Food Feature : 5 of the best chicken rice in town

Chicken rice is definitely one of the all time favourite food for Malaysians. 

Smooth tender chicken, doused in a fragrant sauce of soy sauce, sesame oil and topped with spring onion and coriander, and accompanied by fluffy chicken rice and crunchy bean sprouts. Ah, comfort food at its best. 

 

The good news is, there are plenty of places around town where you can find a good plate of chicken rice, and they are available from breakfast till dinner. Here is my take on 5 of the best spots in PJ and Subang for that yummy plate of chicken rice.

Restoran Prosperity Bowl, SS2

Last year's theStar People's Choice Food Award for the Best Chicken Rice in Klang Valley, this eatery certainly lives up to expectations with its chicken rice offerings. Prosperity Bowl pride themselves on offering only free range chicken that are not injected with antibiotics or hormones.

We love the texture of the chicken meat – tender yet chewy without being tough. It has a subtle meaty sweetness without being gamey. The seasoning was top notch - a mixture of good soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and chicken oil; all the hallmarks of a good old fashioned CR seasoning. Their chicken rice and hor fun were also pretty good.

Prosperity Bowl is located behind ESH Electrical Shop in SS2. It is the end lot of that same row. There is no aircondition and the old style kopitiam interior felt rather grimy, but the delicious food served is worth sweating it over.

Restoran Prosperity Bowl, No. 19, Jalan SS2/30, PJ. Tel: 012.397.2820. Opening hours: 8am – 5pm daily except Wednesdays. GPS 3.1133134, 101.620971. Non Halal.

Restoran Kar Heong, Subang SS14

Over in Subang, one of our favourite CR shop is Kar Heong. This old timer in SS14 is perenially crowded especially during lunchtime. Parking can be a challenge, so it's best to car-pool. 

 

The chicken served is the normal mass-farmed/pasar chicken, but is nevertheless tasty and tender. Fans of Ipoh chicken rice will rejoice to know that the food here is similar to Ipoh style in terms of the taste of the seasoning, the short and fat crunchy beansprouts (yes, it's sourced from Ipoh) and the hor fun has that Ipoh signature orangey prawn oil floating on top. Their prawn wantons are also excellent.

Kar Heong is a no-frills, airconditioned restaurant, with prices that are still budget friendly. Hence you will find many college students here tucking into their familiar hearty fare. There is also a branch in Kota Damansara, but I felt that the taste and quality of food here in the Subang original branch fares much better.

Restoran Kar Heong , No. 60, SS14/2 Subang Jaya. Tel: 012.605.6696. Opening hours: 9am – 9pm daily. GPS 3.072531, 101.590208. Non Halal.

If its roast chicken you fancy rather than steam chicken, head over to the ever popular Kedai Kopi O&S in Paramount Garden and Restoran Hong Seng in Section 17.

 

Kedai Kopi O&S, Paramount Garden, PJ

The roast chicken stall in O&S serves up some excellent honey roast chicken and siew yoke. Often overshadowed by the other more “famous” stalls such as the assam laksa stall and the penang chee cheong fun stall, this underdog CR stall nevertheless whips up some finger licking good honeyed chicken and crispy siew yoke.

 

We enjoyed their honey roast chicken which has a beautifully smoked and caramelised coating. I am sure this would be a hit with the kids. Their siew yoke is also very decent – crunchy crackling and slightly salty, with a hint of 5 spice powder. The other pleasant bonus is that their chicken rice is also served with a bowl of piping hot herbal chicken soup.

Kedai Kopi O&S, 39, Jalan 20/14, Paramount Gardens, PJ. Tel: 03.7876.1488. Opening hours: 10am – 2pm. GPS: 3.106811, 101.6255989. Non Halal.

Restoran Hong Seng, Section 17

The chicken rice stall in Hong Seng needs no introduction to most PJ folks. Famously known as the chicken rice stall with the longest queue, the roast chicken and char siu here is superb. We love the smoky caramelised flavour that coats the chicken skin and permeates into the meat. My serving of breast meat was juicy and tender, and I like the fact that the meat was not flattened – something that many chicken rice stall do especially to tougher parts of the meat as a ploy to tenderise the meat before serving.

Best to come by 1130 if you want to skip the queue. Their sour veg is also pretty decent – super sour and super spicy, with plentyful of mustard greens.

Restoran Hong Seng, No. 1, Jalan 17/29, PJ. Tel: 03.7222.3494. Opening hours 10am – 1pm. GPS: 3.128289, 101.635371. Non Halal.

Restoran Mei Sek, USJ

Lian Kee Chicken Rice at Mei Sek coffee shop operates only for dinner, from 5pm – 1130pm. This CR stall is highly popular with families and the crowd starts packing in after 7pm. Business was so good that a couple of years ago, they took over the next shoplot. Food here is also cooked ala Ipoh style – from the seasonings, beansprouts, to the prawn oil hor fun broth.

Although the chicken used is the regular farm chicken, the colour and meat texture taste very similar to kampung chicken. They also have a good variety of other items including braised tofu and eggs, foochow fish balls and yam pork. The other highlight is their condiments – ginger paste and garlic chili sauce that pack a punch.

Restoran Mei Sek, No. 12, Jalan USJ14/1K, Subang. Opening hours 5pm – 11.30pm daily. GPS: 3.0387461, 101.5883664. Non Halal.

You can also find this article re-produced in Hungrygowhere HERE