For those whom have been looking at what we had been posting in recent times, it is likely that one would have seen our post some time back about a new Always Be Batter that has since been operating for a couple of months at Kovan. For those whom are unaware, Always Be Batter is a new establishment that had taken over the former premise of the now-defunct Two Cranes at Blk 211 Hougang Street 21 — a known hipster neighbourhood that is also home to some other notable establishments such as Tachinomiya, Claypot Valley, #3, an outlet of Nakhon Kitchen and the iconic Tam Chiak Kopitiam. Not delving much into the details of Always Be Batter since we had done so extensively in our previous post, but Always Be Batter has always centred their offerings around their waffles and croffles. It is in recent times that it seems like the folks at Always Be Batter had strayed into offerings of savoury food that is outside of their typical emphasis on waffles — this includes items that are listed on their “Hambagudon” and “The asian delights” sections on their menu.

It was actually from a post that is posted by Always Abe Better on their social media that we got to know about their offering of the Nasi Lemak — the Nasi Lemak is an item that can be found on their “The asian delights” section of the menu, and is being described on the menu to consist of elements such as homemade breaded cutlet, sunny side up egg, coconut rice, house-made Nasi Lemak chilli, ikan bilis and cucumbers. One obvious thing where one can feel the amount of effort placed in the creation of the dish was in the way that it is being plated; banana leaves being folded into a shape of a bowl to contain the Nasi Lemak within. What really caught our attention enough to have us revisit Always Be Batter for the Nasi Lemak however was the execution of their coconut rice; staying true to their waffle-centric roots, the coconut-rice does look like they have went through the waffle press, coming four pieces with a shape that closely resembles that of Liege waffles. The coconut rice does exude a light pandan-esque fragrance like what one would expect out of a proper Nasi Lemak dish; that being said the texture of the rice is being further enhanced with crisp and slightly chewy mouthfeel considering how it has been pressed in the waffle machine before being served. The breaded chicken cutlet was also rather tasty; brined for sufficient flavour whilst being tender and juicy, the breaded chicken cutlet also did not feel in any way greasy, with its deep-fried, golden brown batter being pretty crisp as well.

The sunny side-up comes void of any undesirable stench of overused oil; also comes with a molten, runny yolk that would be a crowd pleaser, while the Ikan Bilis were sufficiently crisp. Where it came to the house-made Nasi Lemak chili, this also came with a predominantly sweet that ended with a deep and earthier finishing note; something which we do expect from the typical Nasi Lemak chili out there. Truth to be told, the Nasi Lemak at Always Be Batter might sound like a rather basic offering on paper; that being said, we do enjoy the slight twist that they had given to their rendition of the Nasi Lemak — the use of the waffle machine in the preparation process of the dish being something we had not quite seen in other variants of the Nasi Lemak before. Aside from that, one could tell that Always Be Batter has placed quite a fair bit of emphasis in serving their food that is made from scratch; elements like the breaded chicken cutlet and the Nasi Lemak chili being items that could have came from supplied sources but are being painstakingly made with love to ensure patrons do get the very best that they have to offer — something that is also known from the waffle creations that Always Be Batter serves up. At $8.50, the Nasi Lemak at Always Be Batter is quite good value for money considering the effort and thought placed into the dish; one that is worth the go for those curious about their execution of the coconut rice especially!