KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 6 -- What looks like nasi lemak but isn't, not quite?

At least not by the conventional definition of what we recognise as our nation's favourite dish.

From a distance, it looks similar enough: the mound of coconut milk rice, the crunchy ikan bilis, the cucumber and sambal and of course the requisite egg.

Except the rendang here isn't beef or chicken; it's made from mock meat, cleverly disguised as shredded and succulent daging. The curry on the side isn't Malaysian but Japanese style, with cubes of carrots and potato.

Closer inspection reveals that the cucumber isn't the roughly chopped variety but finely julienned and lightly pickled. The fried ikan bilis sport a batter that's almost like tempura.

The fried ground...