OG Lemak

Hyped-Up OG Lemak Delivers on Fluffy Nasi Lemak Rice But Not Much Else

OG Lemak is a pretty new name on the scene, having only popped up last year at the bustling Newton Food Centre. Still, it garnered plenty of social media hype which made some people scratch their heads — why the hype?

To those in the know, chef-owner Shen Tan is quite the celebrity. Her portfolio speaks for itself — an impressive self-taught foray into cooking saw her head several projects before she settled into her successful Ownselfmake Chef home dining affair.

OG Lemak is Chef Shen Tan’s return to her roots —her first venture in 2008 was a Nasi Lemak stall at Maxwell— that showcases her signature double-steamed rice recipe. It’s understandable that hype came in droves.

Lemak Rice For Sure

Personally, I feel “elevated hawker food” is a very challenging niche to tackle in Singapore’s hawker scene — even the most established luxury brands get plenty of derisory opinions because Singaporeans are fixed on Nasi Lemak being a cheap hawker dish.

And that is why I was so intrigued by Chef Shen Tan’s attempt at disrupting the market once again with her distinct take at OG Lemak, which is undoubtedly pegged at a higher price range of hawker food.

First thing’s first — the Nasi Lemak rice at OG Lemak was ambrosial and brimming with elegant coconut fragrance.

Overall, rather fluffy though slightly clumpy from the moisture but a wonderful mound of rice that doesn’t get surfeit. A supremely comforting rice dish for the cravings hard-coded into our Asian DNA.

Similarly, the dollops of Sambal added a certain vigour to the rice as an aggrandising element while staying well balanced. The cracks mostly started to appear when we moved on to the meats.

For one, the skin on the OG Lemak Set’s ($7.90) crispy chicken was lamentably limp. Even if slightly salvaged by a pleasantly sweet marinade, that lack of crunch detracts from the chicken as a whole.

Perhaps fried poultry isn’t OG Lemak’s ace so we gave bovine a try here as well. Even if I would say the Beef Rendang Set ($9.90) edged out the former, it’s not by much.

Admittedly, those nuggets of beef rendang did exceed expectations in terms of tenderness but the flavour profile was underwhelming. A rather feeble richness as compared to your classic Peranakan takes on it.

I would love to say that I enjoyed OG Lemak — I always root for those bringing new ideas to Singapore’s scene, after all. Alas, I would be lying because other than the rice and Sambal, the rest of the cast fell dramatically short of the expectations flamed by the hype.

OG Lemak

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• Address: 500 Clemenceau Avenue North, #01-16 Newton Food Centre, Singapore 229495
• Hours: (Mon–Sun) 11am–3pm, 5pm–8:30pm