Was going around Maxwell Food Centre the other day and found yet another newly-opened stall that is operating in the hawker centre — located at the corner row where the aisle faces Kadayanallur Street right across from the stall which Hock Lai Seng 福来成 occupies is the new Jia Le Jia 佳乐家. The stall is a fairly noticeable one, considering how it sports a black signboard with photos of the items served on its menu filling up both corners of the signboard. Jia Le Jia is pretty much a mom-and-pop sort of hawker stall; it seems that the folks here chose to serve up items that would likely appeal to a younger audience as well as tourists alike. The menu at Jia Le Jia broadly comprises of two types of items in general; the once-trendy Din Tai Fung-style egg fried rice, as well as Japanese curry rice which they dub as curry rice. Both types of items comprises of variants served with multiple meat options; for the fried rice, one can choose from pork cutlet, chicken cutlet and shrimp, while for the curry rice, there are options for chicken cutlet, fish cutlet and breaded prawn. For those whom wish to try all meat options available for the curry rice in one single plate of curry rice, one can opt for the Special Curry Rice; Jia Le Jia also offers its chicken cutlet, fish cutlet and breaded prawn, as well as a bowl of curry as a side that can be shared across the table or for individuals craving for something lighter than a normal-sized meal.

We weren’t craving for anything too substantial even despite us wanting to go for something that is closer to a full-sized meal that is good for a single individual to go for — that is how we found ourselves going for the Chicken Cutlet Curry Rice when we made our visit to Jia Le Jia on a weekday evening for dinner. Overall, the Chicken Cutlet Curry Rice was nothing too out-of-the-ordinary, though is most certainly a comforting option to have considering how it seems to stay on the safer side of things. There were no particular standouts in terms of the elements here; the Chicken Cutlet Curry Rice coming with deep-fried breaded chicken cutlet, curry roux, Japanese short-grain rice and shredded cabbage with a bowl of egg drop soup coming on the side — but the elements were decently executed and stayed pretty much on the safe side of things. One thing which we did find definitely worth commending is how the folks here don’t seem to scrimp on the curry roux here — there is sufficient curry sauce that is being plated such that there is actually enough to go around all of the rice and even the breaded chicken cutlet itself. We also noted that the fried chicken cutlet was crisp without being greasy; also does not reek of any unpleasant note of overused oil as well — pretty decent in its own right. There wasn’t much to mention about the curry roux, though it was certainly decent without being overly sweet not salty — wished that it comes with a better portion and mix of root vegetables for a more balanced feel considering how the only root vegetable included was that chunk of carrot near the breaded chicken cutlet. The cabbage on the side helps to provide a crunch — gave a refreshing break from all the meat, curry roux and carbs. At $6.50, the Chicken Cutlet Curry Rice is quite a substantially-sized meal and a decent eat — just do not expect anything gastronomical out of it.