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Cuisine Better Days Hainanese Chicken Rice is run by Natalie, an almost one-woman show who takes the orders, chops the chicken, and serves the diners in her chicken rice restaurant. There are several key components that make up a delicious plate of chicken rice and many boxes are ticked here. The rice is infused with the aromatics and spices, chilli sauce is made in-house and packs a fiery punch, garlic sauce helps to cut through the richness, and the poached kampung chicken has a firm and tender bite, which is actually my preferred kind of chicken for chicken rice.
Seriously wonder how this is made. Lovely savoury crunch contrasted with the soft toufu inside. 👍🏻 The ah char was very refreshing too.
Combination platter of the meat options here. Couldn’t choose the part that we wanted but we were given a Soy Sauce Chicken drumstick which was flavoursome, Royal Chicken breast which is tender and the fatty Char Siew that would have been perfect if it was freshly roasted!
Located at the 1st floor of People’s Park Centre you can find this Hong Kong restaurant hidden there.
Here they served 2 types of chicken here, which is the Hong Kong royal chicken and rose wine soy sauce chicken.
The royal chicken looks like the kampong chicken we know, and my first visit chosen this.
I like the meat which was very juicy taste, although still find some redness within the meat at the bone parts.
The combo meal comes with a vegetable dish which you can choose, together with a bowl of soup and plate of rice.
Have read some stuff about Chu Huang Hong Kong Royal Chicken and was actually already pretty intrigued to try them out — took the chance to suggest the spot for lunch when a colleague thought of going to People’s Park Centre for their favourite roast meat stall in the food court, only to find it shuttered. Located at Level 1 of the shopping complex, Chu Huang Hong Kong Royal Chicken is located opposite from the outlet of Ya Kun Kaya Toast there — helmed by an award-winning chef whom had hosted various international leaders, Chu Huang Hong Kong Royal Chicken is one of the rare establishments locally that serves up the HK Royal Chicken, which is their signature dish here. Apart from the HK Royal Chicken, the menu at Chu Huang Hong Kong Royal Chicken also features other dishes typical of Hong Kong-style roast meat joints that includes items such as HK Soya Sauce Chicken, Char Siew; as well as congee and snacks. Beverage options include barley water, canned drinks, various tea options and coffee as well.
Can’t possibly drop by Chu Huang Hong Kong Royal Chicken without ordering their signature HK Royal Chicken — wasn’t feeling like I wanted to do a Combo Meal so we did go for an individual portion instead; patrons will be able to pick between the HK Royal Chicken Rice, HK Royal Chicken Noodle or the HK Royal Chicken Hor Fun. Opted for the HK Royal Chicken Hor Fun, which is served with a bowl of soup accompanied by the side; also included was a saucer containing chili as well as a ginger scallion dip that is meant to go with their chicken. On first look, the Royal Chicken bears some sort of resemblance to our local Hainanese steamed chicken — the only difference here does seem to be in the shade of which the chicken skin came in; a little more yellowish than what we are familiar with. Based on various sources, it is said that the chicken here has been brined in rose water and various herbs — the result is this slightly more savoury and flavoursome chicken than that of the Hainanese steamed chicken that we are more familiar with. It is noted that the meat is also especially tender and juicy — falls off the bone without much effort while the skin is especially silken and gelatinous; one of the most memorable chicken dishes especially in terms of its execution from stalls of its type. Whilst the chicken was already very good on its own, adding that ginger scallion oil antes up the flavour of the dish further — adds an interesting umami note that really went very well with the already savoury chicken; something which we really could not get enough of. Otherwise, the Hor Fun itself is pretty similar to what one would expect out of shredded chicken hor fun that one would usually be able to find at stalls serving up Hong Kong-style roast meats — the Hor Fun used here are the thin sort; almost akin to the ones used for Ipoh Hor Fun. Soft and silken; the Hor Fun is slurpy and tossed in a brown sauce that provides a savoury note — those who fancy some degree of spiciness can also look into adding the chili that they had provided on the side which resembles that of the usual Hainanese Chicken Rice chili that gives it a tang and some heat that should work well for those who are able to take moderate levels of spiciness. The greens added to the plate helped to provide a wholesome feel to the dish; refreshing and crunchy, and a great respite from the meat and savoury elements here.
There have been raving reviews online on the HK Royal Chicken and it is for a good reason — it is well-executed, yet especially affordable. Not doubt the HK Royal Chicken Hor Fun which we had does come with parts that carried more bone than meat, but it was nothing short on being stellar — perhaps one of the best chicken rice/noodle/hor fun dish that one can get at a reasonable price (the individual portion coming with rice/noodle/hor fun all costs $4.60 each). With such pocket-friendly prices and quality of food where execution is of concern, Chu Huang Hong Kong Royal Chicken is certainly a spot to add in to the checklist of places to visit especially for those who are into chicken rice — the HK Royal Chicken was indeed an eye-opener of its own. Probably going to give their Char Siew a try when I return for the next visit — pretty tempted by photos that I have seen online that resembled that of Malaysian-style Char Siew; also probably will think of trying their Teochew Fragrance Prawn Roll (which I had also heard good stuff about) and the Shen Mi Passion Fruits the next time I come round!
The tofu with the black skin. SGD 5.
The black skin is squid juice(墨鱼汁) . The outer skin is crispy but the the tofu within is so soft and smooth. I like it so much. 😋
We ordered the following
1. Combo A . SGD 6
- royal chicken + veg+ tofu + soup + rice.
2. Combo B. SGD 6.
- hk soya sauce chicken + veg + tofu + soup + rice.
I prefer the royal chicken and the rice is so flavorful. Yum
And now for 厨皇’s signature bird, the concubine chicken. No, I’m not referring to a king’s kept woman in a disparaging way, I’m talking about this Hong Kong style poached poultry right here. The main difference between this concubine chicken (aka Gui Fei Chicken, christened after Yang Guifei who was one of the four beauties of ancient China) and Hainanese chicken is rather simple.⠀
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While Hainanese chicken is simmered in water with some herbs, concubine chicken is poached in an exotic elixir of rose wine and lots of herbs. Thus, you get a touch more flavour with every bite of bird, even though those additional flavours are pretty mild. In fact, a good deal of its satisfying umami-ness is derived from the herbal soy sauce sparingly poured over it, while the herbal notes are more than content to be wingmen to the whole event.⠀
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The flavours are delightfully nuanced, but the incredible textures of the chicken aren’t afraid to hog the limelight. The meat is stunningly supple & majestically moist thanks to the perfect cook on the chicken. Meanwhile, that porcelain & slightly yellowish skin is essentially deliciously fatty & felicitous jell-o. Ladies, eat that skin, because it’s full of collagen and other stuff that’ll keep your skin flawless.⠀
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Normally, spreading legs this amazing costs at least five hundred bucks, but at 厨皇, getting stuck into these legs only costs nine dollars (per leg). You’re god damn right I’ll be back to patronise these leggy beauties, and you best believe it.
厨皇 char siew (glazed bbq pork) is radically different from most other char siews in Singapore, as they neither barbecue nor roast their pork. Instead, their cuts of pork belly are slowly braised in their proprietary char siew sauce till cooked through.⠀
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Don’t expect the char siew to have any wonderfully charred crust due to it being essentially braised, but you can reliably expect the meat to be tremendously tender. Due to it being a cut of pork belly, there’s an ample amount of fat running through the char siew. That jiggly, gelatinous fat adds a great deal of flavour to the sweet & salty char siew sauce, creating a uniquely divine porcine devouring experience.⠀
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This substantial portion of char siew is a damn delicious way to part with ten dollars, and you best believe imma do it again.
Yep, I’m back, and I’m back with a Cantonese classic and my go to comfort food, soya sauce chicken rice. After salivating over @misstamchiak post about Chu Huang Hong Kong Royal Chicken (holy crap that’s a mouthful and a half), I HAD to get their birds pronto.⠀
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It is not the best soya sauce chicken I’ve ever had, but it is still undeniably unctuous. At nine bucks for a whole leg, it’s a premium price tag, but the hefty hit to the wallet is ameliorated by the piquancy of the poultry. The soya sauce based braising liquid has intensively infused every last morsel of meat with a pleasant herbal aroma, and the deeply palate pleasuring umami flavours from the MSG naturally occurring in soy sauce.⠀
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Silky smooth & sumptuously savoury porcelain poultry skin is braised to a beautiful brown colour, and the white meat beneath is cooked juuuust right. Any less and it’d be raw, and more and it’d be overcooked. Sure, many may freak out at the fact that the bones are still a bit bloody, but believe me when I say that’s perfect doneness for chicken. Besides, what’s the point if you don’t live life on the edge? Remember kids: WE HERE FOR A GOOD TIME NOT A LONG TIME!!!⠀
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As for the chicken rice ($1 per order), it is DEFINITELY the best chicken rice I’ve had the pleasure of consuming thus far. Every single perfectly steamed grain of rice is insanely inundated with the slickness of the chicken fat it was cooked in, and the savouriness is simply stellar. The bite & chew are stunningly perfect, while the flavour & richness of the rice is simply sublime, with each fat slicked grain doubling up as a little umami bomb of carby comeliness as you chew.⠀
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厨皇 equates to ‘kitchen king’ when literally translated, and I’m pretty inclined to agree with that considering how lipsmackingly luscious their cuisine is.
The Soy Sauce Chicken with Rose Wine - The tender and juicy chicken is poached in an intoxicating blend of dark soy sauce, rock sugar, spices, and aromatic Chinese rose wine, giving it a subtle sweet kick.
Read more: https://www.misstamchiak.com/chu-huang-hong-kong-royal-chicken/
Stepping into the small corner shop, you could see lots of poster and even video advertising their soy sauce business and the history.
They are proud with their soy sauce business that they ventured into this food business serving their soy sauce chicken.
I really love the chicken, which was so juicy and not bones at all. Don’t forget to try it with their chilli as well.