Dickson Nasi Lemak Reopening After “5-Figure” Loss From Months-Long Closure Due To M’sia Chicken Ban

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No ayam goreng berempah after reopening

But there will still be no ayam goreng berempah after the Aug 1 reopening. “We are putting that on hold first till we get fresh chicken legs from Malaysia after the export ban,” says Loyi.

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Instead, she will be serving new combinations for her gourmet nasi lemak including Chicken Rendang ($8.30), Beef Rendang ($8.60) and Sambal Sotong ($8). Frozen chicken will be used for the rendang. “As rendang is like dried curry, [the focus] is mainly on the flavour of the rendang sauce,” Loyi says. Each pack of nasi lemak comes with coconut milk-infused rice, fried anchovies and peanuts, half a hard-boiled egg and cucumbers.

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Nasi lemak taco for National Day

For the upcoming National Day, Dickson Nasi Lemak will also serve a limited-edition Nasi Lemak Taco ($16 for two) in collaboration with Japanese-Mexican restaurant Mezcla. The taco will be available from Aug 1 to Sept 12.

It comes with a crispy seaweed tempura shell loaded with coconutty rice and all the fixings of nasi lemak like sambal, fried anchovies, peanuts, cucumbers and a piece of ayam goreng berempah, the latter frozen chicken thigh chunks marinated with Dickson’s proprietary sauce and rempah.

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Five-figure loss from closure

Dickson Nasi Lemak suffered a “five-figure” loss from closing, as Loyi still had to pay rent for her shophouse space, utilities and staff salaries. It’s challenging circumstances for the young Malaysia-born F&B owner, who also runs hip Tanjong Pagar cafe Champion Bolo Bun and is planning to open an overseas Champion outpost. 

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She set up Dickson Nasi Lemak in April this year. The sparse, takeaway-only Joo Chiat Road space is markedly different from the trendy three-storey Champion, which sports an artfully minimalist look inspired by brands like Aesop and Blue Bottle Coffee.

“My friends and family asked me why the switch from bolo bun to nasi lemak,” recalls Loyi, who went into selling traditional food to prove naysayers wrong. “A lot of people think that a youngster opening a cafe is quite common. Some people put labels on me like, ‘Oh she only knows how to run a cafe, or she only knows how to bake, she doesn’t know anything else.’ When people say I can’t do it, I want to prove them wrong.” 

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The nasi lemak recipe

Her nasi lemak is very similar to the one served at the famous Village Park Restaurant in Loyi’s native Kuala Lumpur, which she frequents whenever she is back in her hometown. The recipe comes from a chef who had been working at the Damansara Uptown eatery for 15 years and left to join a coffeeshop owned by Loyi’s family friend.

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“It was my dream to bring Village Park’s nasi lemak to Singapore, so I reached out to [my family friend]. I wanted to challenge myself to run a business that’s very traditional and not reliant on the interior being very nice,” she says. “Dickson Nasi Lemak is furnished but not renovated. We just painted a wall. It’s not like Champion where the interior is very nice.” Dickson Nasi Lemak was named after Dickson Road in Little India, which was initially where Loyi wanted to open a dine-in nasi lemak joint. “The deal fell through,” she says.

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Due to URA restrictions, her current Joo Chiat Road space does not allow for dining in. Loyi adds: “We’re definitely looking to move Dickson Nasi Lemak into a dine-in space, as well as expand our menu. We have all the skillsets of a traditional kopitiam, such as [preparing] chee cheong fun, Nanyang beverages and toasts, but we’re looking for the right people, location and time before we make the next move of expanding.”

Dickson Nasi Lemak reopens Aug 1, 2022. 320 Joo Chiat Rd, S427571. Open daily except Wed, 8am-10am; 11.30am-2.30pm. www.dicksonnasilemak.com.

Photos: Dickson Nasi Lemak