The story of how Nasi Lemak helped N'Golo Kante win the Champions League

The Chelsea midfielder loves gorging on this Malaysian cuisine…

N’Golo Kante played a vital role in Chelsea’s Champions League triumph in the 2020/21 campaign as the Frenchman was named the midfielder of the season in the competition.

He delivered four Man of the Match performances in the knockout stages out of which three awards were presented in the two semifinals against Real Madrid and in the final, against Manchester City.

So what exactly did Kante have that prompted him to deliver a magnificent performance in the Champions League final? Well, we unearthed the mystery.

Three days before heading to Lisbon, Portugal to play in the Champions League final, the Chelsea star stopped by a restaurant at Craven Road, London, named Tukdin which specialises in Malaysian cuisine.

Kante ordered a takeaway for Nasi Lemak which happens to be his favourite food item. The head chef and other restaurant staff did not miss a chance to click photographs with the French star outside the restaurant after he picked up his order.

The head chef of Tukdin, Syed Fauzi narrated the incident while speaking Malaysia-based Newspaper New Strait Times. He said, “It was just before closing time and my sister (Nurul Ulya, who is also the manager of the restaurant) messaged to say that N'golo Kanté is in our restaurant.”

Fauzi then asked his sister to request the footballer to click some pictures with them, which the humble Kante gracefully obliged.

Reportedly, Kante is a regular visitor to the restaurant where he enjoys a plate of Nasi Lemak now and then.

Nasi Lemak, the national dish of Malaysia, consists of fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf. It is a typical Malay food which is usually served for breakfast.

Nasi lemak is served with toppings such as eggs, sliced cucumber, fried anchovies and chilli sauce. However, getting here, nasi lemak is usually combined with various side dishes such as chicken, meat, satay, squid and shrimp, with the addition of bananas, peanuts, tofu-tempe, accompanied by grated coconut.

Like Kante, Fans in India can satiate their hunger for the delicious Malay dish by placing their order via food delivery services like Swiggy and Zomato. Malaysian restaurants can be found in nearly every big city in India.

In Singapore, the top food delivery services are Deliveroo, GrabFood, WhyQ, Foodpanda and more from where fans can order the dish.

In Malaysia, fans can order their pizza from services like GrabFood, Lalamove and SmartBite.

In Philippines, the top food delivery service providers are GrabFood, GrabMart, LalaFood, LalaMove, MetroMart and FoodPanda.

Fans in Australia can rely on Deliveroo, Menulog and Uber Eats for ordering Nasi Lemak.