GEORGE TOWN, June 22 — It can be eaten for breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea, dinner, supper or any time of the day when hunger strikes you.

It can be a snack or a meal or a side dish..

Best of all, it can be found at hawker centres, roadside stalls, street corners, coffee shops, cafés, restaurants, hotels and practically everywhere throughout Malaysia.

It is no wonder that the ubiquitous nasi lemak is dubbed as the Malaysian national dish.

Nasi lemak translated literally means “fatty” or “oily” rice but it probably was meant to mean rich, creamy rice.

This dish is served in a variety of ways, the most common being wrapped in banana leaves as a simple, grab and go meal.

What’s so special about the nasi lemak is the fragrant rich creamy fluffy rice cooked in coconut cream.

Sometimes, screwpine leaves (pandan) are added to the rice while it’s being steamed (or boiled) to give it a sweet pandan aroma that enhances the creamy flavour of the rice.

Then comes the best part that either makes or break the dish — sambal.

No nasi lemak is worth eating if it is served without a dollop of spicy sweet sambal that either leaves a burning trail down your throat or gives you just the right amount of heat.

A conventional packet of nasi lemak — sometimes wrapped in banana leaves, sometimes in brown paper and sometimes in newspaper with a plastic layer — contains the required sambal, crunchy fried anchovies with peanuts, hard boiled egg and cucumber slices.

Every ingredient in this small little packet plays a part because when combined, it produces a very potent dish that is flavourful with a contradiction of textures and tastes.

The creamy rice is given a burst of flavour by the sambal but this is balanced out by the cool cucumber slices that take away the spicy sensation.

The fluffy rice is then given a crunch by the fragrant crispy anchovies and peanuts and naturally, the dish is made a full meal with a hard-boiled egg.

For small eaters, a packet is just nice for breakfast or tea break but for those with more room to spare in their tummies, two or three packets of nasi lemak for lunch or dinner is the norm.

Other than the ready-packed nasi lemak, there are now stalls that let you choose a variety of dishes to go with your creamy coconut rice such as thick sambal ikan bilis (anchovies cooked in sambal), crunchy fried fish, fried chicken pieces, sambal udang (shrimps cooked in sambal), chicken curry, fish curry and many more.

You can get your nasi lemak fix practically anywhere in Malaysia but when in Penang, don’t forget to check out these five famous places:

1. Ali Nasi Lemak, Sri Weld Food Court, Beach Street, George Town
GPS: 5.417856,100.342703
Time: 11am-3pm

2. Roadside stall under a tree, Burmah Road
GPS: 5.42011,100.325947
Time: 7.30am-11am

3. Johnny’s Nasi Lemak, Jin Hoe Coffee shop, Cantonment Road, Pulau Tikus
GPS: 5.431259,100.311637
Time: 8am-11am

4. Stall along a narrow back lane off Transfer Road, George Town
GPS: 5.42153,100.330957
Time: 8am–11am

5. Liverpool Nasi Lemak, Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim, Jelutong
GPS: 5.392696,100.307209
Time: 6pm-2am