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Nasi Ulam

Peranakan Nyonya tradition from the Straits Chinese community — nasi ulam reflects the Nyonya practice of using fresh herbs as a primary ingredient, drawing on Malay kampung garden culture.

MildEasy to eatHalal Friendly
Nasi Ulam

Story

Nasi ulam is Peranakan cuisine's most underrepresented masterpiece: cold cooked rice mixed with a generous quantity of fresh herbs — torch ginger flower, kaffir lime leaf, Vietnamese coriander, lemongrass, turmeric leaf — sliced thin and tossed through the rice with toasted coconut, dried shrimp, and sometimes salted fish. The result is a herb salad that also happens to be a rice dish, intensely fragrant and completely different from anything else in Singapore's hawker repertoire.

Shiok Factor

Nyonya grandmothers made nasi ulam with whatever grew in the kitchen garden — the recipe was an exercise in abundance, using herbs as a primary ingredient rather than a garnish

Today it is increasingly rare in hawker centres, preserved mainly by Peranakan restaurants and heritage cooks who understand what is being lost.

🏷️ Key Ingredients

Tap any ingredient to learn its role

🥢 How to Eat Like a Local

  1. 1

    Smell the plate before eating — a good nasi ulam is fragrant from a metre away

  2. 2

    Mix the rice and herbs together thoroughly from the bottom — the toasted coconut and dried shrimp settle

  3. 3

    Take a forkful with visible slices of at least three different herbs — the combination is the entire point

  4. 4

    Add sambal belacan sparingly — nasi ulam is already complex and too much sambal covers the herb profile

  5. 5

    Eat at room temperature, not cold — the fragrance of the herbs diminishes when chilled

Tap each step to highlight

🌡️ Shiok-O-Meter

Rated by locals, not algorithms

🌶️

Spice Hit

Like drinking warm water lah

2/10Mild Lah

Napkin Alert

Eat with one hand, no problem

1/10Clean Eat
🎵

Flavour Depth

Cannot stop eating

8/10Very The Solid
🕐

Queue Game

Walk in, sit down, eat

2/10Walk Right In
💰

Shiok Value

Money well spent

8/10Good Value

Overall Shiok Score

🤷 Try First, See How

42/100

Where to Find the Best

Nasi ulam is rare at hawker centres: a couple of hawker stalls make it in limited daily batches, while elsewhere it turns up mainly at Peranakan restaurants, sometimes only as part of a set menu.

Best Paired With

  • Sambal belacan on the side
  • a piece of ikan bilis (crispy anchovies)
  • a cold lime juice to complement the herb intensity.
📍

Best Nasi Ulam in Singapore

Checked against recent food guides — not sponsored

  • 1

    The Little Red Hen

    Tanjong Pagar•Amoy Street Food Centre, #01-66, 7 Maxwell Road

    Malaysian-style nasi ulam with about 15 hand-sliced herbs and sambal, served as sets with ayam percik or beef rendang. Weekday lunch only.

    📍 Open in Maps
  • 2

    Chendol Melaka

    Siglap•Soy Eu Tua Coffeeshop, 15 Upper East Coast Road

    Coffeeshop stall known for Peranakan nasi ulam with about 17 herbs and spices plus house sambal belacan. Limited portions, so go early, and order a chendol too.

    📍 Open in Maps
  • 3

    Pangium

    Botanic Gardens•Gallop Entrance, Singapore Botanic Gardens, 11 Gallop Road

    Malcolm Lee's Michelin-starred Straits restaurant, where a refined, many-herb nasi ulam anchors the tasting menus. Book ahead; it isn't sold à la carte.

    📍 Open in Maps

Nasi Ulam: questions people ask

Where can I eat the best nasi ulam in Singapore?

Our picks are The Little Red Hen (Tanjong Pagar), Chendol Melaka (Siglap) and Pangium (Botanic Gardens). Each one is checked against recent food guides; see the full list with addresses on this page.

How much does nasi ulam cost in Singapore?

Expect to pay about S$6–9 at hawker/coffeeshop stalls (2024–26); more at Peranakan restaurants, where it may only be part of a set or tasting menu.

Is nasi ulam spicy?

Only mildly. Nasi ulam has a gentle warmth rather than real heat.

How do you eat nasi ulam like a local?

Smell the plate before eating — a good nasi ulam is fragrant from a metre away. Mix the rice and herbs together thoroughly from the bottom — the toasted coconut and dried shrimp settle.

Find It At These Hawker Centres

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