Today, I revisited the Food Place food court, located at Pavilion Mall. The food court is located beside the Oriental Kopi Restaurant. It is time to try another stall.
This time, I try Together signature rendang pork nasi lemak dumplings from the Together Nasi Lemak stall, which cost RM24.90 per portion.
This is a creative fusion between two beloved traditions — Malaysian nasi lemak and Chinese-style rice dumplings (zongzi/bak chang).
Wrapped in bamboo leaves and shaped like a traditional dumpling, the dish combines coconut milk glutinous rice with classic nasi lemak ingredients. Inside, you can see thick slices of rendang pork layered together with sambal, peanuts, ikan bilis, and rich salted egg yolk. The rice absorbs the fragrant oils and sambal during steaming, giving every bite a spicy, savoury, and slightly creamy taste.
What makes this version stand out is the use of pork rendang. Rendang is usually associated with Malay-style slow-cooked beef or chicken, but here the pork belly brings a softer texture and richer fat content that melts into the glutinous rice. The salted egg yolk adds an extra luxurious, almost buttery finish.
Visually, it resembles a traditional Chinese bak chang, but the flavour profile is unmistakably Malaysian nasi lemak — spicy sambal, coconut rice, crunchy peanuts, and anchovies all packed into one dense parcel. It is essentially a “portable nasi lemak.”
Historically, nasi lemak itself is one of Malaysia’s most iconic dishes. It originated as a simple meal for farmers and fishermen, with rice cooked in coconut milk and served with sambal, anchovies, peanuts, cucumber, and egg. Over time it evolved from humble roadside packets into a national comfort food with endless modern variations.
The dumpling inspiration comes from Chinese zongzi traditions, where glutinous rice is wrapped in leaves and filled with meats or beans before steaming or boiling. Malaysia’s multicultural food scene often blends Malay, Chinese, and Nyonya influences together, and this dish is a good example of that culinary crossover. The combination of nasi lemak flavours inside a bak chang-style dumpling reflects the way Malaysian food culture constantly reinvents familiar classics.
The branding from Together Nasi Lemak also highlights a nostalgic “grandmother recipe” concept rooted in Nyonya home cooking traditions.