Nikmat Nasi Lemak by Husk: Founder Gideon Tan brings his signature fusion nasi lemak to the heartlands

How it begin

Having trained in the culinary arts at Shatec, Gideon has 14 years of varied culinary experience under his belt

He worked as a chef at now-defunct dining spots such as Foodology at Marina Bay Financial Centre, Naughty Nuri’s at Capitol Piazza and Wicked Grill. After which, he opened a cai fan and zi char business at an office building along New Industries Road and also helped out at a friend’s catering company serving vegan and Thai food.

He’d also picked up many Asian and western recipes along the way — especially after cooking staff meals at many of these eateries. Think: Chicken rice, claypot rice, nasi lemak, and laksa, and the like. 

In 2020, Gideon’s now-business partner, who declined to be named, approached him to be his chef in a new nasi lemak business.

“But when I found out that all the food would be pre-bought, instead of being made from scratch, I told him he didn’t need a chef for that — just someone who could deep-fry the chicken,” Gideon recalls. “Instead, I proposed that he taste my nasi lemak and sell that instead.” 

After that, Gideon took about a month to perfect his nasi lemak recipe. It took two weeks alone to master the rice, which included tweaking the water-rice ratio so that the rice turned out fluffy, with the right texture. 

For the rice, fresh coconut and coconut cream is used, with the addition of aromatics such as onions, garlic and ginger to elevate its taste. 

The quality of the ingredients was key, says Gideon. In particular, he wanted a specific type of anchovies and ended up going to every market he could to search for ones that were the right size. 

“I didn’t want anchovies that are too big, as those tend to pierce into one’s gum,” he says.

Perfecting his secret sambal chilli recipe took some time as well. He did a taste test with friends to ensure that the chilli was not overly spicy. 

The effort certainly paid off — after trying his nasi lemak, Gideon’s business partner gave his stamp of approval and Husk Nasi Lemak was born as Gideon’s very own brand. 

The birth of Nikmat Nasi Lemak

Once Husk began to gain popularity, Gideon started exploring how he could expand into the heartlands with a hawker stall. 

This, however, proved challenging given Husk’s steeper price point. (Husk’s dishes start from S$10.80.)

“Patrons would be willing to pay S$10 to S$12 for food at a shopping mall, but not a neighbourhood hawker stall,” he adds. 

Fortunately, he found the next best option — a food court at the new Hawkers’ Street @ Tampines 1 shopping mall. This enabled him to open a sister brand – what we know today as Nikmat Nasi Lemak — at a lower price point and cater to heartland customers, without reducing prices too drastically. 

“Hawker Street also has many well-established brands such Tai Wah Pork Noodles, Pang’s Hakka Yong Tau Foo and Jiak Song Mee Hoon Kway, so being located alongside them is great for attracting customers and building Nikmat as a brand,” says Gideon. 

Nikmat Nasi Lemak’s menu

Customers at Nikmat can enjoy its signatures in various sets: Signature chicken cutlet (S$6.90), sous vide beef rendang (S$9.90), wholesome lemak drumstick (S$9.90), fried tilapia fish with assam pedas sauce (S$8.90), chicken wing (S$6.90), slow-cooked mutton curry (S$9.90) and sambal tahu goreng (S$5.90). 

If you’re wondering which of these to start with, Nikmat’s bestsellers are its signature chicken cutlet and wholesome lemak drumstick sets.

Unlike Husk at Bugis Cube where all food is cooked on the spot, Gideon notes that all possible ala carte add-ons are on display at Nikmat’s stall, in order to attract food court customers who prefer seeing more items laid out. 

You can also choose to top-up for add-on dishes such as sambal goreng (S$1.50), sambal eggplant (S$1.50), sambal lady’s finger (S$1.50), chicken rendang (S$5), sambal sotong (S$3) and sambal quail egg (S$1.50).

These nasi lemak sets are also available at Husk, but where the newer brand makes a distinction is in the eggs it serves. Nikmat’s nasi lemak comes with a fried egg, rather than a marinated onsen egg.

Gideon observes that Husk caters to a younger, more modern crowd at Bugis Cube, who have a preference for the Japanese-style onsen egg. By contrast, the older and wider demographic at Tampines 1 prefer the more traditional sunny side up. 

Unlike most traditional nasi lemak dishes, fried crumbs (batter bits) are added on top of the rice, ayam penyet-style. The crunchiness of the crumbs helps elevate the taste and texture of rice, says Gideon. 

Besides the crumbs and sunny side up eggs, all sets also come with ikan bilis, peanuts and sambal chilli.  

We got a chance to try the signature chicken cutlet set. I must admit the crumbs were very addictive and made the dish more indulgent. The rice was solid as well — fluffy, light and with a rich coconut taste that wasn’t too overwhelming. As for the fried chicken cutlet, it was juicy, savoury and tender.

“My business partner owned a mookata shop in Taiwan that sold chicken cutlet and he brought me there to learn the cutlet recipe,” says Gideon.”We also altered the seasoning to make it halal for Husk and Nikmat.”  

To prep this dish, the chicken leg is butterflied and the meat is scored, so that the dry brine can go directly through the meat. The meat is then marinated for at least a day. 

“For the batter that we use for deep frying, we have a specific flour-water ratio so it won’t be thick or too watery,” he adds. “If it’s too thick, the chicken will take a lot longer to be cooked inside. If it’s too watery, all the chicken juice will be lost. The right amount of water ensures that the chicken will be crispy on the outside and moist inside.” 

We also got to sample the sous vide beef rendang set. The beef is boiled a day before serving, with the scum removed. 

After that, it is sous-vide for at least eight hours. Using such modern cooking methods ensure the quality of the beef, as it is cooked at a target temperature and retains the flavour within. Rendang sauce is then added and the beef is packed and cooked the next day.

Whilst we also enjoyed the beef rendang, I did find that some parts tended to get a bit tough. In all transparency, we were busy with photos, so the beef sat for some time before we managed to dig in. I recommend eating the beef as soon as it’s served, so it retains its moisture. I enjoyed the rendang sauce as well — it was rich and creamy, without being overly spicy. 

Brand expansion plans

With Nikmat, Gideon hopes to replicate the success of Husk and expand his nasi lemak brand to a neighbourhood audience. He hopes that Nikmat can eventually become a well-known presence in the local food scene, via expansion into other food courts.

As for Husk, two new outlets will be opening at Changi Airport’s Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 transit area, from mid-October to mid-November. Gideon also wishes to grow Husk overseas, with one promising market being Indonesia. 

“Many Indonesian tourists come to Husk –- they mention the brand is pretty famous there and has been featured on social media by a few famous bloggers,” he adds.

In future, Gideon is also thinking of opening a food brand focusing on another local dish. Some options in mind include duck rice, Hokkien mee or claypot rice. 

“I love cooking and eating such local dishes, and it’s important to continue championing our local food tradition — especially with the older hawker generation retiring,” Gideon says.

For the latest eats, read our stories on the new supper spot Shifu Food Court at Bras Basah Complex and famous Dutch patisserie Huize van Wely’s opening in Singapore. Alternatively, check out the newest openings in Singapore here.

Nikmat Nasi Lemak is on the GrabFood delivery service and offers free delivery (up to S$3 off) with GrabUnlimited.

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You can also book a ride to Tampines 1 to check out Nikmat Nasi Lemak at Hawkers’ Street.