Selling Penang nasi kandar with spiced fried rooster, curry fish steak & onion prawn

The CoCo Rice @ Punggol is likely one of the newer stalls that has sprung up at One Punggol Hawker Centre. It sells plates of nasi kandar, a Penang dish of steamed rice mixed with an array of curries and aspect dishes.

I’ve had the privilege to journey to Penang a few instances, the place I used to be launched to this specific dish by my ex-colleague who lives there. I keep in mind seeing nasi kandar being offered at each nook and cranny of the Little India district over there.

The CoCo Rice has one other stall at Tiong Bahru Food Centre, the place they promote blue pea nasi lemak kukus.

The stall’s decor was eye-catching and stood out from the remainder, that includes an old school but up to date design. It jogged my memory of my major college’s canteen stall with its wire mesh on prime.

There had been 5 sorts of platters to select from, and each dish had its elements clearly described in illustrations and phrases. I had my hopes up and couldn’t wait to begin consuming.

What I attempted at The CoCo Rice @ Punggol

I obtained the ball rolling with the Nasi Kandar Curry Fish Steak (S$8.90). It had a pile of rice with curry gravy poured over it, a chunk of fish steak, half a salted egg, a chunk of papadam, one complete steamed woman’s finger, cabbage and cucumber slices.

The fish steak was agency and tasted recent with none disagreeable fishy odor. However, that being mentioned, I might have most popular if it was braised within the curry sauce. This felt to me just like the curry was simply poured on prime, leaving no room for the fragrant flavours to penetrate the meat.

It was attention-grabbing to have salted egg seem on a plate of curry versus the same old omelette or fried egg. According to my Malaysian colleague, Reena, who’s initially from Penang, it isn’t normally used over there.

Another merchandise that isn’t utilized in Malaysia is papadam, which was additionally discovered on my plate. I believe that it was added to higher swimsuit our native palate, which makes individuals like me delighted.

My eating associate and I went forward and snacked on the papadam, solely to mutually agree that it felt prefer it had been uncovered to the air for a while, and wasn’t crispy sufficient. What a bummer!

We additionally ordered the Nasi Kandar Fried Chicken With Herbs & Spices (S$7.90). The accompanying components of this dish had been an identical to the earlier one, the one distinction was the massive piece of fried rooster drumstick.

The rooster was fried to golden-brown perfection, with a tasty spiced marinate which permeated each the pores and skin and flesh. The meat was additionally moist and tender. Score!

The plain rice had taken on a sunset-kissed sky hue as a result of varied curries being poured on it. It had bits of mustard seeds, curry leaves and tomato bits.

The first thought I had after I put the rice into my mouth was how smoky it was. The spice hits you in the direction of the top, and there was a touch of tangy-ness just like fish curry.

Although there was a major quantity of curry on the rice, I felt that the rice was somewhat on the dry aspect. It could be higher if the gravy wasn’t that diluted, permitting the sauce to be less-absorbed by the rice, and thus making the dish extra flooded with curry.

The cabbage was crispy however sadly, the uncooked style of it was off-putting. If it was braised a short time sustaining its crunchy texture, it might’ve been significantly better.

The woman’s finger was steamed, and mine was good and smooth. However, my eating associate’s wasn’t. I’ve handled this vegetable earlier than and a few of it might be older and difficult to chew on. Perhaps it might’ve been higher if it was sliced thinly and sauteed as a substitute.

Final ideas

The CoCo Rice @ Punggol has a terrific idea. The meal didn’t blow me away as a lot as I wanted it might. There had been positively some hits and misses and I’m assured that they’ll achieve this significantly better with some changes… until subsequent time!

Expected harm: S$8 – S$12 per pax

Mama’s Curry: Fiery bowls of mutton, rooster & vegetable curry at Golden Mile Food Centre from $4.50

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