"Nasi Lemak Tanglin is great for takeaway with Grab. You get your money’s worth too.”

—Darren Chin, DC Restaurant

“In my opinion, the soul of a nasi lemak is in the rice and sambal, which Nasi Lemak Mek Sambal Warisan gets right with its unique flavours. It actually reminds me of my mum's hometown in Sungai Siput, Perak.

This place makes a rich and tasty nasi lemak with the sambal not too spicy and sweet, and full of umami. It's especially tasty because the nasi lemak is wrapped in a banana leaf, which infuses that unique flavour.”

—Eason Cho, Hide KL

"Taste Legendary Nasi Lemak is a tasty nasi lemak place in the Chow Kit market. For a store to be open for over 50 years and still maintain such high levels of quality, it really is down to the passion of the chef, which is very clear to see every time I visit in the early hours of the day.

I also love the fact that it also sells pork dishes to accompany the nasi lemak; I always order the Hakka char yoke (Hakka braised pork); they go so well together with the rice.”

—Philip Leong, Nobu KL

“I love to have nasi lemak after work hours. My go-to is Nasi Lemak CT Garden, known among locals for its location in front of a primary school in Kampung Baru. The pre-packed portion of nasi lemak is small, but is prized for its aromatic fluffy fragrant rice with sweet sambal, and famous for its variety of dishes available. 

I usually enjoy a few packs of nasi lemak while adding on dishes of ayam goreng berempah (spiced fried chicken), rendang and sambal paru during his late night visit to the restaurant for a comforting after-work meal.”

—Azizi Taslim, The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur

"Warong Mama Corner Masakan Kampung Melaka or simply Warung Mama when you search on Google and Waze, is a humble stall located right opposite UTC Sentul. It serves the real deal. It’s been awhile since I’ve had that wow moment when it comes to nasi lemak. 

The sambal is what makes it; I like it more spicy than sweet. The best part is when the grains of rice absorb all of it up. The peanuts are not overly toasted, the anchovies crispy, and the cucumbers fresh and crunchy. Nasi lemak varies from place to place, but at the end of the day, there’s just something about a RM2 plain nasi lemak made by a makcik that warms my heart."

—Addin "Dean" Kamil, Round Table

"This was a recent experience where my non-vegan friend Elvin surprised me with a vegan place called Hungry Tapir. Its nasi lemak and rendang are absolutely delicious."

—Kalidevan “Chef Dave” Murugaya, D’Vegan Academy and PB Kitchen

"I love Ali Food Corner's spicy sambal, and it is especially good when paired with their fried-to-order chicken. I always add fried bits from the chicken spices to my nasi lemak."

—Daniel Yap, Gooddam

"I'm not usually a fan of nasi lemak because I had it for breakfast every morning during my kindergarten days and it got boring for me. However, a friend introduced me to Village Park’s nasi lemak and I will say it’s the very best I’ve had so far.

The fragrant fried chicken is very good and very crispy. The rice is just nice, as a lot of other places I’ve tried had very dry rice. The sambal has just the right amount of spiciness."

—Otto Tay, award-winning pastry chef