Food Blog | Best Nasi Lemak in Petaling Jaya / KL
Everyone has a different favourite, so here’s just my way of saying, I want to join the conversation! Over the past few weeks, I’ve tried the four most talked about Nasi Lemaks in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur to crown my best Nasi Lemak, her’s what I thought.
Criteria
The fairest way I saw to do it would be to judge based on a very typical Nasi Lemak portion - which is, your classic Nasi Lemak (rice, sambal, ikan bilis, egg, peanuts, and cucumber), coupled with fried chicken. Nasi Lemak Burung Hantu cheats a bit in this aspect because their one comes with Kangkung as well, so for the purposes of this alone, that will be ignored, although I will talk about it separately.
My judging criteria, it is which one I enjoyed in its entirety the most. That means, as a whole package, which one I enjoyed the most. I will also mention the different components and which one I like better where, and a bit of titbits about special side dishes that others might have. Price is NOT a factor except for tiebreakers. I think what I’ve learnt from this Nasi Lemak adventure is this: that Rice and Sambal probably weigh higher for me, but chicken must at least meet a certain standard.
The four consideration are what I would consider the Big 4 of Nasi Lemak in the KL / PJ area: Village Park, Nasi Lemak Burung Hantu, Nasi Lemak Shop, and Tanglin (sneaking in because it happens to be on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list). Of course there will be others that I will mention that I’ve also tried and enjoyed, but still, I think those four are what I would rank higher regardless, including Botak Nasi Lemak in PJ.
I think the other thing that should be noted is that there are generally two different styles: order at counter (see all side dishes, etc.) and order at seat. Nasi Lemak Burung Hantu and Tanglin being the two order at counter options. I think the big difference is that I think people will generally go for the side dishes if you order at counter.
Ranking
Starting in Reverse Order:
#4: Tanglin Nasi Lemak
The most frustrating part about putting Tanglin 4th? It’s the fact that their sambal is head and shoulders my favourite. What it is let down by? It is their chicken. I’m not sure if it is because I went there around lunch hour and they generally cater to a more breakfast crowd, but their chicken gets a big thumbs down from me. No taste or crispiness, and even so, really forgettable. Which is a shame because their rice and sambal ranks very highly for me.
Generally, I would say this is the most atas and chill environment. I think even looking at general complaints it is mainly the following: food quality is inconsistent because (I guess in my case as well) food is left cold and at the counter top for too long, leaving quality to be hit or miss. You will also miss having a lot of dishes if you come a bit later.
Their sambal is on the sweeter and and for me, it’s probably on the more spicier end (I personally it’s the spiciest among the 4 despite that sweetness).
Rice: 7/10
Sambal: 9/10
Chicken: 2/10
Overall: 5/10 (Pulled down by the Fried Chicken)
#3: Village Park Nasi Lemak
I think that taste-wise, Village Park is my 3rd, regardless, but the queue, limited hours, and crowded interior probably factor slightly into my decision to rank it 3rd as well. I generally think that lately, Village Park is not as good as how I remember it. I will still acknowledge that their chicken is the best among the four, but I think that’s why I said my criteria at the beginning. My Nasi Lemak ranking weighs a bit heavier to the rice and sambal (although as I mentioned at the beginning again, chicken must at least meet a certain standard - which is what pulled down Tanglin).
The rice is pretty good, but I think other sambals are better. As always, you can’t go to Village Park and not talk about the coconut shavings that go to the chicken, which I will acknowledge is really good as well. Just that the overall package of other Nasi Lemaks are just better for me. If I’m not mistaken, Village Park actually should be the cheapest among the 4. I’m always left surprised at how reasonably priced it actually is.
Rice: 7/10
Sambal: 7/10
Chicken: 9/10
Overall: 7.5/10
This is with add-on Sambal Sotong which I really liked as well (but this is not factored into the ranking)
#2: Nasi Lemak Shop
One disclaimer I will have. Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken is not their best dish. It is the curry chicken for me. Their curry chicken is actually so good, so rich in santan and just super delicious, so I actually recommend that. That being said, their fried chicken rendition is really good as well, and that’s why they slot in here at 2nd place. With the top two, it’s about a really good overall package. Which I mean everything included. To be fair, when I was eating this Nasi Lemak, it was actually pretty hard to rank between this and Nasi Lemak Burung Hantu - almost close to bringing it to a tiebreaker (although Nasi Lemak Burung Hantu is cheaper for the base dish).
So, a few unique things about Nasi Lemak shop: they have refillable sambal upon request. The one thing I did seem to notice is that their nasi lemak with fried chicken is RM1 more expensive at their Sunway 163 branch. I mean I kind of understand why, but maybe just something to take note of. But rice is very flavourful, sambal on point, chicken really good as well. What can I say? Where it loses out to Nasi Lemak Burung Hantu is just a bit everywhere (bar the chicken), I think Nasi Lemak Burung Hantu is better.
Rice: 8/10
Sambal: 8/10
Chicken: 8.5/10
Overall: 8/10
#1: Nasi Lemak Burung Hantu
My champion, at least for now: Nasi Lemak Burung Hantu. A few unique things that I will also point out - that they have a 24 hour branch (no, this did not factor into my consideration, but it is a go-to option for me in the middle of the night on occasion). I actually really like their other dishes as well, not limited to their tempeh, paru, and rendang.
Rice and sambal are really good - that is probably why they edge out Nasi Lemak Shop despite chicken being not as good. I still think their base - their Nasi Lemak with Fried chicken is still the best thing to order here, despite other options being available via the counter ordering. As mentioned before, they cheat a bit, as they offer their kangkung when available (which is an addition I quite like, but maybe some others don’t quite appreciate as much). Sambal is my second favourite, rice is my favourite - and this is precisely why they win the overall award for best Nasi Lemak for me in 2025.
Rice: 8.5/10
Sambal: 8.5/10
Chicken: 8/10
Overall: 8.5/10
Thoughts?
So, what do you guys think? Strongly agree / disagree with my ranking? Do leave your thoughts in the comments box below. I really do want to hear how other rank the Big 4 Nasi Lemak of KL / PJ.