Sunday, April 19, 2009

Nan Xiang Chicken Rice: Great Chicken Rice but is it the Top 5?



The competition for the best chicken rice in Singapore is a tough one. There are a lot of chicken rice out there and most of them are not bad. The thing with chicken rice is that it is very easily franchised because the rice, chicken, chilli and soup can all be made in a central kitchen and distributed to several branches. Very little of it is operator dependent. So, as long as you can find someone who can chop the chicken, you've set up another branch of your chicken rice chain.

It's getting more difficult to blog about chicken rice because I really need to find one that has that special something in order to justify it being included into the blog since there are so many good chicken rice out there.

I actually do have a stash of chicken rice photos that lie unpublished because they were good but I just did not have much to say about their chicken rice. So when I chanced upon Nan Xiang last week, I was actually quite excited that at last I have found another chicken rice which has a little something special.



There are three things I would say about Nan Xiang. First, there are one of the very few stalls who claim that they still fry their rice before cooking. A lot of chicken rice stalls out there have stopped this practise because it is labour intensive especially if you have to cook bucket loads of rice. So when you eat the rice here, you can appreciate that extra fragrance and texture that sets it apart from the other stalls.

The second thing I would like to bring to your attention is that they have pasted on their display cabinet a newspaper cutting that proudly claim that their are one of the Top Five chicken rice in Singapore. I didn't take note of the details and who the other contenders were, but being able to be shortlisted as the Top Five is quite an achievement since I think that there are far more Chicken Rice stalls than any other types of food stalls in Singapore.



Now apart from the rice being very nice, I really like the ginger here. It is different from the ginger served at other places. The owner was mum about what goes into it, but it had a nice saltiness about it that went well with the chicken. If you are a lover of hot chilli, you would love their chilli sauce as well which is made from chilli padi and lime juice. That extra touch of lime juice rather than vinegar is also another indication that the owner is passionate about his food. The chicken is good, but much the same as any other good chicken rice stall around. Overall, this chicken rice gets a 4.5/5 because of the rice and condiments.



Since we were dining with our venerable Uncle Smart, we just had to request for the most prized part of the chicken for him. I actually wanted to try some but did not managed to get to them in time.



When I met the owner, I had a sense that I have met him before somewhere but I just could not put my finger on it. It was only when I started writing the blog that I realised that he looked a bit like our Hokkien Mee Uncle from Geylang Lor 29 Hokkien Mee! Have a look at the two gentleman and see if you agree with me.

Conclusion

Yes this chicken rice is special, but is it really Top Five? What would your Top Five be?

Nan Xiang Chicken Rice
Left hand side facing the Carpark
Whampoa Food Centre

30 comments:

JENCOOKS said...

Yes, grounded ginger must be included to score an extra point for good chicken rice stall. Whampoa and nearby Balestier is a chicken rice haven and Nan Xiang exists amongst them. Never tried before but the pics looks good especially the rice.

iJeff said...

Yes, the Nan Xiang Chicken Rice was good and worth trying!

Peter said...

holy crap they really look alike!

jems said...

The chicken looks really succulent and done just right from the pic. Now I'm hungry~

ieat said...

I am glad you agree Peter!

Anonymous said...

Would you happen to have the operating hours and days ieat? I would appreciate it if you could provide that because I seem to have a knack of turning up on the days when the stall's closed.

eg. the bak chor mee shop at Changi Road which is closed on alternate Mondays and I turned up on the Monday when it was not opened. and Tian Tian Lai Hokkien Mee at Toa Payoh is closed once every 3rd Wednesday. And yes, first time I went there, it happened to be the 3rd Wednesday.

BTW anyone know if the Whampoa Nan Xiang Chicken Rice at Lau Pa Sat is the same as the one in this review?

liverpool1965 said...

want to try Pow Sing this week ieat? :)

tj han said...

There are good chicken rice stalls of course, but I find that the bad ones outnumber them at least 100:1. Especially those in the Koptiam "Food Culture Cancer" franchise.

My personal favourites (do not eat much CR) are Xing He and Tong Fong Fa, my spelling is way off for both. The former is near Paradiz Centre beside the Rochor Beancurd place, while the latter is at Ghim Moh market and during my JC days at Ghim Moh, I ate that quite often.

The Xing He one has this charcoalish taste that I can't quite put my finger on the source, but for me it's great. The first requirement for a good CR is that the bones must be removed cleanly and completely, anything with bones = autofail.

Pong said...

I think their moustache make them lookalike.

Anonymous said...

abit off topic but anyone likes the ginger they serve with the samsui chicken at soup restaurant? i do :D

Anonymous said...

They really look alike, look like long-lost twin bros.

Get them to combine their culinary skills and create Chicken Hokkien Mee?

Anonymous said...

Actually hor, in the nearby opposite hawker centre the Eastern Chicken Rice is better.

Anonymous said...

Sorry it is actually the same block the other side.

tweety said...

Actually both the chicken and the ginger sauce at Soup restaurant are fantastic. The ginger sauce is served in a big portion but easy to finish. We rate the chicken dish at least among the top 5 but guess can't count as chicken rice as they only serve plain rice with other dishes. And not hawker style but actually think their price for the dish is not far off fm hawker price. We go there often when we were in Singapore.

wahcow said...

tong fong fatt is one of my favourites...even after they franchise it out...i still like them !.....maybe its another gong tao sauce thing...moohahahahahh

nan xiang is not bad also....too bad some of the stalls are not open the day we went....need to go again ! especially for rojak and bbq crabs.

ieat said...

Tong Fong Fatt is a name I heard many times. Which branch do you recommend?

Anonymous said...

when the chilli is bad, does it make the chicken rice bad???

ieat said...

No, but a good chicken rice cannot be great without a good chilli

yolenda said...

when i look at the pic, i wonder since when the hokkien mee uncle sells chicken rice. only after i finish the blog then i realise it's diff ppl. am going for the chicken rice today and see how good they are.

liverpool1965 said...

wahcow brought me to the ABC market Tong Fong Fatt a while back...yes wondering what they put in the sauce too wahcow!

Anonymous said...

the ghim moh one is pretty good, especially if you call the more expensive $3.50 version instead of the $2.50. can really tell the difference in texture and bite.

wahcow said...

any tong fong fatt is good ! but i think should go to Ghim Moh since its the "birth place"

Fresh Fry aka 福星 said...

i've tried Tong Fong Fatt at the Ghim Moh one and their franchise in Amoy FC. both are as good, i feel. i know one of the partners through my friend. the partners rotate throughout their outlets in S'pore to ensure quality standards. I once seen him in the hawker centre outlet near Parkway.

i love how the tender chicken is with the rice + soup + the chicken liver. few places cook the chicken liver well = not too hard or soft. their chilli isn't those watery sort and the ginger.....OMG.....*DROOL*

i love chicken rice with coriander leaves, wonder if there's any of u who share the same sentiments? =)))

xtinatanst said...

hi there!

have you tried pow sing chicken rice at serangoon gardens? i grew up eating it haha.. they have a restaurant with a huge red signboard as well as a stall in the corner coffeeshop. the stall sells mainly roast chicken and the restaurant only sells steamed chicken cuz it's aircon and apparently the owner insists that roast chicken will not taste good in an aircon environment.

cheers!

ieat said...

It is on the To Do list

wahcow said...

seems like there are many fans of tong fong fatt and pow sing !!

liverpool says pow sing best...i say tong fong fatt...moohahahhaha..

hungry.....

liverpool1965 said...

lunch wahcow!??

Anonymous said...

I tried Nan Xiang Chicken rice last week.. I packed half chicken.. Hmm.. You may often find the meat not as much as compared to other chicken rice stall like Five Star Chicken or Boon Tiong Kee. If u notice the meat that he serve for half chicken closely, actually the boss took away part of the chicken breast meat. They only slice a few piece in. I find that its a bit unethical thou.. but probably the boss mentality is for u to come back for more.. So for those who buying half or whole chicken.. do take note to prevent getting short change. :)

ieat said...

Hey that is unethical. Will other readers please let us know if this has happened to them as well?

Anonymous said...

I have eaten at Nan Xiang a few times.. the reason why some people may get less breast meat is that during their major peak hours, they usually get very busy and may miss out some parts of the chicken.. was given short of a drumstick once, but when i asked the lady boss gave me a drumstick and a bit of breast meat as compensation.. Not bad IMO.. and 1 thing about Nan Xiang, if you order chicken drumstick rice there is no extra charge.. you don't get that very often anymore..

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