KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 — Started in June this year, Taiping Boy Nasi Lemak is now available at various coffeeshops around PJ & KL.

It’s a bold step for former electronics engineer Ong Khaik Hean, 45, and his wife, Loo Ee Ling. Previously in the CCTV business for 20 years, Ong decided to take a break when his partners decided to dissolve the business.

As a stay-at-home father of three children, he started cooking as a hobby. About a year ago, he realised that it was hard to find nice and authentic nasi lemak in coffeeshops.

So he decided to start this business using a combination of recipes; some inherited from his Nyonya mother and others he had come up with after tasting various types of nasi lemak all over Malaysia.

A crowd favourite is their kambing curry that is available during the weekends.

Their first stall was at Restaurant Sorn in Taman Paramount but since there wasn’t much foot traffic, they closed that stall and moved it to Damansara Kim.

Their fourth outlet at Restaurant Woh in Bandar Sri Damansara will be opening on November 22. Operating from a central kitchen in SS2, their stalls offer nasi lemak with a choice of different dishes. "It’s nothing spectacular but it’s the combination that makes it different... sweet, sour and spicy flavours,” explained Ong.

On a daily basis, you can order their ayam rempah goreng.

Add sambal hae bee to your rice for more oomph!

Taste their food and you’ll notice that each dish resonates with a homemade feel. That’s because Ong only uses homemade spice pastes and no processed items. You also won’t find any commercial curry powders in his kitchen.

Even just tasting their basic nasi lemak is incredibly satisfying. We especially love how well the not overly spicy sambal with just a hint of tanginess (thanks to asam keping, we find out from Ong) pairs with their fluffy coconut milk rice. Even their crunchy ikan bilis and peanuts hit the spot perfectly. An additional bonus are their extra dishes.

A specialty is their acar Nyonya, painstakingly made by Ong’s mother, according to a recipe inherited from his grandfather.

As it requires a lot of work — from cutting the vegetables to the same size and squeezing the vegetables dry to achieve their crunchy texture — they limit this offering to weekends only.

The acar made by Ong’s Nyonya mother is excellent and served only during weekends.

On a daily basis, you will find their ayam rempah goreng or fried chicken. They also rotate various chicken dishes such as ayam masak merah, rendang ayam or kapitan ayam.

Ong’s version of ayam masak merah has a milder taste with a touch of creaminess from the use of coconut milk. You also have a choice of rendang lembu, sambal kerang (cockles) and sambal sotong. On weekends, they also offer a crowd favourite, the aromatic and tender kambing curry.

Ong also offers sambal hae bee, an unusual addition to nasi lemak, after listening to a friend’s suggestion after tasting something similar in Klang. A spoonful of the fragrant dried prawns boosts the flavour of your fluffy rice, making each spoonful incredibly addictive.

Compared to his days as an engineer, Ong is much happier even though he is incredibly busy running around. He adds, "It’s very rewarding, people say they will come back and it’s all by word of mouth. People appreciate what you do.”

One of their stalls can be found at this coffeeshop located at Lucky Garden, Bangsar.

The stalls are open for business from 7am to 2pm daily. Their off days follow each of the coffeeshop’s business trading days. They also do catering upon request. A basic order of nasi lemak is RM3 while add-ons range from RM1 to RM4.

You can find Taiping Boy Nasi Lemak at:

Kedai Kopi dan Makanan Chun Heong 12, Lorong Ara Kiri Lucky Garden, Bangsar, KL

Restoran Kam Heong 8, Jalan Tengah, PJ New Town, PJ

Restoran Golden Kim Wah Jalan SS20/10, Damansara Kim, PJ

Restaurant Woh Jalan Cempaka SD12/2, Bandar Sri Damansara, KL