australia?
At any rate, this stall is worth the trip but be prepared to wait in line: about 30 minutes during dinnertime weekdays, much more on weekends.
The easiest way to travel to Changi Village is to take a taxi from the Pasir Ris MRT station but the fare may be a little expensive because of the distance – about 13 km. or so. By bus then: take the #89 bus from the bus stop behind the White Sands shopping complex beside the Pasir Ris MRT station (not the bus interchange station attached to the station itself). The Changi Village housing complex is at the corner of Changi Village Road and Telok Paku Road and the hawker center is nestled between the housing blocks.
[UPDATE: Want to see more restaurant and dining pictures? Visit The Unlawyer's Photoblog for more.]
