KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 — Literally translated as “trader’s rice”, nasi dagang is a popular East Coast dish, often eaten for breakfast. The mixture of glutinous rice and rice is steamed with coconut milk, chopped shallots, ginger shreds, lemongrass and fenugreek seeds.

In Kelantan, nasi dagang is a mixture of red Kelantanese fragrant rice and glutinous rice. As the red rice grains are usually partly polished, the Kelantan version of nasi dagang often has a trademark speckled reddish look.

In Terengganu, they prefer to only use glutinous rice. How it’s prepared also differs. Unlike the Kelantan nasi dagang, the Terengganu version features pearly white grains, which are plumper and a bit richer, as the glutinous rice grains are steamed twice whereby the coconut milk is lightly folded into the steamed glutinous rice just before the second steaming. 

Traditionally, nasi dagang is eaten with gulai ikan tongkol, a flavourful curry enriched with coconut milk and sweetened with palm sugar. It’s cooked with chunks of ikan tongkol (also known as ikan aya in the East Coast) or tuna fish, and small bird’s eye chillies. If you prefer, you can also pair the rice with gulai ayam (chicken) or even gulai daging (beef). The dish is often served with acar or crunchy vegetable pickles, kerisik or toasted grated coconut and a piece of hard-boiled egg. Sometimes, it’s served with fish crackers, often found on the East Coast.

Restoran Tuu Dok Ko 1488, Jalan Samudra Utara 2, Taman Samudra, Batu Caves. Open:6.30am to 5pm. Closed on Mondays. Tel: 012-6055415.

This 20-year old restaurant draws an early crowd of regulars who trickle in for their spread of delicious Kelantanese fare like nasi berlauk, nasi dagang, nasi kerabu and pulut pagi. Usually by 10am, these items run out. For lunch time, they serve nasi campur or mixed rice with dishes. Reputed to be one of the best in town, their nasi dagang is incredibly fragrant with a slight bite to the speckled red grains. It’s paired with a chunk of ikan tongkol with a thick curry, delicious kerisik and a dollop of sambal. The restaurant also serves superb laksam made with freshly steamed rice noodle rolls and a subtle white curry. You can also order wantan mee and roti canai here.

Che Nah Nasi Dagang, Jalan Setiamurni, Plaza Damansara, Damansara Heights, KL. Open daily: 7am to 9am (10am during weekends).

Find this food truck run by Kelantanese Che Nah parked along the roadside, near Meesha Sukira during the weekdays. It’s popular with the office workers who come by to pack their breakfast (usually the perennial favourite nasi lemak) or dine at the few tables laid out. They make small batches of nasi kerabu and the Kelantan version of nasi dagang hence it’s fresh. Pair it with a piece of ikan tongkol, hard-boiled egg, kerisik and acar for a satisfying breakfast. During weekends, they sell the Terengganu version of nasi dagang, all packed up in banana leaves for easy take-away. They also shift across from Menara CIMB on weekends.

Warung Kak Zai, No. 1, Jalan AU3/1, Taman Keramat, KL. Open: 7am to 12pm. Closed on Monday once a month. Tel: 017-3147566.

Just off the DUKE highway, this small shack located across from Restoran Ameen Bistro is well worth the drive for their delicious Terengganu style nasi dagang. The draw is the plump white grains rich with coconut milk, which have a balanced texture — not overly moist nor oily. It’s served with a thick and slightly sweet but incredibly appetising gulai ikan tongkol. Unlike other places, the ikan tongkol served here has a softer texture. You can also get nasi lemak with ikan tongkol here.

Restoran Mak Uda Selera Timur, Taman TTDI Jaya, Shah Alam. Open daily: 12am to 12pm. Tel: 012-2017494

This East Coast specialist is open 24 hours but nasi dagang is only available for two sessions daily; 6am to 12pm, and 4.30pm to 11pm. Help yourself to the plain white rice grains studded with fenugreek seeds. The rice tends to have a bit of bite to it and less coconut milk compared to the other Terengganu places. You can accompany your rice with a reddish gulai ikan tongkol with pieces of ikan tongkol, bird-eye chillies and slices of cucumber. This place also serves the rarely found pulut lepa or grilled banana leaf wrapped glutinous rice filled with a mixture of fish, grated coconut and chillies. 

Warung Terengganu, Hawker Center on Jalan SS19/6, Subang Jaya, PJ. Open: 7.30am to 12pm (Saturdays and Sundays). Tel: 016-2313490

Catch this weekend-only stall for Terengganu style nasi dagang and nasi minyak. The pure white nasi dagang is served with just acar and a bowl of gulai ikan tongkol, so add on how much of the thick brownish sweet gravy you like. Also available at the stall is nasi minyak or yellow tinged rice grains. It’s usually served with gulai daging or ayam masak merah. During the weekdays, the stall does catering.