Yi Bao: Still the most Underated White Chicken!
With ieatfamily
Half Chicken $12
This is my 20th post on White Chicken so I think I have some credence to say that after all the dust has settled, there is one White Chicken in Singapore which in my opinion still stands out as the one in which I would travel halfway around the island just to eat. And the funny thing is that a lot of people might not agree with me and I can't understand why.
Thus, I again crown Yi Bao's (Formerly Yee Cheong Yuen) White Chicken as Singapore's most underated White Chicken. Perhaps the trouble is that people don't really come for the chicken rice but for the Ipoh Hor Fun and so the White Chicken suffers from an identity crisis.
Looking at the way Yi Bao has redefined itself, I would surmise that expansion plans might be underway to replicate a few more of this Malaysian food joint across Singapore. Aside from changing to a name that identifies with one of Malaysia's most famous region for good food, they have also begun to print placemats with their menu on it, very much like Crystal Jade's. If this does not herald an Invasion, what does?
Forget the Indians (Mr Tea), HongKongers (Hong Kong Cafes) and the Philippinos (Hotshot Burgers), we are being invaded by our closest neighbours, the Malaysians! You might also know of the White Coffee chain which has just started their first stall at Big Splash, selling Black "White" Kopi and Ipoh style food as well. Make no mistakes, the Malaysians are coming!
And I am actually looking forward to it!
Everyone knows that food in JB and Petaling Jaya are quite shiok. So it is about time some Malaysian entrepreneur start a chain of good Malaysian food eateries in Singapore so that I don't have to travel all the way to Petaling St for a nice plate of KL Hokkien mee or JB for Ayam Ding Ding! Comon' where the heck are you guys and what's holding you back?
I have been eating the Chicken here since Youth Fellowship days at St James Church. I remember at the time that the "Wak Kai Ma Tai Min" (XL Chicken Noodles) was my number one dish which I look forward to eating every Sunday. Thankfully, the chicken today is still as yummy as it was then and I can actually afford to buy half a chicken to enjoy rather than to slowly appreciate my $2.50 portion as a student with limited pocket money.
OK, the purists would cringe to see all that Oyster sauce on the chicken, but I love it. The texture of the chicken here is the best around. The skin is crunchy and they always have that wonderful layer of subcutaneous (under the skin) gelatine what is so wonderfully slurpy. The meat has just the right amount of tenderness and is so savoury the it makes me wonder if they soak the chicken in brine before cooking. Anyway, it is my all time favourite white chicken and I am giving it 4.6/5
Then finally there is the chilli which goes so well with the chicken. This is the only one chilli that I actually enjoy. It's got just the right balance of sour and sweet and it's not overly spicy so it might not appeal to everyone.
Conclusion
Best tasting white chicken in my books, but the chicken rice purists might vehemently disagree. OK lah, taste is subjective and blah blah blah. Still, it remains my number one place for Wak Gai Hor Fun and the kids love it too.
Yi Bao
31 Lorong Liput
Holland Village
6468 7737
Link to previous post here
21 comments:
I love Chicken + Ipoh Hor Fan! First tried Yi Bao some time back, i must say it was pretty decent, but my recent visit there however, was rather disappointing.
The sauce didn't taste as good as it did and left a funny after taste. Chicken meat itself still tasted fine though. I guess they would need to work on food quality consistency.
Yi Bao's chicken is indeed delicious! But I found the Hor Fun not as great as before.
I totally agree with ieat this time that their chicken is over-looked and under-rated because this place is more famous for their hor fun.
You can view my photos and my reviews on them here.
I kinda like this place too. Maybe because it's not half the island away.
When is St James reno going to be completed? :-)
Agree with Rexic (XY) that the horfun not as good as before. Was there just yesterday again. You need to quickly stir the hor fun or else it all gets clumped up and they break easily. Not as smooth as before.
The Char Siew not as great yesterday would not recommend it. Ngau Lum also bit dry.
But the white chicken still shiok
Again I tried it but it was nothing to rave about for me.
And oh, I'm from Ipoh. They don't really have chicken rice there (it's not the same type) ;p
and the Old Town White Coffee franchise's coffee is gawdawful white coffee. It is not white coffee at all, it's normal Singapore coffee.
Even in Ipoh, there are a lot of "modernisation" of these old time foods. I went to a coffeeshop near my uncle's place in Ipoh and their white coffee was awful. You have to go to the original ones.
Oh my foodie friend Canonfodder seems to think that Old Town served great Malaysian fare. He grew up in a restaurant envirnonment in Ipoh and loves his food
I have to agree with you though that the coffee and tea there was not to my taste, but I haven't tried the food there.
I always eat the Ipoh Horfun at Yi Bao. Yes not as good as the days when it was still JUST a non aircon coffeeshop. The prawn dumplings also dropped in standard. Never had their full chicken fare though. The lunch sets I have to say are quite value for money.
As for Old Town at Playground, the food that stood out which I have tried were the Ipoh Horfun Soup and the Nasi Lemak. Heard that it's opened by Mark Lee (Dunno how true is that).
Ya Old Town at Playground is open by Mark Lee.
But my friend who ate and drank there reckon the standard of coffee to be those you get from instant Old Town packets i.e. it didn't stood out.
I guess nothing beats the original white coffee from Sun Yuan Loong!.
hfb - that wasn't the original shop actually. =) But it serves good coffee. If you're interested, the 2 original shops that sold it is the original Old Town and the one next to it.
Beansprout Chicken is fantastic! But it's not the same chicken rice here.
Maybe u could try and make a trip to Lau Pa Sat..
The biggest food court..
There's quite a few stalls selling nice food..
Like Satay, Stingray..
And oh ya..
There's this rojak stall..
The one and only one..
Their rojak really shiok..
Especially you tiao rojak..
Hope u can make a trip there and blog abt nice food there..
Thanks..
=)
Been there a few times but have not been impressed by anything in particular. Perhaps you can be more specific about the stalls there?
Hmmm..
There's a total of 10 satay stalls there..
Two of the ten stalls sells great satay..
Stall no 6 and Stall no 9..
There's this rojak stall, "Sister's Rojak", their you tiao rojak very shiok..
And their stingray is also a must try one..
Perhaps u can go try the satay and rojak..
U seems to be a great fan of both..
=)
I used to go there for lunch with my NUS colleagues (that's before 1998). We went there for their Ipoh hor fun and the portions were so big that we ladies always had a hard time finishing our plates. The sauce then was very tasty. Now I still goes Holland V for lunch with my colleagues but we seldom patronise this stall, because we find their food pricey and the portions not enough to fill our stomachs.
this is the best hor fun i tried in sg
this store highly recommended! just tried it yesterday.
posted on behalf of laundrygirl
ieat, (I know its not related to this post in any way, but) thought i should give u feedback on my dining experience at Yi Bao. The roast duck hor fun set meal was really really not worth the $9 I paid. Perhaps I should have tried the chicken since that was what you blogged about the last, but somehow I can't imagine it would that much greater. The horfun was clumpy, and the gravy was gluey and tasteless. It was so bad I practically doused it with light soy sauce. The duck was totally average, nothing to rave about at all. I used to eat at Yibao more when they first opened in HV and I remember it being pretty decent then. After last sunday's lunch visit there I seriously doubt I will ever go back there again. Yeh, so giving you my few cent's worth. :)
I eat their noodle since 1970s, I must say I have stopped patronizing their stall since early this year. Their standard has dropped big time over the years, and the most noticeable one is the type of noodle they used now. The noodle is just ordinary "mee kia" you would find elsewhere. It didn't help with their more expensive pricing (which is okay if their food standard is maintained) and their poor handling of customers (I was once treated as somebody who didn't pay up after eating)
I seriously won't recommend anybody to waste their money their, unless they restore their food standard, at the minimal. If you are there and really want to eat ipoh hor fun, I would rather recommend you go for the ipoh hor fun at the nearby food centre. Cheap and good.
i just tried it! and i have fallen in love with chicken skin, because of this gorgeous white chicken. i agree - the gelatinous texture is to-die-for. LOVE it. :)
I am glad it is still up to standard. Some readers have been complaining that the standards have dropped.
Hi, may I know the opening hours? Thanks.
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