Every family has secrets. Chef Halipah’s family is no different. Fiercely protective of their heirloom sambal recipe, this family—of chefs—knows how to tantalise Singapore’s taste buds with authentic Malay dishes like Nasi Lemak, Lontong, Mee Soto and more. Afterall, they’ve consistently drawn long queues for the past forty years at Nurul Delights in Bukit Batok West Avenue 4.
Embark on a high-stakes culinary mission as your host and award-winning filmmaker Woo Yen Yen attempts to uncover Chef Halipah’s kitchen secrets, which go all the way back to her kampung childhood.
What to expect from this plate of dramedy?
* The hunt for Chef Halipah’s legendary sambal recipe (will we get it?)
* Tips on how to keep a family food business thriving
*The secret to picking the perfect coconut milk for that addictive Nasi Lemak rice
*A candid look at what it actually takes to run a hawker stall
*A fictional narrator reminiscing her nenek’s Nasi Lemak
* A sudden unshakeable craving for Malay food.
Those who’ve grown up eating Nasi Lemak will find this Eat by Ear episode so spicy, crunchy and creamy that you’ll want to come back for a second helping.
YEN YEN
This is Eat by Ear, where every episode is inspired by a beloved dish, and the chef who cooks it with care … like an artist.
The Eater, played by an actor, will “ooh” and “ahh” over the food … with you.
I'm your host, Woo Yen Yen. This programme is brought to you with the support of LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore.
Are you relaxed? Are you comfortable? Do you have your pack of tissues ready …
Because listeners … you might salivate.
YEN YEN
If you are on a keto diet or a paleo diet, or any kind of low-carb diet, this episode is dangerous!
Because…
CHORUS
Nasi lemak!
YEN YEN
Nasi means rice in Malay and lemak means “fat” or “rich”. Nasi lemak is rice steamed in rich coconut cream, lightly salted, with a whiff of pandan leaves.
It’s a breakfast food in Singapore and Malaysia. Traditionally, nasi lemak is wrapped in a banana leaf in a cute triangular pack, topped with crispy “ikan bilis” also known as anchovies, crunchy “kacang” or roasted peanuts, and half an egg, served either hard-boiled, fried, or as an omelette.
A few slices of fresh cucumber, and it’s an affordable balanced meal!
What makes nasi lemak truly deadly is the SAMBAL – a sweet shrimpy chilli sauce, that when mixed with the coconut rice, overcomes any last bit of resistance you might have to eating⎯even more rice.
CHEF HALIPAH
Sekarang cik…anak-anak cik dah pandai masak semua. Jadi cik tak masak lah, anak-anak yang masak… Mee rebus, mee soto… semua anak yang masak.
YEN YEN
Now all my kids know how to cook. So, I don’t cook anymore. My children cook mee rebus, mee soto, they cook everything. I taught them. So now I am like their boss, I supervise them.
CHEF HALIPAH
Jadi bos… Macam tengok saje tu! [laughter]
YEN YEN
Chef Halipah Binti Kadir, together with her husband Mr Basir Bin Sujari, have been serving traditional Malay dishes like nasi lemak, lontong, mee rebus, mee soto and mee siam at Nurul Delights, Block 413 Bukit Batok West Avenue 4, in Singapore.
They started their business 40 years ago.
Between them and their four children, the family now owns three Nurul Delights in the West of Singapore, and one in a school canteen.
Chef Halipah and Mr Basir are now in their 70s.
HOME CHEF
Aiyoh …
Such a long line already!
7.37am only and there are so many people … how long do I have to wait for my nasi lemak?
Aiyoh … Look at how many people are buying nasi lemak. How much rice do they sell a day?
CHEF HALIPAH
Memang nasi lemak banyak, satu hari 7, 8 paket kan..10 paket.
YEN YEN
Here, we sell a lot of nasi lemak…up to 7, 8 bags of rice… sometimes 10 bags. Rice, with coconut milk.
Note that Chef Halipah is referring to 5KG bags of rice - this means that she sells about 40 to 50 kilograms of rice a day.
CHORUS
NASI
CHEF HALIPAH
Nasi apa? Pakai beras Kampung, NTUC rice ke?
YEN YEN
We use the kampong brand or NTUC brand. Add some Pandan leaves and some salt. We don’t use Basmati rice because the taste is a bit different. It is a bit too grainy, the grains are too separate, they don’t come together enough. The rice we use is soft and sticks together more.
CHEF HALIPAH
…dia masih lembut, ya lah kembang sikit, lembut. Jadi budak-budak makan pun sedap kan.
YEN YEN
So when the kids eat it, it’s delicious.
CHEF HALIPAH
Siapa nak terperah? Tak ada orang nak perah. Apa nama tu… Heng Guan ke apa… santan Heng Guan ah.
YEN YEN
Who will grate and squeeze their own coconut milk nowadays? No one wants to do that. What's that brand of coconut milk, Heng Guan coconut milk.
CHEF HALIPAH
Tapi macam Heng Guan dengan santan Kara, ada sikit, rasa cik lah, pada cik lah, sikit berlainan ah. Pasal kara dia pekat, jadi tak berderai.
YEN YEN
To me Heng Guan and Kara coconut milk are slightly different. Because Kara is thick so it won’t dissolve as evenly.
CHEF HALIPAH
Kalau Heng Guan tu dia tak pekat. Dia macam tak… masak nasi dia boleh berderai lah kira.
YEN YEN
With Heng Guan, it’s not as thick, so when you cook the rice, it dissolves much better.
HOME CHEF
Wah business so good. Just one hour since they opened, non-stop queue. Everyday!
I also want to open my own stall lah.
But because got to take care of the children, so I do home-based food business.
Now even my children say, “Open a stall lah!”
But then there will be so many more headaches. Much more than I have now.
Aiyoh, look at how many people are buying nasi lemak! How much rice do they sell a day?
CHORUS
SAMBAL
YEN YEN
Every nasi lemak chef guards their SAMBAL recipe, like their family heirloom, passed down through generations. For it is this secret sauce that truly sets the masters apart.
I asked Chef Halipah about her SAMBAL.
CHEF HALIPAH
Tak, I never tell semua orang tak boleh lah, I give my workers only la. But I tell another person cannot lah.
YEN YEN
No, I never tell everyone. I only tell my workers. But I cannot tell anyone else. For the sake of my business. Only my family.
After some persuasion, Chef Halipah reveals just a little bit.
CHEF HALIPAH
Kita letak udang kering, letak belacan, letak bawang yang cukup. bawang putih, itu je. Kalau tak ada udang, tak ada rasa lemaknya kan?
YEN YEN
We add dried shrimp, shrimp paste, a generous amount of onions and garlic. That’s it.
CHEF HALIPAH
Tak ada belacan, Tak ada rasa lemaknya. Mesti nak ada udang geragau lah, udang geragau, letak belacan, bawang putih sikit. ha pakai cili-cili boh dia orang hantar tu lah.
YEN YEN
If you don’t add the shrimp and shrimp paste, you won’t get the rich taste. Then you add the chilli paste that gets delivered to us.
CHEF HALIPAH
Masak sambal ni, mau dua jam, dua jam setengah.
YEN YEN
It takes two and a half hours to cook the sambal.
CHEF HALIPAH
You fry cili first, biar dia put dia punya apa? Dia punya barang-barangnya dah, tu je lah.
YEN YEN
You fry the chilli first and then add all the ingredients. Then you stir until it’s dry.
CHEF HALIPAH
Kacau dia sampai dia kering lah. After that, you put sugar, garam, dengan Ajinomoto sedikitlah. Buat perasa dialah.
YEN YEN
After that, you add sugar, salt and Ajinomoto. Just a little, for taste.
CHEF HALIPAH
Tak kering tak sedap lah kan? Cair tak…not nice ah... mau kering macam ini sikit, boleh ada rasalah.
YEN YEN
If it’s not dry, it won’t taste good. If it’s watery, it’s not nice. It needs to be dry like this, then you get the flavour.
HOME CHEF
Ahh…I see Cik Pah, the boss sitting in the kopitiam, drinking her TEH, watching the queue, talking to her customers.
She looks so cute and warm …but actually, she’s the big boss. “Air tenang jangan fikir tiada buaya”… Don’t think that calm waters are free from crocodiles. I wonder what kind of fierce crocodile Cik Pah is.
CHEF HALIPAH
Kecil tinggal kampung la, Kampung Bukit Timah, Batu 9. Sampai dah kahwin la…sekolah kat Jalan Teck Whye, kita turun bawah tu pergi sekolah.
YEN YEN
When I was a kid, I lived in the kampung or village. Kampung Bukit Timah, 9th mile.
CHEF HALIPAH
Dah kahwin, dah ikut suami dah tak tinggal kampung lagi lah.
YEN YEN
I lived there until I got married. Went to school at Jalan Teck Whye. We would go downhill to go to school.
Once I got married, I followed my husband and never lived in the kampung again.
MR BASIR
Bila duduk di kampung tu, jadi orang tua saya suka masak-masak nasi, orang kahwin, masak apa semua kan? Nasi Ambeng semua…
YEN YEN
In the kampung, my parents would cook for weddings.
Mr Basir, Chef Halipah’s husband and business partner explains…
MR BASIR
Jadi dia masak kueh-kueh ni apa semua, nasi lemak apa, mie rebus apa. Kadi kalau merayap kan anak ini merayap lah. Jadi di situlah anak adik-beradik saya semua minat lah, jadi semua ini kecil-kecil kan… jadi membantu orang tua saya.
YEN YEN
They would cook many things, nasi ambeng, kuihs, nasi lemak, mee rebus. We would sell them in packets in the kampung. That’s how we got to roam all over. My siblings and I got interested in the food business from young, from helping my parents.
CHEF HALIPAH
Ya lah macam mak masak ke? Mak dulu pun jual nasi lemak, bawa pergi ke tempat kerja dia. Ha jadi kita pun belajar dengan emak lah kira dulu, nasi lemak dengan dia. Habis dah buka kedai ni kita masak nasi lemak atas, kita jual bawah…
YEN YEN
My mum would cook nasi lemak to sell it at her workplace. Come to think of it, I guess I first learned from my mum. Once we opened the minimart downstairs, we also cooked nasi lemak upstairs at our home and sold it there.
Halipah and family still live upstairs from her stall.
CHEF HALIPAH
Cik tinggal atas saje, ha jadi senang. Save transport, save masa, semua save kan? Tekan lif turun bawah…
YEN YEN
I just live upstairs, so it's easy. Save on transport, save on time, save everything, right? Just press the lift and go down...
HOME CHEF
Every day I see Cik Pah here.
Looks like she’s watching the world go by, but I know.
I know what she’s really doing.
She is watching her staff.
Hiring good workers is the hardest thing.
Very, very hard.
CHEF HALIPAH
Hari ni satu pekerja tak datang. Kalau cik tahu dia tak datang, cik tutup kedai je… Habis kalau seorang.. seorang depan, seorang belakang, tak cukup orang tak boleh. Mesti nak 2 orang depan, satu orang belakang, 3 orang nak cukup, baru boleh senang kata orang kan, orang tak menanti lama.
YEN YEN
Today my worker didn't come. If I knew she wasn't coming, I would have closed the stall...Because if there's only one person... one in front, one in the back, it's not enough, it won't work. 3 is just right, then it’s easy. No one waits too long.
HOME CHEF
All these customers willing to wait.
They all seem nice, maybe they’re not that hungry yet.
But I’m sure got many customer problems also.
Like when I do my home-based business,
Sometimes the order is delayed,
Because my kitchen so small and too many orders,
Or sometimes delivery got problem,
They get angry at me and ask for refund!
Aiyoh, I don’t dare to start my own stall lah.
But right now, I’m getting hungry
I will eat my nasi lemak here first then buy back for the family.
CHEF HALIPAH
Kadang dia cakap perlahan, ada nanti orang dalam tanya apa? Apa? Kan dia nak marah ni pula, dan aku dah cakap aku tak dengar. Padahal dia cakap perlahan, orang dalam pula tak dengar. Kan orang dah pakai tudung lagi, mana nak dengar kan?
YEN YEN
Sometimes the customers speak too softly. Then when my staff ask them what they want, they get angry. They say, “I told you already, didn’t you hear?” when actually they are the ones who speak too softly. Then if my staff is wearing the head scarf that day, it’s even harder to hear right?
CHEF HALIPAH
Itulah biasa yang begitu lah pelanggan. Tapi cakap, kita cakap dengan dia orang, kalau dia orang macam bising, salah ke apa, cakap sorry je. Kalau buat salah ke apa cakap sorry eh, ada kalau tak nak kita buatkan yang lain. Kita nak budi bahasa sikit lah, tak ada budi bahasa susah juga nak ada orang kan beli?
YEN YEN
But that’s normal customer behaviour. I tell my staff, if the customers make a fuss, or we made a mistake, just say sorry. If they reject the food, just prepare a new serving.
CHEF HALIPAH
Jadi kita nak kata orang lebih kurang bertolak ansur itu yang mustahak lah kepada perniagaan kan?
YEN YEN
We must show good manners, if we don’t, it’ll be hard for people to buy from us, right?
MR BASIR
Kita hidup ini, tak lari daripada apa… problem. Tak lari daripada masalah. Jadi masalahnya kita hadapi dengan… Macam saya cakaplah, dengan sabar, dengan ilmu, dengan kejujuran kita, dengan ikhlasnya, kita sabar, supaya kasi orang tu faham lah.
YEN YEN
In this life, you can’t run away from problems. But if we face those problems with patience, knowledge, honesty, sincerity, then we can make people understand.
MR BASIR
Jadi kita jangan marah. Nombor satu, jangan marah. Itu je. Sabar tu. Kalau kita sabar Insya Allah.
YEN YEN
So, we don’t get angry. We just have to be patient. If we’re patient, things will be eased for us.
HOME CHEF
Cik! One nasi lemak, extra begedil, eat here
Yes, makan sini
Hungry lah.
And 4 packets bungkus please!
CHEF HALIPAH
Dia orang tahu cik jual kat dia orang datang jauh… pindah Woodlands pun dia orang ada datang. Pasal teringat nasi lemak sini kan, rasa sini tak sama kata dia. Sebab itu dia orang pindah Jurong ke, mana dia datang lah sakali-sekali dah tak lari lah.
Pasal dia ingin… dah lama tak makan nasi lemak Cik Pah.
YEN YEN
They know how I do my business, so they come from afar, as far away as Woodlands. Because they keep thinking about the nasi lemak here. They say the nasi lemak there is not the same. That’s why when they move to Jurong or wherever, they still come back. Because they miss eating Cik Pah’s nasi lemak.
HOME CHEF
Ahhh…
Coconut with a top note of pandan leaves.
Just like the old days
Waking up lazily on a weekend
Little green mountain peaks
Steam coming out
Someone opens a packet
And I know it’s sambal mixed with nasi lemak
My nenek’s nasi lemak
MR BASIR
Dia kalau hari biasa ni panjang sampai sana, panjang queue dia panjang. Pasal dia orang sanggup tunggu tau? Pasal dia sanggup tunggu 20 minit?
YEN YEN
On a normal day, the queue would go all the way there, very long. But do you know why they are willing to wait, sometimes up to 20 minutes?
MR BASIR
Itu pasal kita kekalkan resipi.. Jangan kurangkan. Apa pun kita jangan kurangkan resepi. Dia orang banyak kurangkan, sebab tu lari.
YEN YEN
That’s why we keep the recipe. Don’t give less, don’t be stingy. A lot of people skimp on the ingredients, that’s why the taste is off.
HOME CHEF
White rice, yellow triangle omelette,
Fierce red sambal.
Resting gently on the rice, the golden fried chicken and my favourite potato cutlet,
Begedil.
First scoop…
Just the rice.
Hmmmm…. warm, salty, coconuty,
Ooh, lemaknya…
The taste of kampung, of living on an island.
Next scoop, rice with the sweet shrimpy sambal.
Mmmm, sedapnya…
The sambal sticks to every grain of rice. I let it sit in my mouth just a little bit, then chew.
Now to add texture…
Rice with a little bit of omelette, a bit of crunchy chicken, a bit of begedil, and a LOT of sambal…
Am I on diet? Who cares!
Do I have bills to pay? Who cares!
Are my husband and children hungry at home? Who cares!
Like a Kerongcong song, in my mouth.
Sedapnya!
Alamak, Cik Pah is watching me, so embarrassing lah …
This is sooooo good,
But only three dollars fifty cents a plate – How does she make money?
CHEF HALIPAH
Bukan nak kaya tu, tak ada lah… nak duit banyak, tak ada. Waktu cik tak naikkan harga, dia orang kata “Naik harga lah, Cik Pah!”. Tak naikkan. Tu lah $3.50, $3.50 kalau boleh lah kan? Kalau boleh, kalau sewa dia naik lagi tu, tak tahulah nak cakap kan? Ni sebab sewa mahal.
YEN YEN
No, my goal is not to make a lot of money. It’s not that. When I didn’t raise my prices, people kept telling me “Raise the price, Cik Pah!” No, I didn’t raise it. It’s $3.50. $3.50 is ok.
CHEF HALIPAH
Tapi kita boleh survive lagi okey lah. Boleh bayar sewa, boleh bayar pekerja, boleh bayar barang-barang yang kita order tu, asal jangan berhutang, jangan pinjam-pinjam orang dah itu je. Cukup bayar sewa, cukup bayar gaji pekerja, cukup beli barang-barang itu dah kita dah bersyukur.
YEN YEN
But if the rent goes up again, I don’t know what will happen. Now even though the rent is expensive, we’re still surviving. It’s ok. I can pay the rent, staff salaries, and the supplies.
As long as we stay out of debt and we don’t borrow from others, we’re grateful.
HOME CHEF
Ahhh, Cik Pah is smiling at me,
I smile back,
Now I know,
She’s not watching her staff,
She is watching her customers,
Like me!
How I finish every bit on the plate,
How I’m sweating from the sambal,
But also relaxed, happy.
Maybe I SHOULD start my stall.
But seriously, if I really start a stall, it may be for the rest of my life…
Cik Pah is in her 70s, and she’s still here. When will she retire?
CHEF HALIPAH
Tak nak. Tak, bukan tak nak, lagi cik ni boleh berjalan, satu exercise, kan? Kita lagi boleh jalan, kita turun jalan… Makcik atas, jadi turun, jalan, turun, jalan.
YEN YEN
I don’t want. Not that I don’t want to retire. As long as I can walk, it’s like a form of exercise, right? As long as I can still be mobile, go down, walk around, go up, go down, walk around…
CHEF HALIPAH
Buka kedai yang sama masih ada kedai lah, jadi bos sendiri lah kan? Macam cik ni ha Nurul Delight.
YEN YEN
I like it. I’m happy. If I could, I’d like all my children to open a stall. Open a similar stall, and be their own boss, like me at Nurul Delights.
HOME CHEF
Hmm…
Eh! Wait, my children and husband must be so hungry.
Aiyah, I take this nasi lemak home to feed the kids first,
They must be hungry.
CHEF HALIPAH
Cik niat hati itu, kita kata orang makan, orang sini orang tua-tua, orang lama lah, kira kan? Ada pun dah pindah ikut anak, tapi banyakkan dah jiran lama lah.
YEN YEN
In my heart, my intention is for people to eat.
CHEF HALIPAH
Kawasan ini kan lama cik dah berpuluh tahun niaga kat dekat sini.
Kita ingat dia orang makan, kenyang. Alhamdulillah bersyukur.
YEN YEN
A lot of people here are the elderly. Some have moved away to live with their children. But they are old neighbours.
We think of them, we want them to eat, to be full. We are grateful, praise be to God.
YEN YEN
Chef Halipah Binte Kadir with her husband Mr Basir Bin Sujari, serves Nasi Lemak at Nurul Delights at Block 413 Bukit Batok West Avenue 4 in Singapore from 6.30am to 3pm every day.
Eat by Ear – Nasi Lemak is written by Adib Kosnan and Woo Yen Yen
produced by Woo Yen Yen & Terence Lau
Our interviewers are Adib Kosnan and Yazid Jalil
Our sound designer is Lim Tingli
Voice artist is Dalifah Shahril
Singer is Yakuza Baby
Our theme music is composed by Joe Ng
Field recording by Arnold San Juan
Studio sound engineering by Steven Cheong
Our production assistant is Chua Chia Hui
Design and photography by Timothy Wee
Our advisors are KF Seetoh & Patrick Cox
Eat by Ear is a Woo Yen Yen production
A huge thank you to LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore for supporting this work.
You can listen to all our episodes and find photos and important notes about each episode at eatbyear.com.
For the final minute, find a comfortable seated position. You can sit cross-legged on the floor or sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground. Keep your spine straight.
Gently close your eyes.
Listen.
[Ambient Soundtrack]