World Best Nasi Lemak And Curry Chicken From Singapore

Grandma's

Local restaurant chain Grandma’s, which quietly shut down last year, is back in business for delivery only. The brand is under the Akashi Group and now operates out of the group’s Gyoza Ya outlet at Ion Orchard. Grandma’s is best known for its signature nasi lemak ($13.80) with either curry chicken or fried chicken. Each set comes with fragrant coconut rice, a thick slice of omelette, achar, peanuts and crispy anchovies. 

For those who are not familiar with nasi lemak, it is Malay cuisine consisting of fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf. It is commonly found in Malaysia and Singapore, where it is considered the national dish.

Signature Nasi Lemak

Grandma's all-time favourite nasi lemak was a plate of coconut rice covered with generous serving of curry chicken, sambal ikan bilis, achar and omelette. Food portion was big. Curry gravy was creamy thick and flavourful. Coconut rice was steamed perfectly and did not form clumps. Rice was aromatic and coconut taste was strong. I was really blown away by the flavour of each dish. Achar was sweet, sour and slightly spicy. Achar ingredients were fresh, such as cucumbers, carrots and pineapples. Anchovies were crispy and savoury. Sambal was not sweet, which met my expectation.

Signature Nasi Lemak

This was second time I ate signature nasi lemak at Grandma’s and it didn’t disappoint me each time. I was addicted to the aromatic curry gravy and coconut rice. From my point of view, these are the reasons why Grandma's nasi lemak is the best in Singapore: 

• thick curry with lots of spices and coconut 
• rice was fluffy and it had strong taste of pandan leaf and coconut,  
• crispy anchovies mixed with fragrant onions,
• sambal was home made and pleasantly unique. Sambal taste from most restaurants and food stalls are similar because they got the condiment from the same supermarket,
• generous food portion, 
• presence of achar. 

Nasi Bukhari

Nasi Bukhari was an irresistible combination of savoury pilaf-style rice, prawns, beef rendang, and a golden-brown fried chicken drumstick. It was an authentic Singapore nasi lemak. Pilaf is rice first sautéed in butter or oil and cooked in stock or broth, then added spices. Pilaf-style rice had pleasant taste of garlic, onion and turmeric, Rice was neither dry nor sticky. Rice texture was fluffy. Fried drumstick was fried to perfection. Chicken skin was thin and crispy with minimal or no fats underneath. Grandma's fried chicken was succulent. When I cut the meat, juices oozed between the layers. The beef cubes were tender, the meat broke off easily when I chew. Sambal prawns were mixed with sliced onions. It was fragrant, spicy and crunchy.

Curry Chicken

Curry chicken is a must-try. You can order this dish separately. Chicken was cooked over low heat in Grandma's secret spices, then simmered in thick, rich coconut curry and spices. Chunks of chicken were tender and delicious. It was great to eat with steamed rice or bread. Fork-tender potatoes doused in creamy and mild spicy coconut curry. Current food delivery/ pick-up didn't add potatoes in their curry chicken. I hope they will add potatoes in the curry. 

Spinach Beancurd

Before Grandma's Restaurant closed down a year ago, spinach beancurd was in the food menu. It was made of egg beancurd accompanied with spinach on the side and topped with mushroom perfectly cooked with oyster sauce. I like this dish and hope that they will put it back in the food menu. 


Location
Grandma's
290 Orchard Road
Singapore 238859
Website: https://grandmas.oddle.me/en_SG