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Nasi Lemak From $2.60 By New Hawker That Netizens Claim Looks Like Vivian Lai

“You could see some guys in the queue taking extra glances [at me]” says the hawker of 97 Nasi Lemak.

“You could see some guys in the queue taking extra glances [at me]” says the hawker of 97 Nasi Lemak.

“You could see some guys in the queue taking extra glances [at me]” says the hawker of 97 Nasi Lemak.

Recently, a netizen’s post on Facebook caught our eye when he declared that the hawker running 97 Nasi Lemak — which opened six months ago at Old Airport Road Food Centre — looks like Taiwanese-born actress Vivian Lai. The very next day, another netizen headed down to the stall to check it out for himself. His verdict? “Nasi is lemak, and babe is pretty!”

“I first heard about those posts from my friends. I had a good laugh,” hawker Ellis Phua, a mother of three, says. “But the next few days after the posts went up, we got a [better] crowd. You could see some guys in the queue taking extra glances [at me],” the 41-year-old adds.

8days.sg popped by to investigate.

All photos cannot be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg

1 of 12 Were netizens right?

So the question remains – does she look like Vivian Lai once she’s taken off her mask? Her customers certainly think so. “I noticed a couple of guys [having a discussion] while looking at me,” she says. “And when it was their turn to order, they were very smiley.” It’s not just the men though — “there was also this customer, an auntie, who said I look like [the actress]”.

Photo: D An lel

  • 2 of 12 Any resemblance?

    Our two cents’ worth – we don’t quite see the resemblance. Perhaps a bit of her eyes, at certain angles? The well-groomed Ellis is attractive, but more importantly, she offers affordable nasi lemak.

  • 3 of 12 Recreating mum’s recipes

    The new hawker spent eight years as a sales and operations executive for an F&B company, followed by a further eight running her own fashion wholesaler biz.

    She eventually sold the business in 2018 when her late mother contracted lung cancer. “I wanted to spend more time with her and take care of her,” she says. Her mother passed on after a two-year battle with the disease, which then led to Ellis’ decision to become a hawker.

    “I miss her so much [after her passing]. I wanted to share memories of my mother’s cooking. She used to cook things like nasi lemak, or mee hoon kueh during my childhood,” she reminisces. That was when she decided to sign up for the Hawkers’ Development Programme.

    She was mentored by Jackie Tham, the veteran hawker and owner of Hon Ni Kitchen (a stalwart at Bedok Food Centre for the last two decades) during her eight-week apprenticeship before finally setting out on her own.

  • 4 of 12 Hawker life

    On her new occupation, she shares: “[The kitchen gets] swelteringly hot and the hours are very long – I get up at 5.30am every day.”

    “It’s a new challenge,” she says, even though she has two helpers at the stall. “But getting returning customers who comment that the food is good warms my heart.” How does she feel about dining in (limited to 2 pax) resuming on June 21? Even before the heightened alert, we had more takeaway than dine-in orders. But with dining in reopening, it’s also good for us as customers can soon enjoy our fried items better .

  • 5 of 12 The menu

    Chinese-style nasi lemak with a focus on “home-style cooking”. There’s plenty of sinful deep-fried accompaniments (chicken luncheon meat, nuggets and the like) as well as housemade options like fried chicken wings and ikan kuning (mackerel). There’s even fried bee hoon and mee ($1) as an alternative for those who aren’t fond of coconut-laden rice for breakfast. The stall doesn’t use any pork or lard and they’re in the midst of getting halal-certified.

  • 6 of 12 Sotong Fillet Set, $2.60

    The cheapest set here. Ellis uses long-grain Jasmine rice for her nasi lemak. The grains are fluffy and well-separated, but they lack the punchy coconutty fragrance normally associated with the dish. That’s by design, the hawker says, who wanted something light like her mum used to make.

    Each set comes with fixings like a fried egg, ikan bilis and peanuts, which makes it a little more filling. She’s also included a slice of cucumber – Japanese, because it’s crunchier and keeps better, Ellis says.

    As for the store-bought sotong fillet, we’d avoid it. It’s rubbery, with not much actual flavour to speak of.

  • 7 of 12 The chilli

    While the pandan-infused rice doesn’t quite stand up on its own, the sweet-spicy chilli mix of belacan, assam and onion more than makes up for it. It reminds us a little of Chong Pang Nasi Lemak’s in Sembawang, though their chilli’s sweeter and milder than what we got here. Instead, 97’s is fiery, salty and very moreish.

  • 8 of 12 Nonya Otah Set, $2.80

    Another supplier-bought item, though this one fares a little better, if only because otak-otak is inherently more aromatic thanks to its core ingredients of coconut milk, lemongrass and chilli. The thin slabs aren’t dry, with a pleasant bite. There’s even a hint of char in it.

  • 9 of 12 Chicken Wing Set, $2.90

    Simple, but tasty. Turmeric, five-spice and cornstarch make up the batter of the dish. Ours is satisfyingly crispy, well-seasoned and fairly juicy even after the journey home. Nothing amazing, but good enough for $1.30 a la carte.

  • 10 of 12 Kuning Fish, from 50 cents (depending on size)

    A classic nasi lemak accompaniment. The fish is seasoned simply with turmeric and salt before being deep-fried. The small fish are bony with not much meat on them – they’re not crispy enough here to bite through the bones altogether. Not our fave.

  • 11 of 12 Bottom line

    Simple, affordable nasi lemak with the highlight being its fiery chilli. If you do pop by, try not to stare at the lady boss.

  • 12 of 12 The details

    97 Nasi Lemak is at #01-97 Old Airport Road Food Centre, 51 Old Airport Rd S390051. Tel: 8837-6228. Open daily except Mon, 7am – 3pm. More info on Facebook and Instagram. Available for delivery via Grabfood and Foodpanda.

    All photos cannot be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg

    Photos: Alvin Teo

    Related topics

    97 Nasi Lemak nasi lemak vivian lai hawker

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