Chickened Out.


The best chicken rice in Klang Valley???
This is supposedly IT. According to voters of the friedchillies.com AFA 2009 at least.

As part of my gastronomic trail for the nominations of the AFA, we zoomed in on the chicken rice winner, since Abas was hankering for hainanese chicken rice after Sat night.

Famished, and having rounded the Atria area numerous times trying to find Jalan 22/23, Leonard, Abas and I proceeded to order immediately while waiting for the rest of the gang to arrive.

Service was quick, and the manager (yup… the same dude we saw on the video at the night of the awards in Pannaz) was most attentive and friendly.

We started off with the soup and I thought I was in for a good meal since the soup was one flavourful broth.
Sadly, things spiraled downwards from here.
Me thinks the wow factors for any chicken rice is most definitely the chilli, the rice and then the soy sauce. And of course, at the very least, tender chicken meat.

The Rice.
While their version of the rice was passable, it wasn’t good enough to score additional brownie points from me.
I do like my rice with some hint of ginger, preferably bentong ones and yes, while I can make do with this, it would help if the rice was fluffier and less wet.The Chicken.
I went for the “original”of course, no frills please, thank you.. as that would allow the natural flavour to come forth and hence the best way for me to judge the taste.

Verdict?
BLAND, but luckily smooth and tender. I had the drumstick, but those who ordered the breast said it was dry and stringy. ..

Disappointment setting in, I mopped my piece of chicken with the soy sauce and dunked it into the chilli.
But alas, both were lackluster; and sure as hell couldn’t save my plate of “best” chicken rice in town.
The chilli was flat & lacked the sting to perk up my jaded tastebuds. The soy sauce that doused the chicken cuts was just as plain. No sesame oil, no garlic oil and no ginger.

However, the roasted version fared slightly better as there was some “taste” from the marinate on the skin.
The last person to arrive, Josh had to order the chicken chop as there wasn’t any chicken left. For RM13.50, it was a decent size and he proclaimed it better than the steamed chicken. But hey, this is deep fried and slatered with gravy, how could any decent cook go wrong with that??
Stir fried kai lan, crisp and crunchy. A tad salty though.
The beansprouts were alright, natural fresh sweetness and lightly salted from the salted fish added.
By the way, we were charged for these, RM1 per pax. Since there were 6 of us, we paid RM6 for these miserable crackers, peanuts and a wet towel each.
Even the “yee mai fu chok”(barley, beancurd sheets and gingko dessert) lacked the freshly boiled robust flavour.
Supposedly soft chewy and sweet gingko nuts was instead brittle and dry. The beancurd sheets are slightly “rubbery”, as opposed to the soft and melt in the mouth texture I’m accustomed to. Shaking my head in disbelief, this is the first and last visit.

Ah well, great company and good conversation saved the night.
Now, the question is … Where is the best chicken rice in Klang Valley?




This Post Has 42 Comments

  1. Sean

    eh … so how come it won ar?

  2. thenomadGourmand

    i got no idea!! All 6 of ones was dumbfounded with the food!

  3. Sugar Bean

    Ooo… Was thinking of trying it out but since you said so, might not then. Haha! Best chicken rice? I like Ipoh Chicken Rice Shop in Jalan Gasing. But not sure if it’s the best in KL. ^^

  4. AR

    Especially us Penang people – even the normal chicken rice in Penang seemed to be better haha.

    But at least it wasn’t terrible. And you’re right, we had good conversations =)

  5. Big Boys Oven

    wow! I thought of dropping by as it is located not far from my office, kelana jaya here. hmmmm…. this is shocking experience for you. I think the chicken rice at kota damansara taste good.

  6. Selba

    Aiyoooo…. so can not really trust the result of the AFA nomination….

    Good thing that you had a good time with the floggers 🙂

  7. 550ml jar of faith

    I see the AFA food crawl has started! Good on you for finding out for yourself if it lives up to its votes! With more patrons that the awards are bringing to their doors, they’ll HAVE to pull up their socks and prove their worth!

  8. Allie

    what a miserable meal =.=”

  9. thenomadGourmand

    sugarbean: hello there!thks fr droppin by 😉
    i tried the jln gasing one but tat was yrs ago..mayb time for a re-visit 😉
    BBO: hohoh..yup shocked n shaken to the bones!
    selba: well..i hv been known to hv very high stds heehehhe…
    550: ohh..it has started some time back! been keepin all my posts on the nasi lemak! will post soon!
    allie: yes dear..somemore i’m frm Pg! imagine my disapptment…

  10. thenomadGourmand

    AR: yea man..gd company saved the night!

  11. CUMI & CIKI

    alamak.. no good hor?

    CHERAS! good for the park cham kai.. uh-huh!

  12. Alexandra@Chefspiration

    yikes that sucks! ok not gonna go check that place out…now I gotta see about trying out the other winners 😀

  13. thenomadGourmand

    cumi: really? i stay in cheras!! where where where??
    Alex: dun bother gal..lets “waste” our $$ somewhere else!

  14. KampungboyCitygal

    arh not good ar? try the one at kelana jaya, super nice

  15. Josh Lim

    Wow, that was fast!

    Thanks for leaving me some leftovers. Though, the chicken (from the chicken rice) was dissapointing. Dry, and not too flavourful. As someone that ate chicken rice everyday for 2 months straight sometime back, I've had better (from around Aman Suria & Ming Tien Sunway)

    Wonder if it's a time thing though – I guess our group was probably the last to order. But they should try to be more consistent. Service was good though, I agree.

    Good thing I arrived late and ordered the chicken chop (which was decent), haha. Let's hope for better luck next time 🙂

    Josh Lim
    http://www.josh.my

  16. thenomadGourmand

    kampungboyCitygal: hello! thks for droppin by! ya lohh..darn dsappointing stuff! KJ?? whr exactly?
    Josh: helloooo! luck got nothin to do with it. eating CR everyday?? wow..tk me to some good ones then!

  17. GFAD

    I also know of a fab chicken rice stall in Kelana Jaya. Only available for lunch, they claim to be Bentong Chicken rice. Very smooth, very tender chicken. If you are lucky, they also have boneless chicken feet with cucumber and spring onion in a sesame-soy dressing. Delish!

    If you are heading towards Puchong on the LDP, it’s on your left before Giant. Look out for a single row of shophse after the Kelana LRT Stn. They are in a corner lot kopitiam. I think the shop is called Yat Yeh Hing (used to be anyway. Haven’t been there is 2 years). Just a few doors away is a popular BKT shop, supposed moved from Jaya Sect 14.

  18. cariso

    I enjoy reading this post,more ok?! 🙂

  19. burpandslurp

    nonono, chicken rice definitely cannot be wet! eew! I like my chicken rice dry and separate.

  20. thenomadGourmand

    GFAD: hey thks for droppin by!! went to ur blog yest, very pretty b’day cake!
    oh? KJ..muz go chk that out!
    cariso: hahah..so i muz post more on bad tasting food?
    burpadnslurp: EXACTLY. but muz stil be simmered with pure chic broth of course; yet the grains retains its fluffy texture..

  21. email2me

    Lol ….. since you so disapointed with this, I am going to post up the best poach chicken rice in Klang Valley.

  22. thenomadGourmand

    that’s what i’m waiting for!!! anyways..its down to Loke Yuen, and the 2007 champ in Pandan Indah/Ampang

  23. UnkaLeong

    Yat Yeh Hing Has my vote..there is also a pretty good one down in Kota Kemuning.

  24. thenomadGourmand

    babe_kl: ok ok..wahhh seems tat after nasi lemak and burger i got to start a chic rice
    unkaLeong: ehh.its in KJ.its that why? heheh.cos its so near whr u stay? ;p

  25. foodbin

    maybe they did not served you guys free range chicken.

  26. vialentino

    tonight i will eat Kong Sai Chicken at Bdr Puteri Puchong…..very packed and famous too….this chicken rice stall also looks good and delicious ler….

  27. UnkaLeong

    Where got…I go down to Kota Kemuning for food oso sometimes…Hahaha!

  28. thenomadGourmand

    foodbin: ?? u meant u ate thr be4 and their free range chic was better?
    vialentino: aiya…tell me some more nvr invite! looks gd only u go taste it and see!
    unkaLeong: Shah Alam..wahh..ok ok *swallow back words*

  29. Emeryn

    LOL… my stomache’s growling now. Not the best also dun mind. looks yummy to me. =D

  30. thenomadGourmand

    hehe.. let me take u to the best one then! nx week?

  31. backStreetGluttons

    Without trying to sound too smart alexy, the list by friedchilies were already deeply suspect when assam laksa ( O&S) and crabs (Fatty Crabs, Tmn megah) were listed !

    Anyway the best chicken rice shop should be in Ipoh ( haha ) but seriously even the Chicken Rice Shop is not too bad ( on their in-form days at the right outlet and the right time), for even the best of the best has their off days

  32. thenomadGourmand

    bsg: yeah i heard Fatty crabs aint that good really..i had the CRS be4 but long timw ago..it is actually quite gd. at the very least, the chic meat has got some taste!

  33. Simon Seow

    The best Hainamese Chicken rice is not in KL. It’s in Seremban, Ah Paw Chicken Rice. Voted the best in the contest run by NTV7 in 2005. In KL, Nam Heong should be not bad but you have to go to the original in Petaling Street not the franchised outlet acquired by Esquire Kitchen.

  34. thenomadGourmand

    aiyo Simon, i was lookin fr a Klang Valley one maa..if i wan great chic rice I can go to Pg for tat!
    Anyhow Nam Heong is so-so, but i think the original in PS should b better so yup, i wil go try it out! Thks for the recom!

  35. Myhorng

    best chicken rice is every where in klang valley actually. too many of them i guess

  36. thenomadGourmand

    Myhorng: sure boh?? everywhr? tell me ONE good one in KL area

  37. Adly

    Yeah, that’s the thing when we decided to do a people’s choice awards instead of just a single party. I think our street food belongs to everyone so we decided to get people to cast their opinions instead of just us. I guess more people voted for Hainanese. I don’t think the system is perfect yet since this is first time. I think that for the second AFA, more people will vote in and nominate so that it becomes a truer reflection of the best. Anyway, thanks for your candid comments. 2nd AFA will be much better!

  38. thenomadGourmand

    adly: hey hey! NO OFFENCE to AFA, me thinks V parkand OM rocks!! Also, I realized that the voters are definitely incl of Malays, and thus CANNOT compare cos they would not hv eaten at non-halal CR stalls, hence this is prob the BEST HALAL chic rice in town!

  39. fatboybakes

    oooh, bentong ginger…bow bow, you are indeed a gourmand/gourmet…

  40. fatboybakes

    the original nam heong on jln sultan’s pretty good…but only that one…the branches are ermmm….err…

  41. thenomadGourmand

    fbb: i frm Pg.. tongue very sharp sharp both in words and taste! ;p
    i see…cos i wasnt impressed w Nam Heong in SS2. but Jln Sultan? ok, time to chk it out!

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