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 ordered Nasi Lemak Pork Gepuk from the Together Nasi Lemak stall for RM26.90 per bowl.
This dish is a premium non-halal interpretation of Malaysia's national dish. Instead of the traditional fried chicken or beef rendang, the star is Pork Gepuk—crispy pork belly coated in fragrant toasted coconut floss (serunding) and topped with crispy curry leaves. The dish blends Malay nasi lemak traditions with Chinese Malaysian pork cuisine, creating a unique version that has become increasingly popular in non-halal eateries.
Nasi Lemak Pork Gepuk is a modern, non-halal interpretation of Malaysia's iconic nasi lemak. This version from Together Nasi Lemak combines fragrant coconut-milk rice with crispy Pork Gepuk, homemade Sambal Gepuk, coconut floss, cashew sauce, fried tofu, peanuts and cucumber.
Hakka Mee traces its roots to the Hakka people, whose name literally means "guest people." They are Han Chinese who migrated repeatedly throughout Chinese history before many eventually settled in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia. Their cuisine is known for being hearty, practical, and making the most of simple ingredients.
What makes this dish interesting is the number of contrasting flavours and textures in one plate.
- The coconut rice provides a fragrant and relatively mild base.
- The Pork Gepuk brings richness and crispiness.
- The coconut floss adds an intensely aromatic, savoury and slightly sweet character.
- The Sambal Gepuk provides heat and acidity.
- The cashew sauce give a creamy and nutty flavour.
- Peanuts and fried tofu provide additional crunch.
With so many flavours and textures working together, the dish keeps the palate engaged throughout the meal. Every few bites brings a different combination, making it surprisingly interesting all the way to the last bite.
Gepuk is traditionally associated with Indonesian cuisine, particularly Sundanese cooking. Traditional gepuk is commonly made with beef that is tenderised and cooked with a heavily seasoned spice mixture. However, Pork Gepuk is not a traditional form of nasi lemak. Together, Nasi Lemak's version is better understood as a modern Malaysian fusion creation, taking the concept of gepuk and applying it to pork before pairing it with nasi lemak.
This is an important distinction: nasi lemak has a long-established Malaysian culinary history, but this particular Pork Gepuk Nasi Lemak is a contemporary creation.
Together Nasi Lemak takes this familiar Malaysian foundation and gives it a distinctly non-halal Malaysian-Chinese interpretation.
Instead of the more conventional fried chicken, beef rendang or ikan bilis, the restaurant makes Pork Gepuk the centrepiece and combines it with coconut floss, Sambal Gepuk and homemade cashew sauce.
The result is recognisably nasi lemak while being quite different from the traditional combination.
Overall, Together Nasi Lemak's Nasi Lemak Pork Gepuk is essentially a modern Malaysian fusion dish built around three ideas: nasi lemak, pork and gepuk.
At RM26.90, it is positioned as a more substantial and distinctive nasi lemak rather than a basic everyday serving.
For Food Place at Pavilion Bukit Bintang, it is also a good example of how Malaysian hawker and food-court cuisine continues to evolve: the dish retains the familiar identity of nasi lemak while incorporating non-halal pork and contemporary presentation to create something new.
