Heng Ji Chicken Rice: I waited three years to eat this Chicken Rice!
Well here is another stall that I waited three years to eat.
When I started the blog, Smith Street Food Centre had shifted to its temporary premises at Outram and Heng Ji decided to take a break rather than shift there. So the blog post for this very famous Chicken Rice was put on hold for a while. It is quite amazing that even with the number of chicken rice stalls at Smith Street Food Centre, this particular stall still stands out for many a foodie. I guess it might have something to do with their long history at the food centre and of course the standard of their chicken rice.
The lady boss who was chopping the chicken tells me that their chicken is special. Just how is it special, she did not say. But she just said to try it first and see if I also felt it was special. And indeed it was. Their chicken is not exceptionally large, perhaps around 1.6 kg only, but I felt the meat had a very nice savoury flavour about it which is missing in many a food court chicken rice. So the chicken gets a 4.5/5 from me.
However, the rice that day was a bit of a dissappointment. It certainly looked great, with that light tea colour and slightly broken grains but the flavour was only so so. Holydrummer commented that they used a lot of fried shallots which might explain the brown colour of the rice. It wasn't all that bad, it just wasn't up to expectations. 4/5
Their chilli is a bit of surprise and it is quite unique in that it is exceptionally sweet. Very unlike any chicken rice chilli I know and I am sure some people might not even consider it chicken rice chilli. This one will depend on your preference for sweet stuff. I personally like my food a little sweet, but not really when it comes to chicken rice. 3.5/5
Conclusion
I am sure there must be many fans of this chicken rice out there. I think it is good, but there are a lot of stalls nearer to me where I can get better ones. The chicken is perhaps the only thing that stands out for me.
Heng Ji Chicken Rice
Chinatown Smith St FC
#02-131
Open from 3pm till 9pm
8 comments:
Hv been patronising Heng Ji for quite a no of years. Bt Heng Ji and Tian Tian, I wld go for Heng Ji's chicken and pair it with TT's rice and chilli. HJ's rice is too oily but its chicks are real supple and tender.
Sharing the same row as TT but some stores away (towards URA builing) is one Hainanese Boneless chicken rice (other outlets at ABC market, Parkway and Amoy). Its not too bad though a tad oily for the chicken. The gravy sauce tt comes with the chicken is quite shiok.
- beemer
Yes Beemer, I belive you are speaking of Tong Fong Fatt. That is Wahcow's favorite place. Its on the to do list. Maybe we plan a makan session there one day. Fatty Cheong has been telling me that he has been experimenting with a chilli spare rib recipe.
Hi!
Just stumble upon your blog via blog malaysia directory. Look like that 3 years is worth to wait ya. I also don't like my chicken rice chili to be to sweet.
TFF has quite a few branches, one is at Ghim Moh Market and was probably the only thing I ate there for the 2 years of study in the adjacent JC.
Have tried this stall couple of times back before didn't warrant a must try list.If around maybe.
This stall is my family fave and it has been around for many years before the Smith FC was built to house those roadside hawker stalls in Chinatown.
finally tried tis chicken rice today.. sad to say, but i dun find anything fantastic abt tis store..
i even request for extra rice as i was super hungry..
e rice was tasteless & too meshy to my liking.
e chicken was dry & pathetic. ( i prefer TFF whose chicken is so tender & succulent!)
e "sweet" chilli was not suitable for chicken rice at all!
my verdict: not worth my calorie
yes..this stall is definitely as old as me ..used to be at the roadside... certainly brg back alot of fond memories :)
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