Kitchenman Nasi Lemak: How a mentor’s love for nasi lemak inspired a Michelin Bib Gourmand-winning restaurant
People say passion can be infectious. Sometimes, your intense love and devotion to something can be easily felt by those around you.
And Kitchenman Nasi Lemak at CT Hub is the best proof of that.
The unassuming eatery in an office building in Lavender feels just like any other makan spot for office workers — at least until further inspection, when the vivid reds of Michelin Guide decals catch your eye.
Kitchenman Nasi Lemak is, in fact, a Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient, and was one of the 11 newly minted eateries in the 2025 edition of the list.
And interestingly enough, the style of nasi lemak it specialises in is the Malaysian style, rather than the Singaporean style.
Who would have thought that a restaurant like this would catch the eye of the Guide’s inspectors?
A sifu’s influence
The man behind Kitchenman Nasi Lemak is 40-year-old Cheow Kah King, an Ipoh native who boasts over 20 years of experience in the kitchen.
Prior to opening this restaurant, Kah King had already spent around 10 years working in Singapore, mostly dabbling in Asian cuisine.
Although he runs an award-winning nasi lemak restaurant now, it was actually his late mentor — or sifu, as he refers to him — who originally opened his eyes to the allure of nasi lemak.
“He told me one thing: everyone can cook nasi lemak, but to master it is different! After that, I followed him and learnt how to elevate nasi lemak,” Kah King recalls.
Given his current focus on Malaysian nasi lemak, you might expect Kah King’s sifu to similarly have Malaysian roots — ironically, his beloved mentor was Singaporean.
“How are Malaysian and Singaporean nasi lemak different?” you might ask.
Kah King breaks it down: “I think Malaysian style is more about the spices. Singapore nasi lemak likes more fried stuff.”
Fresh, fresh Kitchenman Nasi Lemak
So what exactly makes Kitchenman Nasi Lemak so good that it snared the attention of Michelin inspectors?
The chef-owner explains: “My nasi lemak is like what you can find in Kuala Lumpur. But one thing worth mentioning is that all my ingredients are fresh and prepared on the day itself!”
When he says fresh, it includes the peanuts, ikan bilis, and cucumbers — what is usually overlooked — and that’s something the regular customers appreciate.
“They can taste the labour!” He says, gleefully.
This dedication to fresh daily preparation has its challenges, though.
The rendang, for example, takes at least four hours to prepare, forcing the chefs to come in at 6am, and takes the small team away from other tasks.
Kitchenman Nasi Lemak only has three chefs on staff, including Kah King — or “kitchenmen”, as he has christened them.
That’s why the bossman actually made the hard call to take the popular rendang chicken off the menu, around half a year back.
At the end of the day, though, the humble Kitchenman Nasi Lemak head honcho says: “There is no special secret, just use your heart, knowledge and the right, fresh ingredients.”
Kitchenman Nasi Lemak taste test
We’re not Michelin inspectors, but of course we were more than eager to dive straight into the nasi lemak.
First, we got to try Kitchenman Nasi Lemak’s undisputed star, the best-selling nasi lemak ayam goreng berempah leg (S$13.80).
As expected, the chicken leg was superbly cooked — no grease, skin lightly crispy, flesh succulent and juicy.
Above all, it is imbued with a gratifying dose of rich and fragrant spices, and topped with a cluster of addictively crunchy fried lemongrass bits.
But you know what? The real showstopper here isn’t the protein, but the nasi lemak rice itself.
According to Kah King, Kitchenman Nasi Lemak uses fresh coconut milk — to perhaps produce that immaculate mouthfeel.
It’s fluffy, moist, glossy but not oily, while tasting fabulous with elegant whiffs of coconut sweetness.
Everything else was also quality: The sambal had a good mix of sweetness and umami kick, the peanuts had a good toastiness, and the fried egg was sublime, too.
Have you had a fried egg with a gooey yolk, silky whites, and light, egg-floss-like crunchy edges? Kitchenman Nasi Lemak’s fried egg is exactly like that.
We also tried a different style of chicken with the nasi lemak ayam kunyit (S$13.80) — crunchy chunks of fried chicken served with a heap of veggies.
Compared to the stellar berempah chicken, this tasted more straightforward, without all the spice complexities.
Still good, but if you’re planning to visit Kitchenman Nasi Lemak, we would recommend the bestseller!
Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2025
One year on, what has changed for the team after achieving Michelin attention?
They were actually in the kitchen, when the phone calls started flooding in — quite fitting for the “kitchenmen”!
“Getting the Michelin Bib Gourmand was a surprise. We didn’t even hear about the announcement, until our friends started calling to congratulate us,” Kah King says.
He continues: “We are grateful for it, since it helped a lot more people recognise us, and we have gotten a lot more regulars now.”
But he is still immensely grateful to all the returning customers that have supported him over the years.
“Someone even told me they travelled 1.5 hours to come here to eat our nasi lemak!” he recalls with a wide smile.
As for the future, there aren’t any plans for expansion on the horizon.
Instead, Kah King’s ambition is simple: He hopes he can continue to keep the quality consistent at Kitchenman Nasi Lemak, to repay the support of his regulars and his late sifu.
This was a hosted tasting.
For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on viral affordable sushi brand Sushi Zushi’s newest outlet and Food Republic’s stylish new Jewel food court!
Tue 11.30am - 7.30pm
Wed 11.30am - 7.30pm
Thu 11.30am - 7.30pm
Fri 11.30am - 7.30pm
Sat 11.30am - 7.30pm
- Lavender
Evan started off writing about food on Instagram, before joining outlets such as Buro and Confirm Good to pursue his passion. His best work usually comes after his first whisky shot in the morning.
Read more stories from this writer.
