Review: H Village Park Nasi Lemak wants to “reinvent” nasi lemak with Balinese influences

The backstory

You didn’t read that wrong, H Village’s name is a cheeky reference to the Village Park Restaurant as well as its Holland Village location. 

Tucked inside a bustling coffeeshop that is also home to popular brands such as Chef Wei HK Cheong Fun, Margaret Drive Sin Kee Chicken Rice, and Tai Wah Pork Noodles, the stall is the brainchild of Marcus Wong and Leong Jun Jie, two former insurance agents turned F&B entrepreneurs.

A quick glance at H Village Park’s menu and it’s soon clear this is no straightforward homage — for one, I haven’t seen nasi lemak served with pork before, but there’s a first for everything. 

In fact, the sambal matah, which originally comes from Bali, and the pork belly on its menu tells me that we’re likely looking at Indonesian-fusion nasi lemak that’s likely loosely inspired by Balinese dishes such as babi guling and nasi jinggo.

Our verdict

Introducing pork into nasi lemak is a bold move, but judging by the steady stream of curious customers at H Village Park Nasi Lemak during my visit on a Saturday around lunchtime, it seems to have paid off.

For those expecting a carbon copy of Damansara Utama’s Village Park, you won’t find it here. 

In fact, other than the extra crispy chicken, I struggle to find the similarities between this and the famous brand. That said, what these guys are doing — regional influences, boneless chicken cutlets, torched pork belly, and array of sambals — is more intriguing than most other nasi lemak spots that have emerged this year. 

While S$8 for a plate at H Village Nasi Lemak may seem pricey, the portions are rather generous.

Whether that’s enough to claim a spot in the league of nasi lemak legends remains to be seen, but for now, it’s a welcome new face in Holland Village’s already bustling food map – if only they could sort out the rice and greasiness of some dishes. 

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What it’s good for

If you’re new to the fray, the crispy ayam nasi lemak sambal matah (S$8) is the best way to experience what the owners at H Village Park Nasi Lemak are trying to do. 

What they do here is take a big plate, chop up a massive piece of chicken leg, slap on a scoop of sambal relish, coconut rice, crispy deep-fried flakes, and the classic combo of crispy anchovies, roasted peanuts, and boiled egg.

The star here is the boneless chicken cutlet that’s seasoned to perfection and fried to a golden-brown crunch, but yet doesn’t feel too oily. The crispy batter gives way to succulent, juicy meat that tastes sublime with the sambal matah — a spicy, sweet, and tangy thing made with chillies, shallots, lime juice, lemongrass, and coconut oil. 

Whereas traditional sambal matah is usually raw, the version here is slow-cooked to bring out the sweetness of the shallots and chillies.

When it comes to nasi lemak, you generally want rice that’s “lemak”, or rich with the flavour of coconut milk. 

The one at H Village Park Nasi Lemak carries a mild fragrance, but if you’re wondering if it matches up to its Malaysian counterparts? The answer is not really, but it is at least fluffy and moist. 

It’s worth noting that parts of the rice has clumps of coagulated coconut cream — a sign that too much coconut milk might have been used during the cooking process. 

I’m not sure if this is intentional or not. At best, it adds an interesting sweet depth to the rice, and at worst, it might feel soggy to some.

The babi geprek nasi lemak (S$8) is where the lines of nasi lemak get a bit blurred. 

Slices of marinated pork belly are sizzled under a blowtorch right before it lands on your plate, and the smoky fragrance is compelling. The meat is tender and lightly-seasoned so you can still taste the porkiness, and because the belly portion is used, you get a fair bit of well-rendered fat in each mouthful. 

This dish is exactly what you come for when you want to elevate your nasi lemak experience from comforting to indulgent.

H Village Park’s sambal geprek packs a different heat compared to regular sambal, and thankfully it’s more of a fresh zing rather than a burn. It’s one of the more popular sambals for fried chicken, such as the one used for ayam penyet. 

Here, both green and red chillis are used along with shallots and garlic that add a bit of sweetness and complexity.

Otah can come in many sizes — some thin and flat, some thick and chunky, and some big but flat. The otah (S$4 for two pieces) here fall into the last category, and I have to say they are just delicious. 

These large otah pieces come with chunky bites of fresh fish, perfectly seasoned with just the right amount of spice and made fragrant by the barbecued banana leaves. 

In fact, they were so memorable that minutes after leaving, I wondered why I didn’t order extras to take back home.

For a comprehensive taste of H Village Park Nasi Lemak’s offerings, get the chilli sampling (S$2.50), which offers three of the stalls different sambals.  

You already know about the sambal geprek and sambal matah, but the regular orangey-red sambal — what you get when you order the regular crispy ayam nasi lemak — certainly holds its own. It’s spicy and sweet, but not overly piquant, with nuances of ikan bilis, dried shrimp, and garlic.

What it could improve on

Whenever there’s an option to add a begedil (fried potato patty), I can’t help but add one. However, the begedil (S$1) is sorely disappointing, no thanks to the sheer greasiness — each bite was almost dripping with oil, leading me to suspect that the oil was not heated sufficiently before deep frying or reheating.

Speaking of greasiness, expect the sambal geprek to come with a fair bit of oil. It won’t come across as obvious with the crispy chicken, but with the already fatty pork belly, the whole thing might leave your lips feeling very greasy.

Then there’s the rice, as mentioned earlier — the essence of nasi lemak lives and dies by its rice, and when some of the grains are clumped up with coconut milk, it detracts from the overall experience.

Our quick takes

Is it conducive to conversation? As good as coffeeshops can be.

Is a reservation necessary? No.

How to get there? H Village Park Nasi Lemak is inside the Chang Cheng Mee Wah Coffeeshop, a 7-minute walk from Holland Village MRT Station Exit C.

HungryGoWhere paid for its meal at this restaurant for this review.

For more places to explore, check out our latest articles on this HK milk tea brand that’s new to Singapore, as well as our compilation of places to explore around Ion Orchard. 

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Alternatively, book a ride to get to H Village Park Nasi Lemak.