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

....Read more!

Chatterbox Chicken Rice: Signature Singapore Dishes

The famous Chatterbox Chicken Rice $22

There are several dishes which Singapore is famous for and Chatterbox Chicken Rice is one of them. When I say famous, I mean really famous, like Singapore Sling famous or Merlion famous. You know, famous until it gets into every tourist guide, famous.

But like many famous things in Singapore, a lot of us locals never even bother to experience it ourselves. It's that kind of backyard syndrome where you never even been to the Cze Char at the bottom of your HDB flat whereas people are travelling across the island just to eat there.

For me, Chatterbox Chicken Rice is somewhat like that. I first heard of them back in my Secondary School days when my more well heeled friends would talk about eating at the Chatterbox. I could only dream about it since I have to save up just to eat a plate of Hor Fun. Of course, when I started working, eating at Chatterbox became affordable but I hesitate going to eat there since I have to justify paying three to four times the price of normal chicken rice. So it became one of those things that I know I have to do someday but was really in no big hurry.


You get a choice of thigh or breast meat

Now, everyone must have heard of the Chicken Rice Chef who left Chatterbox several years back and started his own Chicken Rice stall over at Downtown East. Such was the reputation of Chatterbox Chicken Rice that he was an overnight success at his own stall as everyone wanted to get a taste of the famous Chicken Rice at a fraction of the price. I have actually blogged about them before back in 2006 but was not overly impressed by it. Perhaps eating at Chatterbox is more than just the Chicken Rice itself.

The history of Chatterbox really goes back quite a long way, back to the sixties when the Mandarin Hotel just opened its doors. Back then, the Chicken Rice set was $4.50. A similar set at the legendary Swee Kee would have cost $1.50 then and I guess the normal hawker might have sold his at around $1. Nowadays, the Chicken Rice set is $22 whereas a similar set with the same about of meat would cost around $8 at Boon Tong Kee. So really it still costs around three times to dine at the Chatterbox.

So I guess the question an everyone's mind must be if it is really worth paying three times the price just to eat this Chicken Rice? Well, it depends. For me, I thought the rice and chilli was excellent as were the soy sauce and minced ginger. The chicken was not as tender and fat as I would have liked but the soy sauce was very good. Overall, I would say it would be up there with the top chicken rice in Singapore. But are you going to get three times the taste out of this chicken rice? Probably not. However, what you are really paying for the opportunity to experience a part of Singapore history as well as the ability to say that you have finally "Been there, done that!" 4.25/5


Big Prawn Noodles $22

Now, aside from the Chicken Rice, the other dish that I managed to try that day was the Prawn noodle soup. Again, it is around three times the price of similar bowl at any of your big prawn noodle shop. The soup was excellent and is on par or even slightly better than the famous prawn noodles around. Well, when you use excellent prawns, you are going to get excellent soup. If you are looking for a fancy place to bring your overseas friends to eat prawn noodles, then this is it! 4.5/5

Conclusion

It is said that the English speaking world is divided into those who have read the Lord of the Rings and those who are going to read it. Do you think we might be able to say the same of Chatterbox Chicken Rice?

....Read more!

Penang Food Trail 5: Penang Vs Singapore Part 2

OK, the current score is Singapore 2, Penang 1. We are going to compare three more dishes in this post. The first one is the Char Siew and Sio Bak. When it comes to Char Siew, there is one undisputed champion of Char Siew and Sio Bak in Penang and that is the one at Sky restaurant. I was told by our resident food blogger, CK Lam that they start selling their Char Siew at around 11.30am and it gets sold out by around 2pm.

The thing about Malaysia is that the people aren't as health conscious as Singaporeans, so they don't bat an eye about eating strips of belly pork that has been BBQed to a crisp with lots of charred bits. If you are expecting juicy Char Siew then you will be dissappointed because eating the Char Siew here is like eating Bak Kwa. It's really very tasty but I think I still prefer a Char Siew which is juicy and tender on the inside. But if you are in Penang, this is definitely one of the stalls to visit. 4.25/5



The Sio Bak on the other hand is very similar to Singapore and is very good. As good as my current favourite which is Fatty Cheong's at ABC brickworks. 4.5/5


Sky Restaurant along Chulia Street

Ok, I think this one has got to be a draw, so it's Penang 2, Singapore 3.



You know how they always have the Penang Hawkers fair at York Hotel every year where Hawkers from Penang and flown to Singapore to demonstrate their skills? Well, this particular hawker that operates this Lor Bak stall is one of those who make the pilgrimage every year. In case you don't know, Lor Bak is what the Penangites call our Ngoh Hiang and refers to a variety of deep fried items which are eaten with a chilli and sweet sauce dip.



I don't think that the Penangites have commercialized their Lor Bak manufacturing just yet, so many of the the hawkers here still make their own items. I might be wrong since we only went to eat at the most famous stalls. Once again, all their items which feature their prawns are really good. Their prawns are really tasty and when fried together in a fritter, it just tastes like Keropok! 4.5/5

I think their Lor Bak wins our Ngor Hiang so its Penang 3, Singapore 3.



The last item on our list is the Chicken Rice. This Chicken Rice Stall just happens to be in the same coffeeshop as the Loh Bak stall, so it is one coffeeshop that you might like to visit in Penang. The Chicken Rice here is very well known around Penang.



The Chicken here definitely beats the ones we have in Singapore. I think somehow they have better supply of free range chicken, so the chicken really has that extra chickeny flavour. However the rice here was rather dissappointing. I think Singaporeans are spoilt by having quality Jasmine Rice in most of our dishes. Over in Penang, they still use rice which is very light and lacks a good gummy bite. So overall, their Chicken is better than ours, but our rice is better than theirs. 4.25/5


Penang Lorbak & Hainan Chicken Rice at Kheng Pin Coffee Shop along
Penang /Sri Bahari Road - near to Cititel Hotel

Conclusion

OK, so the final score is Penang 4, Singapore 4.

You might have guess that I purposely chose these stalls so that I can make it a draw between Penang and Singapore and you are absolutely right. I could have easily "Kelonged" it so that one side wins.

But the point I am making is this. Many people might say that Penang food beats Singapore's hands down, others might say that Penang food is overrated. Both are correct depending on what they managed to try. So the conclusion is this: Penang is a food paradize and so is Singapore. Isn't it wonderful that there is so much great stuff just waiting for you to try?

....Read more!

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

....Read more!

Old Swee Kee: The Resurrection of an Icon?

This stall is closed

Normal Chicken $26 whole, $13 half

I dare say that the legendary Swee Kee Chicken Rice served the "World Best" Chicken rice in their heyday. Actually, it is not that hard to be "World Best" since this style of Chicken Rice is typically Singaporean and if you are the best in Singapore, you would probably be the best in the world. But then, the rest of the world may not know how to appreciate it so there really is no point in calling it "World Best" in the first place. I guess it is just quite satisfying to say "World Best" just as it is quite shiok to say "Shiok"(It's so tasty) and "Wah lao eh!" (Oh my goodness!).

Anyway, a stall calling itself "Old Swee Kee" is bound to attract the attention of chicken rice lovers who are today still reminiscing the "Golden Age" of Chicken Rice when Swee Kee was still around. There was no competition back then. If a tourist was in town and you wanted to showcase the best that Singapore had to offer, you brought them to Swee Kee. Of course, if your guest is very high class and you had a company account, you would bring him to Mandarin's Chatterbox. But for the typical kiasu, every want cheap-and-good Singaporean, Swee Kee was the place to go.

So when Cactuskit SMSed me excitedly one day (don't ask me how I can tell he is excited from an SMS - one just knows) that Swee Kee is back, it did not take me too long to go down to see for myself if indeed the legend has been resurrected.



To cut a long story short rather than prolonging the agony like Ryan Seacrest in American Idol and risk getting "Pui Chao Nua"(spat at in disgust), let me tell you that Swee Kee is sort of back but perhaps not in the way that is going to create the same excitement as when our Table Tennis Team beat South Korea and eventually won the Silver medal. Well done, Team Singapore! Ah Roo, Ah Roo, Ah Rooooooo!

OK, back to my story. Remember there was a stall I blogged before called Rui Kee at North Bridge Road who also claimed to have some Swee Kee Roots? Well, Rui Kee closed the North Bridge Road stall and reopened here in Joo Chiat under the new brand name "Old Swee Kee". Ooooohhhhh......... I hear you say. But all is not bad. The fact is that the Lao Ban Niang's husband used to work in the original Swee Kee and is the cousin of the owner. And, the last remnant of the Swee Kee brand up till now is the restaurant near Senai Airport also called Swee Kee Chicken Rice. This stall is actually run by the husband while his wife runs this new stall in Joo Chiat. So yes, Swee Kee is back but it is not really a "Resurrection from the Dead" like that of Chin Chin.



But that does not mean that you are not getting a great chicken rice experience. I was there within a week of their opening and even though they are still ironing out some operational details, I was pleasantly surprised by the chicken rice there which had that touch of old world authenticity.

The chicken was prepared the traditional way, which means no soaking in ice water after cooking. Instead it is dunked quickly into a little salt water and left on the tray to make sure all that yummy chicken juices don't get drained out. The flesh was tender and tasty without being overly "chickeny". Of course the skin was not as perfect as the ice water dunked ones but I must say that I am beginning to appreciate this style of chicken more and more. 4.25/5

The rice was not as fragrant as I liked. But I found out later from the Lao Ban Niang that they are still working on the cooking equipment as they did not managed to get the fire hot enough to fry the oil. They told me that it would be fixed by next week. 4/5



For the chilli, they have 2 varieties. The standard one shown in the middle and the special reserve version (front) which regulars and those in the know (like you) can request for. The special version is made from chilli padi and packs an extra punch. The ginger sauce is very good. Roughly chopped so that you still get the nice fibre and has enough bite to it.




One last thing I have to say about Old Swee Kee. For those of you who always have problems with friends insisting on eating Kampung chicken, you would be pleased to know that Old Swee Kee sells both types of chicken, so that everyone will be satisfied. Just for the record, they sell three normal chickens for every kampung chicken. So most people still prefer the soft, tender, voluptuous chicken rather than the sinewy Kampung Chicken! But hey, you have your right to like Kampung Chicken and I defend your right to like it even though I don't.

Conclusion

It isn't really Swee Kee resurrected, but it is still a great place to eat chicken rice. So, if you are a self professed chicken rice lover, I am sure you will make a beeline to the restaurant very soon, won't you?

Old Swee Kee
131 Joo Chiat Road
(Jn of Joo Chiat Place & Joo Chiat Road)
64409037
11am to 10pm daily
Closed fortnightly on Mondays



What to do next?

Go try some Presidential Poh Piah nearby
Buy some Char Siew Sio Bak Pau home
The Putu Piring place is also close by
There's an excellent Prawn Mee around there too.
Check out the rest of good eats by clicking on Joo Chiat label
Look at the rest of Singapore's best Chicken Rice

....Read more!

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

....Read more!

Twe Kee Chicken Rice: Mom and Pop still doing it the traditional way.

With ieatjr


Tucked in a small corner coffeeshop in the East Coast is an elderly couple who are still making chicken rice the same way they have been for 30 years. If you have ever wondered what chicken rice tasted like in the old days, you better get here quick, cos these good old mom and pop shops are getting rarer nowadays.

So just what makes a particular chicken rice "retro" and what makes it "modern"? Well, for one thing, the traditional way of preparing the rice is to fry the grains in garlic and ginger first before boiling the rice in chicken broth. Not many people do it nowadays and certainly the large chains will not be able to do it because of the volume of rice they have to dish out. So the only place to find such rice is either at home if you are fortunate enough to have a Hainanese Grandma OR you have to look for other people's Hainanese Grandma to cook it for you. In case you do not have Hainanese friends or if your Hainanese friends are sort of half Hainanese, quarter Teochew and quarter Cantonese, then can I suggest that you come to this stall where you can find a purebred Hainanese couple.



Another thing that makes this a "retro" chicken rice is the way they cook their chicken. Traditionally, Hainanese do not soak the chicken in cold water after cooking. Trust me, I know. I have a Hainanese MIL who has refused to soak the chicken in cold water for the 20 years that I have known her. Now, soaking the chicken in cold water quickly stops the cooking process which results in nice crunchy skin but at the expense of losing all that nice chickeny juices. If you don't soak the chicken then it takes a lot more skill and experience in order to get the timing just right so that the chicken flesh is still tender.

Now, for those who like chicken with a strong chicken taste, this one is just right for you. The flesh is still amazingly tender but of course the skin is not as crunchy as if it was soaked in ice water. I am sort of quite undecided whether this is the one for me but I know that the traditionalists will love it. 4/5



As I mentioned before, this is one of the few places where they fry the grains first before cooking the rice. They also make a point of not adding the chicken oil into the rice so the rice is not so oily. I am sort of wishing they would as I think it would have made the rice even more shiok! 4.25/5

Conclusion

I must make it a point to find and blog a few more of these mom and pop shops before they all disappear!

Twe Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice
Coffeeshop at the jn of Jago close
Open 6.30am to 4pm
Closed Tuesday
Recommended and gently persuaded to blog this place by Cactuskit and supported by Smart in the forum
You can read their comments here



Where to go next?

Another place you can find traditional "non-soaked" chicken is Yet Con
The other place that still fries the grains first is Thien Kee
Read about other chicken rice stalls by clicking the "Chicken Rice" label - 21 stalls blogged and counting!
Join the Forum and see where our forummers are eating chicken rice! Click Here
Have a read of the other mom and pop shops!



Remember to vote today! Click here

....Read more!

Chicken Rice Company: The Next Generation of Chicken Rice?

With Damien and Liverpool

Sakura Chicken: Will this herald a new wave of chicken rice stalls?

Singapore is the Chicken Rice capital of the world. And the standard of our Chicken Rice is so high that even the average Food Court Chicken rice stall is anytime better than what you get in other countries. I remember trying to find a good Chicken Rice when I was living in Bangkok and believe me, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. However, even though the overall standard of Chicken Rice is very good, Chicken Rice Connoisseurs would all agree that the Golden Age of Chicken Rice ended when the legendary Swee Kee closed its doors over twenty years ago. Back in the good old days, they used to farm their own chicken and the owners were fastidious about picking only the best mother hens to put into the hot soup. Nowadays, even though most hawkers know the technique of making a succulent white chicken, they are limited by the quality of the chicken they get from Malaysia.

Around twenty years ago, some enterprising hawkers decided to introduce the Kampung Chicken to Singaporeans. The Kampung Chicken is leaner and tastier than the normal Battery Hen not just because it spends its days exercising its legs in an open aviary, but just because it is a different breed of (French) chicken. It was touted as a healthier yet tastier choice for chicken rice lovers. They have since cornered a significant part of the chicken rice market.

My problem with the Kampung Chicken is that even though it has a more chickeny taste, it really lacked the nice chunky and succulent texture of the normal White Chicken and the drumstick is so lean that it really is almost like eating duck! What I want is the tender, fleshy and tasty mother hen of Swee Kee!



Enter the Sakura Chicken which might herald the next wave in the evolution of Chicken Rice in Singapore. From the same people who brought us Kobe Beef and Kurobuta pork, our Japanese friends seem to have the uncanny ability to come up with delicately delicious delicacies. The good news is that the Sakura Chicken is now being farmed in Malaysia using Japanese technology so they don't need to be airflown here. The chicken is not given any hormones and like the Kampong Chicken, also given enough leg room to roam around an opened and air conditioned enclosure. They believe that this results in "Happier Chickens" which in turn makes for tastier chicken chops. (I guess the chickens are only "happy" cos they are oblivious to the fact that they are destined for the table). The chicken also takes 60 days to grow to palatable size as compared to the 45 days for normal battery hens, so all this just means that you are going to expect to pay more for a tastier treat.



The Sakura Chicken has less fat than the normal chicken. That's good if you are always concerned about having to change pant sizes every few months. The skin is thin with little fat so you won't be getting that succulent jelly texture when you bite into it. But the flesh is indeed really voluptuous, tender and tasty. The interesting thing about this chicken is that the red muscles ie thigh sections come out slightly pink when cooked. So it looks as if it is undercooked. (looking at the red marrow, I'd say they might be just cooked and certainly not overcooked) On the other hand the breast meat comes out really snow white!



For those who always find breast meat a little dry and tough, this chicken might make you change your mind. I found the breast meat succulent and delicate with a good chicken flavour. It really does have all the characteristics that make you want to say: "Oishi!" (Japanese for delicious). One has to hand it to the Japanese, they really know how to inject their Zen simplicity culture into their produce.

I wouldn't say it is the best Chicken Rice Chicken I have ever come across but I think this chicken has a lot of potential in cornering a significant part of the chicken rice market. And with Singaporeans all crazy about Japanese food as shown by our latest Poll, I'd say that there will be a lot of interest in this new Chick on the (chopping) Block. 4.25/5

Because the Sakura chicken does not have much fats, the rice is flavoured from the broth of the chicken. It was ok but I think a bit more R&D needs to go into the rice. The rice was a little mushy and did not have that wonderful fragrance wafting through the air when served. 3/5



Instead of the normal ginger, they provide a ginger-spring onion garnishing which good though I felt it lacked the bite and heat of a good "old" ginger paste. The chilli and soy sauce also needs a little more R&D in order to get all the ingredients to blend together. It felt like a band playing with instruments which are just slightly out of tune.

Conclusion

I think this is a great idea and this Sakura Chicken can potentially corner another portion of the market. So I am predicting that we will be seeing more competitors serving Sakura Chicken very soon. One of the concerns is the price of the chicken. They sell a 1.6kg bird for $30, so it might be a little too much of a premium for some especially if the rice, chilli etc still isn't quite up there with the major players. Whether Chicken Rice Company will be able to capitalize on their first mover advantage and be another major player in that market will depend on them getting the fundamentals right and being able to identify and target the right segment of the market. Whatever it may be, the future is looking brighter for Chicken Rice lovers.

PS: They are currently having a promotion for $2 per plate of chicken rice for a limited time only. All you have to do is to go up to them and say: "ieat-ishoot-ipost" to get a plate of $2 chicken rice! Thanks to Damian from the Chicken Rice Company.

The Chicken Rice Company
Lau Pa Sat Stall 18 St 2
9am to 10pm daily
www.chickenricecompany.com
Our meal was hosted by CRC

....Read more!

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

....Read more!

Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice: Gold Dust Tables

With the ieatfamily


I remember eating at Wee Nam Kee when I was still a kid. That was when they were still at Toa Payoh Lorong 4. I did not remember the taste of the chicken rice though. It was the psychedellic tables that I remember distinctly. The old premises used to have these green and yellow tables which look like they are covered with specks of gold dust. I wonder if there are any readers out there who know what I am talking about?

Anyway Wee Nam Kee moved to the Novena locale for many years now. I remember in the past they used to market their chicken rice as one that is made with no garlic. I am not sure whether it is the case nowadays. However, they have been around since the days of Swee Kee, and being a Heritage Hawker, it has to appear on this blog sooner or later.



I acutally like the rice here although our seasoned makankaki, smart commented in the forum recently that it tasted bland. My experience was quite different. I would say the rice tasted quite rustic and has enough flavour without being over oily. Consistency in the quality of the rice is a problem that many chicken rice stalls are faced with. This was a similar problem with Yeo Keng Nam which I blogged recently. 4.25/5



Although the chicken at Wee Nam Kee is the tender Non-Kampung type, they aren't Battery Hens who need to be concerned about going on a diet. Still tender and juicy, but nowhere as voluptuous as the ones from Xin Ji over at Margaret Drive. Still it is good for those who enjoy tender chicken but are concerned the increasing convexity of their waistline. 4.25/5

Conclusion

Being such a well known name, it is a wonder that Wee Nam Kee has not gone the route of expanding like many other Chicken Rice stalls. That really puts it in no-man's land unfortunately. For a stand-alone stall with such a long legacy, one would have expected it to have done much better than the chain stalls by providing a superlative chicken rice experience.

Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice
275 Thomson Road
#01-05 Novena Ville
Opp Novena Church
10am to 2am daily

....Read more!