Mohamadia Coffee Stall: $1.80 fish nasi lemak – how good can it be?

Muslim-owned Mohamadia Coffee Stall in Clementi received some unexpected media coverage in Dec 2024. The reason was simple but intriguing: S$1.80 nasi lemak.

Everyone loves cheap food, especially in this economy (what do you mean 9% GST?!). During times like these, many turn to the community for help, through platforms such as hawker groups on Facebook.

One such group, Hawkers United—Dabao 2020, received a recommendation in Oct 2024. The netizen stated that the Clementi stall “serves packets of piping hot nasi lemak that’s delivered 6.30pm daily” at only S$1.80. Popular media outlet 8days then stumbled upon the post and featured Mohamadia Coffee Stall in an article about the below-S$2 meal. 

Being short on time, I made a quick stop at 353 Clementi Avenue 2 Market & Food Centre for dinner. The Centre was quiet and dimly lit, with most of the stalls closed. One could only imagine how bustling it must’ve been in the day. On the other hand, Mohamadia Coffee Stall operates from 6am to 1.30am daily, which means one can stop by for both breakfast and supper.

There wasn’t any label or indication of nasi lemak on the menu – only drinks were featured. Determined that I hadn’t been mistaken, I took a closer look. Lo and behold, there were the goods, neatly packaged into triangles and piled inside a box at the front. 

What I tried at Mohamadia Coffee Stall

The Fish Nasi Lemak (S$1.80) was, contrary to the post, not “piping hot”. 

It was a very simple, very normal nasi lemak. Because of the packing and how it was stored, the ingredients had smushed together in a not-so-aesthetic manner, so I tried my best to salvage it.

For the wallet-friendly price, the small portion seemed to make sense. However, I noticed that instead of two pieces of fried ikan kuning as the post showed, there was only one. 

I had to constantly remind myself that since it might’ve been sitting out all afternoon, the nasi lemak rice could not have been of the best quality. If it were packed while fresh, the steam might have condensed into the sealed package and turned the rice soggy.

Luckily, it was flavourful enough. I could detect the fragrance of coconut milk in the jasmine white rice, which didn’t taste too bad. The texture, though, was as I had expected – the grains were soft and stuck together slightly from the retained moisture. 

Ikan bilis is best served crunchy – it provides a satisfying texture to any meal it’s paired with. Unfortunately, the fish I received was chewy and a bit squishy. Perhaps this stemmed from soaking up steam and sauce after sitting for so long outside Mohamadia Coffee Stall. It didn’t bother me taste-wise though, as it provided the meal with a salty, briny relish.

I had no qualms about the sambal since it was less sweet than I was worried it’d be. It also had a shocking kick of heat. The peanuts were, of course, doing their job as peanuts. You can’t go wrong with them, and they went well with the chilli and ikan bilis.

Moving on to the fish, I thought once again about how I was missing a piece. It was a small difference but made me wonder if this meant I was getting less value for money. Ikan kuning isn’t a lot to begin with; a fish this small and bony only contains so much flesh. 

I meticulously picked out the rough, flaky meat from the skeleton and ate it with the rice and chilli. A little salty, but nothing much other than that. Noticing that the exterior was deep-fried but non-crispy, I wondered how long it’d been sitting out to end up like that. There wasn’t any big issue with the taste – I was simply disappointed because there wasn’t enough meat for me!

Mohamadia is obviously a coffee and sweet drinks stall, so I topped up my meal with some Sugarcane Plum Juice (S$3). One of the pricier ones, but I didn’t mind given how affordable the nasi lemak had been. 

At the first sip, it was refreshing. Sugarcane’s sweetness and salted plum go together quite well, it seems. However, as I continued, the cup started to taste increasingly saccharine and got to a point where it was so sugary that I couldn’t go on. I’d initially thought it was an issue with unmixed syrup, but it wasn’t the case since the cup had already been stirred thoroughly.

Final Thoughts

I usually eat anything and everything, so Mohamadia Coffee Stall’s nasi lemak was just okay, but definitely not the best I’ve had. Quality fluctuates, I’m sure. Maybe I didn’t come at the right time and missed the fresh nasi lemak. 

Though I didn’t find today’s dinner very satisfactory, it’s understandable why people would buy it. It’s very affordable and a quick and easy choice, especially if you’re hungry and in a rush. The vendor was kind and a small part of me feels bad for giving a low rating. 

However, preference is subjective – eat what you like! I definitely won’t take the trouble to come here again, but for the locals, I believe it’s a convenient, inexpensive choice of sustenance.

Expected damage: S$1.80 – S$4.80 per pax

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