oneworldtalk

Hot Chilly · Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 659 Location: Tropics

Yummy! I noticed a discussion on Hainan cuisine and what's a better representation of this speciality than chicken rice.

http://oneworldtalk.freeforums.org/hainan-cuisine-t1290.html#4118

The immediate post war period was the heyday of speciality chicken rice coffee shops such as Swee Kee at Beach Road. It's actually a matter of taste and personal preferences of how you like the texture, aroma and taste of your rice and chicken and the chilli sauce.

Wee Nam Kee at Novena is one of my favourites for their consistency. Xin Ji at Margaret Drive, Queenstown, brings back beautiful and fragrant memories. It's still very good.

Others like Loy Kee and Boon Tong Kee are still good though standards vary according to brances. As always, rapid expansion has compromised on quality and very much dependeng on how closely the franchisee or staff follow the original recipe.

What are qualities of good chicken rice. For the rice part, it mustn't be too soggy and you should be able to see the grainy rice coated with some gleaming chicken stock.

The chicken should not be too fat. Traditionally, the Hainanese use female chicken because it is more meaty. However, Kampung chicken is my preference as I hate eating fatty chicken skin. The skin should be thin and come off easily. Last but not least, the chicken should not be overcooked.

Out of curiosity, I'll like to take a poll. For practical reasons and my limited knowledge, the poll will only in the options chicken rice eating places in Singapore. Folks who are living in other parts of the world should let us know where your favourites are.