Chicken Rice - How do I Love Thee, Let Me Count the Ways

After a long long gap of over 2 months, Sa and I finally returned to our old haunt - the famous Hainanese Chicken rice stall along East Coast road.

When I first moved to the East (and specifically to Katong), I used to eat quite frequently at the stall next to 5-star. They served fabulous fried rice there, and over a couple of years, I had gotten quite friendly with the management there. At that time I didn't used to like steamed chicken - I had this feeling that it had a raw kind of flavour - and used to stick to classic roasted chicken rice.

Then a friend convinced my to try what I was missing, and I was hooked. So ladies and gentlemen, presenting:

Five Star Hainanese Chicken Rice Restaurant



So last night, we got there around 10.30, both tired and hungry after a long workout in the gym. Sat by the road and ordered our late dinner and after a short wait, the dishes presented themselves on our table.

1. Lovely chicken strips (our order has become a mantra with the staff there: breast meat, no skin, no bones, steamed chicken), marinated in soya sauce, with cucumber strips and garnished with parsley. Apparently the chickens used here are raised in Malaysia as free range (aka 'kampung') chickens. They're supposed to be tastier.



2. The famous rice. The rice is cooked in chicken broth, and it tastes delicious.



3. Bloccori with gahric, aka Broccoli with garlic. This is lightly cooked in soya sauce, and yet crisp and flavourful, laced with plenty of garlic.



4. Thai style Tofu - deep fried soya bean cakes, which are soft and wobbly on the inside and crisp on the outside. The cakes are covered with a sweet sour thai sauce, and topped with sliced onions.



We washed the whole thing down with some Chinese tea, and came away happy and full. Our bill for this feast? S$18.40. Not very cheap, but very worth the price.

As you can probably tell, we like this place very much. :)