Boon Tong Kee Chicken Rice: Surprisingly good
It is human nature to side with the underdog. So when it comes to chicken rice, not many people would go with the big players like Boon Tong Kee, citing that they are too commercial, lacks the personal touch etc etc.
With over 20 chicken rice stalls already blogged, this site would really not be complete without one of Singapore's largest chain of chicken rice stalls. So it was only a matter of time before I blogged BTK. I have had this chicken rice several times already before I started by blogging, but never really thought much of it. (Didn't analyse food as much then as I do nowadays) However, on the insistence of Holydrummer who swears by this chicken rice (the East Coast branch), I decided to blog it sooner rather than the later.
The overall experience was surprisingly good. BTK was able to put a whole chicken rice package together that resulted in satisfying chicken rice experience. From the rice to the chicken to the chilli sauce, I thought that even though not one item actually stood out, they were all competent and worked well in harmony. The several items that I really appreicated though were the pickles that come with the chicken. Though not traditional served with chicken rice, I thought they added a little bit of a zing to the whole experience and I especially enjoyed it. The other item was the minced ginger which they provided. It was also a little on the sweet side and very fragrant. One of the best ginger sauces that I have come across.
Conclusion
So there you have it, I am surprised that I actually enjoyed it so much. Maybe its because I usually like things a little on the sweet side and so the pickles and ginger did it for me. I am sure there are going to be lots of supporters and detractors of this chain. Whatever it may be, one thing is quite safe to say. If you have overseas visitors and want to introduce them to chicken rice, BTK is a good place to consider since you are assured of reasonably good chicken rice in a modern and clean environment. It's a "soft landing" to test their level of tolerance before bringing them to the hardcore, roadside, eat with your fingers, "D" rated type stalls.
Boon Tong Kee (Katong)
199 East Coast Road
(Opp Holy Family Church)
Open for lunch till 10pm daily
79 comments:
hmmm guess standards must differ among the various outlets...I tried the Balestier outlet..still prefer Sing Ho Hainan Chicken Rice
I've eaten in every Boon Tong Kee branch in Singapore. They control the quality. Like Holydrummer, I've always like BTK. I order from the East Coast branch quite often due to the proximity. Shiok.
In East Coast, I eat mainly at BTK, Twe Kee, the Katong Shopping Centre basement outlet, and Marine Parade Central FC. All 4 quite special.
ah time to revisit I guess!, tried the Balestier branch 4 months ago...
Not sure about BTK in East Coast cos everytime I am there I end up at Five Star maybe because of the open air atmosphere and BTK two doors away just doesnt draw me in. I enjoyed the one at Boon Keng MRT opposite Towner which does otherwise attract me? why har?
By the way your blogs run faster than I can catch up...you eat faster than I can read?
I like the chicken rice in BTK East Coast, and especially their steam chicken. yum yum
I have always like BTK but nowadays prefer Five Star because of the chilli sauce...me a chilli loving freak...the hotter the better
Personally prefer Sing Ho to BTK for the only reason that although the chicken taste distinctly similar, the price difference varies quite a bit.
So when are we heading down to Peng Kee at Public Mansion for a dose of old skool chicken rice?
I hardly eat chicken rice when I'm out. Top 3 places for me to have chicken rice is 1) Far East Plaza Level 5, 2) Chicken Express - convenience and it's really good too and 3) BTK~! Have tried a few of their outlets and Balestier and Cheong Chin Nam tops for me. I think their chilli is better than Five Star - was disappointed with Five Star's chilli AND chicken when I last ate at Cheong Chin Nam's outlet.
At East Coast it will be Hwe Kee for me now.Both Five Stars n BTK are too commercial. Further I wonder what they add to enhance the taste.
Damien & Liv65: Me & Catus can invite you to Hwe Kee
i will only eat at BTK if i have no other choice... usually late at night for supper....
usually everything is too sweet.. including the soya sauce. and the chicken is completely tasteless.. not tasty at all...
sorry..
Not bad la, BTK is. But as always, I would prefer the idea of the personaliized service and "feel" of the smaller stalls. And you are famous! You were in the newspaper on Sunday. Haha. ;D keep going with the nice pics!
Chicken Rice not my favourite food but I used to like the plump and juicy chicken ( with nice gelatinous layer under the skin) from Sin Kee at Margaret Drive Food Centre. The chilli sauce and minced ginger were very good. I almost never want to miss the "translucent and crunchy" deboned chicken feet.
The original stall owners had moved several years ago to Mei Ling Street Market and Food Centre. The one ieat blogged about was by a relative who took over. Mei Ling Street Market and Hawker Centre is under reno now.
About 10 years ago, while having supper with a colleague at work, I saw him pour a whole packet of chilli sauce into the BTK chicken porridge. I cringed at the sight. He challenged me to try it. And after I did, I ended up eating that way ever since. You have to try it at least once and then decide for yourself. I know its unconventional, but check it out, you may end up like me. Tastes really good, especially for chilli lovers. You have nothing to lose. Don't like, next time eat the normal way. ; )
I am a chickenrice diehard. BTK has always been my favourite especially the one at the Towner Road. I also like their Thai fried fish.
Found one stall surprising good at Woodlands Avenue 1 recently. It is in a coffee shop beside NTUC supermart. Perhaps someone can provide more details.
Legend has it that BTK originated from a hawker stall in Whampoo market and that it is still there. Is it true? Or just myth?
Perhaps with this post, more people would convert from 5 star to BTK??? keke
for me, I don't really like 5 star as the chicken they slice to thin...and it is more expensive as compared to BKT.
I think BKT's chicken is more tender and the rice warm and fragrant each time I go there.
but besides their chicken rice, the 2 dishes can fight over their tofu dishes
Five star- Hometown Tofu: Braised silky tofu topped with minced pork
BTK- simple, Crispy Fried Tofu...
this 2, I find it hard to decide a winner...both are really really good! do try it if you go to either stalls
adriane, I believe Boon Tong Kee's first stall was the current Balestier branch (I may be wrong though) but I'm pretty sure there isn't a stall in Whampoa Market. Its Loy Kee.
Hah!!!! Sigh must revise my Singapore Chicken Rice commentary for my overseas friends!!
I like the BTK "twang" feeling when you sink into their thick chunk of chicken breast.
Five Stars' chicken are kampung chicken which should be healthier?
My only neighbour always gives us chicken rice from their relatives store in Bedok North (dont know the name) but it's good even for leftover when the stall closes;
At the Upp Bkt Timah branch, my impression was that the pickles were used to make the portion look bigger by stuffing them beneath the chicken. :(
Hi-5 holybro, BTK's simple soft crispy tofu is a must order for me everytime I'm there too :)
Does anyone like chicken rice with the rice compressed into a ball? I love the one at Toa Payoh. It's definitely not as frangrant as the loose rice sort, but i'm under the (mis)conception that it's healtier ;)
Smart,
I want to go Hwe Kee too. Jio leh. Where's that ah? I go check.
The more glistening the chicken rice, the higher the fat content. I have once seen a popular chicken rice stall near the Macpherson Market which simply pour half a bottle of oil into the rice. I have tasted the rice before and it was yummy until the day I saw the owner in action....
Hmm all the girls are dating uncle Smart!
I think its Twe Kee not Hwe Kee if you are referring to the one at Jago close
There I go on chicken rice again...
I love ground ginger with chicken rice and I can add dollops of it. I will be disappointed if the chicken rice stall does not provide this; Having said this, there are stalls eg the Marine Parade Market Chicken rice stall that adds salt to this and you just cant have too much helpings of ginger...
The best ground ginger comes from SOUP Restaurant Samsui chicken.
hahaha, quite true :) I DID go on a lunch date with uncle smart and aunty smarter came too~!
The Samsui chicken ginger from Soup Restaurant very expensive leh. Bought a few jars during my last visit. Left one now. Must use sparingly.
Uncle smart is a lady killer. ; )
Wah Catus you call me a DOM. Ok you must be punish, buy us Chicken rice at Twe Kee at Jago Close.The old couple will love to see the ieaters having chicken rice there.
I only go to de branch at bendemeer. Hae been going there since I was a kid..
However, NEVER NEVER go to de one at Macpherson branch, same row as Swa Gardens. Already de saucer to put de chilli puts me off... And the stupid spoon, so big dat u can NEVER scoop de chilli off from de tiny saucer. JMHO
Count me in for twe kee!
Cactuskit and I really Marine Parade-rs man. Same favs - BTK, Katong Shopping Centre Basement, Twe Kee & Marine Parade FC (I go to Tong Fong Fatt, wat bout you?)
Do not neglect the cze char dishes at BTK (Amagada was saying the Balastier main branch serves the best cze char, no?) because they serve quite a good 'sup kum toufu' & their cereal prawns is quite special.
At BTK, I usually have one bowl of rice and one bowl of porridge to go with the chicken. Bet most of you did not try their porridge - very nice on a cold day especially. But I've yet to try Cactuskit's suggestion leh! Will try next time then.
Well with regards to recommending foreigners there, if I could see Chef Edward Voon eating there with fellow chef-friends (probably italian), it says a lot.
keke that's also one reason why I like BTK. I always have the porridge instead of da rice :)
uncle smart, lady killer is no DOM. very different leh... But buy you lunch is my honour. No prob. : )
Holydrummer, sama sama. I also eat Tong Fong Fatt. You eat, I eat.
To all, remember to try the chilli porridge style. Thats how BTK porridge was meant to be eaten, legend has it...
I agree with you. Food is good.
Always eat there if I happened to be in that area.
history lesson... the first branch of bong tong kee is their balestier branch. They even branched out to cze char, the stall next to their balestier branch. Their cze char is not bad...
Eating for more than 2 decades of btk, i think balestier branch serves the best. Do try their mei cai ko rou and their fish head, product of their boss. The boss loves to go ard to eat and take some ideas from other stalls.
The Dictator. I love fish head. How they done the fish head?
The Dictator. I love fish head. How they done the fish head?
yes, their fish head at balestier supposed to be very good. go there friends sure order. I dun eat Song fish head period so that's a dish that I always pass keke.
The sauce is very good though.
I live in Katong only about 8 years and I frequent BTK, Five-Star, Katong Shopping Centre Basement and Marine Parade Tong Fong Fatt too!
Smart and cactuskit, I belanja you Twe Kee chicken rice lah. Thanks for voting for me. ^-^
Any more joining?
Most welcome. Vote for you is because you deserve it, so don't need to treat lah. : ). But if go out for makan sessions sure cn.
Catuskit, Wah it's expensive and you still purchased a few jars; I only try to ask for more when I dined there...
Who's this interesting Uncle Smart?
Fwah, see Uncle Smart has the ability to attract all the females in the blog! Even Jencooks has suddenly showed an interest!
Of course! Uncle Smart has always been suave what...
Don't anyone get jealous hor :)
uncle smart is our chinatown fc rep. No one knows the fc better than him in Singapore, except maybe the NEA.
He's not easy to date. I've tried asking him out for meals. Half the time he not free to entertain me.
Jencooks, good luck...
That's because your legs are hairy, not smooth like our lady makan kakis!
Uncle smart doesn't like hairy? Sorry Liverpool...
eh where's ieat and his camera? I need to prove cactuskit wrong... :(
hahahahhaa.... u guys are so funny... hey, when r u guys dropping by raffles place? Dats my territory... there's one chicken rice stall at arcade, also not bad... only thing is, iz a bit oily.. de chilli is sooo shiok.. ;)
The chicken rice stall in arcade serves one of the better meals in that area.
The nondescript stall that serves MSG laden prawn mee soup, yam cake, chee cheong fun at the small corner at the back of the building is also packed to the brim during lunch and i must admit i love the food there :)
angela, is that the one who sells curry chicken noodles too?
Eastcoastlife, Thanks for the belanja. Like Catus said we welcome you and will have the pleasure to meet for what we love that is makan at Twe Kee our favourite chciken rice stall.Lunch ok, so fix a date.
liverpool, dun think iz curry chicken noodles, but juz chicken noodles. but they do have laksa too, not bad too...
de same stall sells can meat bee hoon in de mornings, also nice but super duper oily... there's another malay stall right at de back also sell nice malay food, only draw back is de food is cold when served, coz they juz put de gravy over de cold noodles without soaking in de boiling water first.
Ha ha this was not plan, smarter decided to have chicken rice and we landed at Twe Kee.This time without requesting I got 4 Bonus or rather Bishop noses. I am a member of Twe Kee Chicken Rice Club.
Met Catus with the Fairy at Cafe Oliv.
Aiya after lunch cross over the road with Catus for Black Pearl from AT/AL.
angela and mien = chicken rice stall at arcade... is the soya sauce chicken one right? its not bad.. the chilli i find is good, but too salty... and portions are SMALLL...... i like their morning bee hoon = fried in the canned ter kah.....artery clogging goodness.. always very popular in the mornings...
the prawn mee soo so la .. mien... chee cheong fun also ok.. drown in oil and gravy..
angela - raffles place foodie... must jio.. khim also works around the area...
BKT serves the black bean song fish head. The sauce is quite good. Try to ask for the nice parts of the fishhead... If u like black bean style fish head, i recommend geylang shi wei xian (a cantonese cze char near geylang lor 13). This restaurant was always reported in ALL singapore tour guide. The boss had handed over to the next generation. Some of the food doesnt taste as good now but the fish head is still quite up to std. Can also try their tofu prawn and black chicken soup.
Wahhh! Smart and Cactus go eat at Twe Kee liao! And Black Pearl durians some more!
I was asked to try Teck Ka durian by my durian seller. Anyone tried that? Worth the money anot? Never jeard of it too.
Tekka supposed to be really good too! Haven't tried it myself.
ok, ieat you said wan ah... I go durian supper now. My durian seller is calling.....
Eastcoastlife & ieat
See my pics at my blog under JB; TECHKHA is nice bitter durian and is "kam" compared to MSW overwhelming taste.
Eastcoastlife & ieat
See my pics at my blog under JB; TECHKHA is nice bitter durian and is "kam" compared to MSW overwhelming taste.
Eastcoastlife, uncle smart and I didn't eat together at Twe Kee. You should come to the forum to get the full picture. He ate at Twe Kee while I ate at the nearby Cafe Oliv. When we realised that, he came over to join me for a chat and then to buy durians.
As for Tekka durian, its quite rare. I was fortunate enough to eat one at AL/AT a few weeks back. Can check out at the small roadside durian stall post in the forum for the picture. Follow this link:http://ieatishootipost.proboards50.com/index.cgi?board=foodtalk&action=display&thread=563&page=2
Eastcoastlife, Can always jio us next week. Haha just went to Twe Kee after a heavy brunch at Cafe Oliv. Ordered a plate for Liv65, Jems & Twakua to try.
I used to be a firm supporter of BTK since i was a kid. Used to have dinner every once in a while at their HQ branch in Balestier.
The past tense comes from their franchise chain. With franchising, their prices jumped, and the quality dropped. They spent too much on aesthetics, money which i thought could be pumped elsewhere, and their headcount is rather high. Without that, their price rise could have been moderated and that may have attracted back their loyal customers.
It's unfortunate, but i haven't eaten from BTK in over 9 yrs since. They are way too pricy and 'up-market' for my taste.
Smart n Cactuskit
Next week, Tuesday or Wednesday at Twe Kee for chicken rice lunch?
aiyooohhh... can't wait to try this much talk-about chicken rice.
*drools*
Wednesday will be fine. Now it is up to Catuskit. Liv65 & others want to join?
Araid Weds are out, don;t have enough staff to cover :)...another time then, you guys and gals enjoy!
I should be ok. Will check with a fren what time I'm meeting him for some photography, probably in the morning.
You should write a review about Ming Kee Chicken Rice located at Bishan. It was featured on Heartland Getaways 2 on Mediacorp Chn 5 before. He never hangs his chickens out openly. Guess why?
Its already on the blog. Use the Google search and type Ming Kee.
every time i find a good chicken rice store they seem to pack up shop after a few weeks. are they trying to tell me something!?
went to BTK east coast yesterday evening after work wif don.
i ordered half roast chicken, white chicken for 2, thai chicken feet, 1 soup of the day, oyster sauce kai lan & e crispy tofu plus a bowl of rice for each of us.
it's only $40+!! very cheap & i ate until i very satisfied (for e quantity!!) but found a white chicken a tad dry..
Wednesday is ok with me. Meet at 12 noon? I chope place first since I only 3 mins walk from the stall. :)
Anyone else who can join us, WELCOME!
Don't be shy... let's have lunch together.
er... one thing must say first... Wait for me to take photos of the food, then can eat, ok? hehe...
On 12pm. Taking photo shoot no problem, used to it.
Ok 12 noon is good. Will bring my wife and daughters along. : )
See you guys tomorrow! :)
One random recommendation: Whampoa market, "Nan Xiang Ji Fan". A thoroughbred chicken rice with a unique thick sauce drizzled over.
Angela
If Raffles is "your area" you should write an article about the area. I am stuck there at lunch and would love to hear your recommendations.
Cheers
I don't understand what's the hype about Boon Tong Kee but their standards have dropped greatly since the 90s.
Greatly controlled over all outlets? I don't know about that man. Bukit Timah branch disappointed me greatly, followed by Suntec's food court which was nonsense and when I went to Balastier's 'original outlet', I shook my head in disgust.
What happened to the Boon Tong Kee in the 90s man? Granted the chicken was good, I have no qualms with that but the rice is a load of rubbish.
Don't get me started on Sing Ho; their branch near Sunshine plaza was degrading over the years. What the hell is this?
Loy Kee lagi worse, don't even feel like commenting. I have up on 5 star after being disappointed by these so called 'major players'.
What happened to the rice man? I don't care about the chicken, just give me back the old days of chicken rice!
we like the chicken rice at bukit timah branch (near courts). their service is great and packaging for takeaway is good. we hardly dine there (not an easy thing to do with a preschooler) and mostly bought back.
we havent eat there for a few months as we're trying to cut down on greasy food. if we have craving, we just get it from chicken rice stall @ kopitiam @ bukit panjang plaza - which is closer to us. diff kind of chicken rice from BTK but nice as well. can you believe it? chicken rice from foodcourt is actually nice.
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