Thursday, April 24, 2025

Interesting Hainan Chicken at Singapore Food Kopitiam


I tried the Hainan Chicken at Singapore Food Kopitiam.
Although the reviews aren't great, I didn't expect it to be this bad. Perhaps it was the wrong day to dine, as I went right after the holidays, when they might have been serving leftovers from before they closed.

Obviously, Hainan chicken has two main ingredients: rice and chicken.
The state of the rice was concerning - it was smashed, looking like cauliflower rice or Indian poha, with none of the rice grains distinct.
From its state, it appears to be reheated frozen rice, as rice expands when frozen, which smashes it up.
There was a lot of microwaving noises in the background.
Same for the char kuay teo noodles.
The ones on this visit were all mushed and didn't have defined edges like the one Mark Faux posted.

Next, the chicken didn't look like Hainan chicken. Having reviewed and eaten many meals of Hainan chicken, I can say it looks nothing like it. Even though it doesn't look like traditional Hainan chicken, what's worse is that it's inconsistent with the previous ones served at this place shown on Google maps.

The colour of the thigh meat was dull grey, indicating that the chicken had been braised for a long time. The skin wasn't yellow and attached like usual Hainan chicken, and there was an excessive amount of oil and brown sauce. Normally, the chicken is served on a bed of chicken oil and if there is any brown sauce it barely mixes into it due to the density.
A good Hainan chicken is where the chicken is slightly pinkish near the bone an firmly attached.
Given that they are chefs and thought the food was fit to serve like that, I did not bother giving them feedback at the restaurant as they would not see it as a problem.
As for the taste, it was similar to Taiwanese sesame chicken. 

I'm no Jay Rayner, but I do share all my food experiences on most platforms.























No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...