No. 1 Adam Road Nasi Lemak—A Great Spot To Get Your Nasi Lemak Fix

Considering the intense competition that this stall has with its next-door neighbour, you would have to give the folks from No. 1 Adam Road Nasi Lemak credit for being around all this time.

This unassuming stall may be the less showy of the two famous nasi lemak stalls at Adam Road Food Centre, but their long-standing stall serves as an indication that although they may not be as popular, there are still things that this old couple is doing right.

At this humble stall, you will not find any gimmicks nor any fancy ingredients, what you can expect is a simple plate of nasi lemak done right. It may not be the best in town, but it sure will leave an impression nonetheless.

Having heard so much about this stall, we would have expected the queue to be as long as its neighbour, but surprisingly during lunchtime, it was relatively quiet. We then saw an opportunity and went for it thinking that it would take us much less time to get our lunch sorted.

To our surprise, despite being the only people in the queue, we had to wait close to 5 minutes. We soon understood why so many people have since shunned this stall, even though their nasi lemak is pretty decent.

We got the standard chicken set (S$3.50) which came with the standard fried egg, ikan bills with peanuts, chicken wings, rice and sambal.

The first thing we got when the dish was served was the strong whiff of coconut, but for what it boasted in the aroma, it sorely lacked in taste. The rice was not as flavourful as we had hoped and it was bordering on soggy. However, we really enjoyed the crispy chicken wing, which brimmed with deep savoury flavours. We liked that the batter (if there was even any) was super thin, allowing the chicken wing to stay crispy.

The ikan bilis here comes with a mixture of peanuts, which their neighbour does not include, and the sambal is more caramelised, hence being thicker in consistency and darker in colour. Overall, we were not completely starstruck by the nasi lemak here, but we have to admit that it was not completely awful either—there were still minor saving graces here and there which makes this a good fix for when your nasi lemak cravings kick in (or if you have no time to queue next door).

No. 1 Adam Road Nasi Lemak
#01-01 Adam Road Food Centre,
2 Adam Road
Singapore 289876
(Closed on Tuesdays)
Wed to Mon: 8.30am – 1pm
Nearest Station: Botanic Gardens