KUCHING: A young Malay couple is whetting appetites across the board serving up the much vaunted ‘nasi minyak’ at their eateries in the city.
The Malay Pilau Rice has hitherto only been associated with ‘majlis kenduri’, specifically wedding ceremonies and special occasions, where the fragrant rice is served with other side dishes to guests.
Today, one need not wait to attend a Malay wedding ceremony to have a taste of nasi minyak. Thanks to enterprising Shahrul Hazeed Mohd Hisyam and his wife Effa Zulaikha Sangkap.
One can enjoy this rice serving specially prepared and available daily at their Kukus Nasi Minyak outlets.
There are two Kukus Nasi Minyak restaurant branches here currently, with one located at Jalan Satok and the just-opened branch at Vivacity Megamall here.
Speaking to New Sarawak Tribune, restaurant, Shahrul said his nasi minyak restaurant has brought him closer to people of other races.
“It is really surprising that our customers are not only Malays but there are Chinese and many others.
“For instance, during this Chinese New Year celebration, I received so many catering orders from Chinese families for their open houses.
“They ordered the ‘kenduri’ set, and this is really surprising to see. And we feel touched and grateful because they appreciate our food,” said the former civil servant turned entrepreneur.
It all started with 30 year-old Shahrul and his wife, Effa Zulaikha Sangkap providing nasi minyak catering services.
Slowly the couple expanded their business by opening a physical restaurant and started operating in November 2021.
The recipe, Shahrul shared, is from his wife’s family where it has been passed down from the past generation.
“We did improvise the recipe a little in order to suit the taste bud of customers. Thus far, the feedback that we received especially from the elderly is that the cooking tasted like how the elders used to prepare the dish back then.
“In the olden days, we only could have this special nasi minyak during Malay weddings or after ‘gotong-royong’ activities. But now, people can come over to our place to enjoy the dish anytime,” he said.
Shahrul said his restaurant is not just serving ordinary nasi minyak, but uses quality Basmati rice.
“We don’t use white rice to cook the rice, but basmati rice which has a low glycemic index.
“This is good for one who wants to maintain a healthy lifestyle and Basmati rice is also good for those with diabetes,” he said.
On the preparation for cooking the rice, Shahrul said it is cooked traditionally in a rice cooker first and once the rice is half cooked, it will be brought to steam.
“After the rice is steamed, the outcome gives a very light texture,” he said.
As for the nasi minyak, he said customers can enjoy them with side dishes such as curries, pineapple chutney, ’ayam merah’, ‘daging hitam’ and many others.
At the restaurant, they also serve a special menu where customers can try their ‘nasi samin’, ‘nasi tomato’, or ‘nasi hujan panas’.
Following the success of opening the second restaurant branch last month, Shahrul hopes to open more of his restaurant branches in the main cities of Sarawak.
“After a period of one year, we plan to open our next branch in Bintulu, God willing,” he said.
By 2025, Shahrul is looking at opening around seven to 10 of his restaurant branches in the state.
“Right now, we are also looking at extending our second branch and want to adopt the concept of how Japanese restaurants use hybrid conveyor belts to serve their food.
“With that, this could be the first local restaurant that serves nasi minyak through such a serving system,” he said.
Meanwhile, earlier on Saturday (Feb 4), a simple launching ceremony was held for the opening of the Nasi Kukus Minyak restaurant at Vivacity Megamall.
Former deputy state secretary Datuk Abdul Ghafur Shariff was among the guests of honour invited to officiate at the launch of the restaurant.
“I used to frequent Kukus Nasi Minyak Satok Branch since its inception. It is not just another restaurant, but specialises in preparing the Sarawak Malay delicacies ala ‘kenduri’ or ‘pengilan’ style.
“The good old days are now a thing of the past and most of us have fond and vivid memories of ‘nasi pengilan’.
“But, we are now in the 21st century, and Kukus Nasi Minyak is now able to provide customers with the ‘nasi pengilan’ experience every day without fail,” he said.
For those who wish to know about Kukus Nasi Minyak, visit their restaurant or their Facebook page at Kukus Satok or Kukus Vivacity.
