Nasi Lemak Ong, Alor Setar

Nasi Lemak Ong (14 November, 2015)


Nasi Lemak Ong (GPS: 6.1231, 100.36339) is a famous nasi lemak shop in Alor Setar, Kedah. It is located on Jalan Putra, almost right smack in the heart of the city.

My wife heard about this nasi lemak restaurant - apparently it has been featured on many local foodie programmes, so on 14 November 2015, when we were in Alor Setar, we decided to make a trip to the shop. We arrived at 1:00 pm, a little over the peak meal period. There was still quite a long queue to place order. There is a choice of two types of rice: the white and the yellow.

Nasi Lemak Ong (14 November, 2015)


The various dishes at Nasi Lemak Ong (14 November, 2015)


It took a good 20 minutes (based on the time data recorded on the photos I took) for us to reach the head of the queue and to place our orders. There is certainly a huge variety of dishes to choose from. Since we were not going to be having Nasi Lemak Ong regularly, we did not mind splurging a bit. So I ordered chicken in dry curry, curry squid, hard-boiled egg and ladies fingers on white rice, while my wife ordered fried fish, hard boiled egg, ikan bilis and spicy brinjal on yellow rice. I am not sure (and had no chance to ask) why two types of rice, and are both nasi lemak?

My plate at Nasi Lemak Ong. Doesn't this look a lot like nasi kandar? (14 November, 2015)


My wife's plate at Nasi Lemak Ong (14 November, 2015)


The damage to our wallet was around RM11 for my plate and RM12 for my wife's. We personally had thought that my plate would cost more, but nevermind.

The counter, where we order our food, is partitioned from the rest of the restaurant. I had half expected that the restaurant would be packed, judging from the queue to order. Surprisingly there were plenty of tables, that we have plenty of choices to sit. Drinks are ordered separately. The restaurant is airy, with air conditioning and fans, so it was very comfortable even on the hot day.

And how's the nasi lemak? To be honest, I don't detect much lemakness to the rice. I did try my wife's yellow rice and she tried by white rice. Nothing too special. I may have set the bar too high, as I am used to homecooked nasi lemak which my wife prepares, and we have full charge of the amount of santan that goes into it.

Timothy Tye at Nasi Lemak Ong (14 November, 2015)


My wife at Nasi Lemak Ong (14 November, 2015)


On the whole, I found no difference between Nasi Lemak Ong and plain old Penang nasi kandar. In fact, what's on my plate looks more nasi kandar than nasi lemak (partly my fault, perhaps, for the choice of dishes I ordered). My wife fretted that our meal is pretty pricey, and she's probably right. We did finish our food - unless we were sick, it is not customary for us to leave anything uneaten. That's not the case with folks in the next table. I saw a number of plates with unfinished rice. In our opinion, it is bad upbringing to not finish your food The only plus point about discovering Nasi Lemak Ong is that it offers me a place to go for lunch the next time I am in Alor Setar, but if I found another recommendable eatery, I have no regret not eating here.

360° View of Nasi Lemak Ong on Google Maps Street View

Nasi Lemak Ong

Nasi Lemak Ong is on the Map of Coffee Shops in Alor Setar

Nasi Lemak Ong is on the Map of Alor Setar

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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