Chicken House on Upper Thomson Road prides itself on using “kampung” (literally meaning “village” in Malay, but refers to free-range) chicken for their Hainanese chicken rice, yellow-skinned fowls which yielded firm-textured, deep-flavored meat.
Blanched beansprouts, dressed in chicken drippings, soy sauce, shallot oil, garlic oil, and other condiments, garnished with chopped scallions, crisp-fried shallots and some red chilis.
This dish was first popularized in Ipoh, Malaysia, where chicken rice or chicken noodles are usually paired with beansprouts.
Ngoh hiang - 5-spiced pork rolls in bean-sheets. These were delicious - a very “untraditional” accompaniment to Hainanese chicken rice, but a sure winner here.
For decades, Nam Kee at 201 Upper Thomson Road traditionally ruled the roost in this neighborhood where Hainanese chicken rice is concerned. But looked like it has a serious competitor in Chicken House nowadays.
It’s amazing how, oftentimes, regional cuisines are differentiated by minute, little things. In Ipoh, one of their most popular street food is simply called “Nga Choy Kai”, literally “Beansprouts Chicken”. Their poached chicken is of Cantonese origin - which is still quite similar to Hainanese poached chicken.
The main difference, I’d say, is that the Cantonese serve their chicken alongside plain, steamed white rice, instead of the Hainanese-style, where the rice is flavored with chicken drippings, ginger and scallions, and cooked with chicken stock. But here, in Ipoh, Lou Wong and its main competitors like Onn Kee, will serve chicken-flavored rice as well - though they’d insist theirs aren’t “Hainanese-style”.
Not really. For aquatic-themed symbols, the Chinese would regard a picture of 9 swimming carp fishes as auspicious. But a crab, and especially on large signboard? I really need to ask the owner when I go back there. Maybe a feng shui consultant advised him on that.
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CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
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Or a Western astrologer learned that the owner’s birthday made him a Cancer, explained, and the owner embraced the star sign with an enigmatic storefront announcement.
The chicken and gizzards look really good! The skin on the chicken looks outstanding! Makes me want to snack on that first. And the pork rolls look like a real treat, too.
Thank you for posting these reports, Peter!
