BigBasket Kitchen in PJ Section 14 showcases Hainanese chicken rice with rice balls, ‘nasi lemak’ with a Nyonya twist and handmade Nyonya ‘kuih’

BigBasket Kitchen, a family-run restaurant located in Millennium Square, Petaling Jaya, offers a curated menu centered on family heritage and traditional techniques.

Operated by Margaret, a septuagenarian Hainanese cook, and her Nyonya sister Abigail Lim, the eatery features dishes such as Hainanese Chicken Rice and Nasi Lemak.

The restaurant focuses on freshness with made-to-order dishes, including a rotating selection of Nyonya kuih, all crafted with a personal touch.

The establishment fosters personal connections with its patrons, enhancing the dining experience beyond just the food.

PETALING JAYA, Oct 19 — Our relationships with restaurants are often as complicated as human ones.

We may love one or more dishes at a place that sees us returning many times until the next “flavour of the month” – as my friends call the trending food of the moment – entices us away.

But once we hear their story or connect with them beyond just a perfunctory relationship of placing an order, those invisible threads bind us to them.

You find yourself championing their cause, as it’s not a faceless person behind the restaurant, hired by a big corporation to take your money.

You can find that warmth at BigBasket Kitchen, a family-run place well hidden inside the often forgotten Millenium Square in Petaling Jaya Section 14.

I had once wandered inside the place to try Stand Pie Me when they opened their cafe there. Coincidentally their space was taken over by BigBasket Kitchen.

I first came across an earnest Threads post by the owner’s son ( @vincentchin88 ) that tugged at my heartstrings as the place is run by his septuagenarian Hainanese mother, Margaret, and his Nyonya aunt Abigail Lim who has built her own home catering business for 10 years.

Fun fact: Lim is also the mother of Rachel who used to work at Stand Pie Me as the cashier — a role she reprises in BigBasket Kitchen with her friendly charm.

At the heart of this cafe is a small curated menu that revolves around family heritage, freshness and traditional techniques.

In this family’s story, the chicken rice reflects their Hainanese heritage, combining poached chicken and homemade rice balls — a dish everyone identifies as being from Melaka.

Those same rice balls, freshly made upon order for their Hainanese Chicken Rice (RM9.50), have a softness even when compressed into a ball shape; they easily come apart when you bite into them.

My closest association with rice balls is the triangular Japanese onigiri, a portable food designed for quick meals on-the-go or picnics.

In the Japanese manga Oishinbo , a rice ball showdown featured many flavours, ultimately won by the unforgettable taste of nostalgia: a mother’s warm hands softly creating the rice balls with the right firmness to break up in the mouth, just like how I envision BigBasket Kitchen’s rice balls are made.

You will also be taught how to relish these rice balls, just like how the family enjoys them.

Don’t smash the ball; the point is to relish its fluffy texture. However, my way is to halve the rice ball without crushing it, which makes it easier to eat.

Before relishing the rice balls, dollop a bit of their chilli sauce, followed by their blended soy sauce and finally the ginger sauce.

All sauces are made in-house and the poached chicken is also drizzled with their blended soy sauce.

It’s been years since I ate rice balls in Melaka and that memory focuses more on the long wait for my meal than on the taste.

To revive that taste, I tried a place in KL that offers Melaka chicken rice for a comparison.

Probably due to time constraints, they prepped the rice balls ahead of time and kept them warm in a rice cooker. This resulted in a slightly harder exterior which compromised the mouthfeel of the rice ball.

You can also enjoy their Hainanese Chicken Rice with a plate of rice if you prefer the conventional way but where’s the fun in that.

Even the poached chicken may be swapped with smoked chicken.

Nasi Lemak (RM9.50) is also done differently here; the side dishes rotate among kapitan chicken (Monday and Tuesday), chicken rendang (Wednesday and Thursday) and otak-otak chicken (Friday).

Using a brighter red sambal with sliced onions, the flavours are zingy rather than the typical sweet-spicy profile that brightens up the flavours.

The rice isn’t too rich or greasy with santan while the chicken rendang is covered liberally with the rich, creamy gravy and the meat tears easily from the bones.

On Friday, you get the best of both worlds: chicken rendang and otak-otak .

Wrapped in a banana leaf, the rich custard with a daun kaduk is soft and creamy with tender chicken inside. An extra otak-otak is RM7.50.

We all know that food is best relished when it’s freshest. Here, a made-to-order menu allows your Nasi Kerabu or Kerabu Bee Hoon to be prepared a la minute.

For dessert, there will be one type of Nyonya kuih daily, which rotates from a small list of kuih like Pulut Panggang, Pulut Tai Tai, Pulut Inti, Ang Ku Kueh and Kuih Bingka.

Lim meticulously prepares all these kuih , making each piece a labour of love.

Here, the kuih features a lighter touch of santan , perhaps for our well-being but it makes the glutinous rice slightly drier, which may bother kuih connoisseurs who prefer silkier grains in the mouth.

Pulut Panggang (RM5) was a happy surprise, heightened by the anticipation of unwrapping the cylindrical green parcel secured with toothpicks to discover a roll of glutinous rice.

It looks ordinary but a bite inside reveals a burst of sweet dried prawns mingling with grated coconut and a hint of kaffir lime leaves.

Another time it was a childhood favourite of mine, Pulut Inti (RM2.50), where blue marbled rice is topped with the inti kelapa or grated coconut filling mixed with gula Melaka syrup.

It’s best eaten fresh for the flavours of the soft glutinous rice mingling with the gula Melaka, coconut and the scent of the banana leaf wrapper.

Homemade tong sui (RM3.50) is also available on certain days like a creamy Mak Chuk or bubur gandum where wheat pearls are cooked till soft and scented with gula Melaka and coconut milk.

Occasionally, there may even be a bonus homemade fluffy, golden cake fresh from the oven.

Lot G-052, Ground Floor, Millennium Square

Section 14, Petaling Jaya.

Open on Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm

Facebook: @bigbasketkitchen

Instagram: @bigbasketkitchen

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.

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BigBasket Kitchen 是一家位于八打灵再也千禧广场的家庭式餐厅，提供以家族传承和传统技艺为中心的精心设计的菜单。

这家餐馆由一位七十多岁的海南厨师玛格丽特和她的娘惹妹妹阿比盖尔·林共同经营，特色菜肴包括海南鸡饭和椰浆饭。

这家餐厅注重食材新鲜，所有菜肴均为现点现做，包括轮换供应的娘惹糕点，每一道菜都倾注了主厨的匠心。

这家餐厅注重与顾客建立个人联系，从而提升顾客的用餐体验，而不仅仅局限于食物本身。

八打灵再也，10月19日讯——我们与餐厅的关系往往像人际关系一样复杂。

我们可能会爱上某个地方的一道或几道菜，以至于多次光顾，直到下一个“当月热门菜”（我的朋友们把当下流行的食物称为“当月流行菜”）吸引我们离开。

但是，一旦我们听到他们的故事，或者与他们建立起超越下单这种表面关系的联系，那些无形的纽带就会将我们与他们联系在一起。

你会发现自己开始支持他们的事业，因为餐厅背后不是一个受雇于大公司、只为榨取你钱财的无名之辈。

在 BigBasket Kitchen，您可以感受到那种温暖。这是一家家庭经营的餐厅，隐匿在八打灵再也第 14 区经常被人遗忘的千禧广场内。

我曾经进去试吃过Stand Pie Me的咖啡馆，当时他们刚在那里开业。巧的是，后来他们的店面被BigBasket Kitchen接手了。

我第一次看到店主的儿子（@vincentchin88）在 Threads 上发的一篇真挚的帖子，让我深受感动，因为这家店是由他七十多岁的海南母亲 Margaret 和他的娘惹阿姨 Abigail Lim 共同经营的，Abigail Lim 已经经营自己的家庭餐饮生意 10 年了。

有趣的是：林女士还是瑞秋的母亲，瑞秋曾在 Stand Pie Me 担任收银员——她凭借其友善的魅力在 BigBasket Kitchen 再次扮演了这一角色。

这家咖啡馆的核心是一份精心挑选的小菜单，其核心是家族传承、新鲜食材和传统技艺。

在这个家庭的故事里，鸡饭体现了他们的海南传统，将白斩鸡和自制饭团结合在一起——这是一道人人都认为来自马六甲的菜肴。

他们家的海南鸡饭（9.50令吉）里的饭团都是现点现做，即使压成球状也很柔软；咬一口就很容易分开。

我对饭团最深的印象是三角形的日本饭团（onigiri），这是一种便于携带的食物，适合外出快速用餐或野餐。

在日本漫画《美味大挑战》中，饭团对决展现了多种口味，最终以令人难忘的怀旧味道获胜：母亲温暖的双手轻轻地捏出软硬适中的饭团，入口即化，就像我设想的 BigBasket Kitchen 的饭团一样。

你还将学习如何像家人一样享用这些饭团。

不要把饭团压扁，关键是要享受它蓬松的口感。不过，我的方法是把饭团切成两半，但不要压扁，这样更容易吃。

享用饭团之前，先蘸一点辣椒酱，再蘸一点混合酱油，最后蘸一点姜汁。

所有酱料均为店内自制，就连水煮鸡肉也会淋上他们特制的酱油。

我已经很多年没在马六甲吃过饭团了，那段记忆更多的是漫长的等待过程，而不是饭团的味道。

为了重温那种味道，我特意去吉隆坡一家提供马六甲鸡饭的餐厅做了比较。

可能是由于时间限制，他们提前做好了饭团，并用电饭煲保温。这导致饭团外皮略硬，影响了口感。

如果你喜欢传统吃法，也可以点一份海南鸡饭配米饭，但这有什么乐趣可言呢？

甚至连白煮鸡肉也可以换成熏鸡肉。

这里的椰浆饭（RM9.50）做法也不同；配菜轮换供应，包括甲必丹鸡（周一和周二）、仁当鸡（周三和周四）和乌达乌达鸡（周五）。

使用颜色更鲜艳的红色叁巴酱和洋葱片，味道是辛辣的，而不是典型的甜辣味，这种味道反而提亮了菜肴的风味。

米饭不会太油腻，椰浆饭也不会太腻，而仁当鸡肉则淋上了浓郁的奶油肉汁，肉很容易从骨头上撕下来。

周五，您可以同时享用两种美食：仁当鸡和乌达乌达。

用香蕉叶包裹的浓郁蛋奶沙司，口感绵软顺滑，内馅是鲜嫩的鸡肉。加一份乌达（otak-otak）需另付7.50令吉。

我们都知道，食物越新鲜越美味。在这里，您可以点餐后立即享用现做的椰浆饭或椰浆米粉。

甜点方面，每天都会有一种娘惹糕，由一小部分糕点组成，如 Pulut Panggang、Pulut Tai Tai、Pulut Inti、Ang Ku Kueh 和 Kuih Bingka。

林先生精心制作每一份糕点，每一块都倾注了他的心血。

这款糕点加入了较少的椰浆，或许是为了我们的健康，但这会让糯米稍微干一些，这可能会让喜欢口感更柔滑的糕点鉴赏家感到不满。

Pulut Panggang（5令吉）是一个令人惊喜的美食，打开用牙签固定的圆柱形绿色包装，发现里面是一卷糯米，这种期待感更加强烈。

它看起来很普通，但咬一口，里面就会迸发出甜美的虾干、椰丝和淡淡的青柠叶的味道。

还有一次，我点了小时候最喜欢的甜点——椰丝糯米饭（2.50 令吉），这道甜点是在蓝色大理石纹米饭上浇上椰丝馅料，椰丝馅料混合了马六甲椰糖浆。

趁热食用最佳，可以品尝到软糯糯米与椰糖、椰子和香蕉叶包裹的香气交织在一起的美味。

某些日子还会供应自制糖水（RM3.50），例如奶油味的麦糖或麦粥，其中小麦珍珠煮至软糯，并散发着马六甲椰糖和椰奶的香味。

偶尔，甚至可能还会有新鲜出炉的蓬松金黄的自制蛋糕作为额外惊喜。

千禧广场底层 G-052 号地块

第14区，八打灵再也。

周一至周五，上午10点至下午5点营业

Facebook：@bigbasketkitchen

Instagram：@bigbasketkitchen

* 这是一篇独立评论，作者自行支付了餐费。

* 关注我们的Instagram账号@eatdrinkmm，获取更多美食资讯。

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