I Seldom Go To Choa Chu Kang!
Since I live in the Eastern part of Singapore, I seldom travel all the way to the West for food, unless of course, there is something really worth checking out. But when you have a veteran celebrity chef like Chef Eric Teo telling you about his favourite chicken rice stall, that is good enough reason to make the journey to the West!
Ah Boy To Man
I have known Chef Eric for many years, ever since I first met him during a Mediacorp filming. We recently ran into each other as fellow judges at Paradise Classic recently. We decided it was time to catch up over lunch and he suggested his favourite chicken rice place. But when he told me it was in Choa Chu Kang, I was hesitant. Choa Chu Kang is a place I visit only once a year during Chinese New Year!
However, that moment of hesitation evaporated when he told me about the chef behind the stall. He is affectionately known as Ah Boy and had worked for him for over 15 years across three hotels. That, I felt, was worth checking out.
In case you are wondering why that middle-aged man in the photo, Mr Chai Kok Sing, 52, is called Ah Boy. Well, he was the youngest and smallest of Chef Eric’s crew when he first joined fresh from Johor at just 20 years old. And when he eventually decided to strike out on his own with this stall in 2007, Chef Eric affectionately coined the name of the stall after his nickname!
Chicken Rice Very Nice!
Straight off the bat, I can tell you that the rice here is one of the best I have come across in recent years. Just look at it. Each grain is distinct, glistening with chicken oil, and carrying that faint golden hue that tells you it has been properly cooked in good stock.
Ah Boy walked me through the whole process. The aromatics, ginger, blue ginger, shallots and lemongrass, are first ground into a paste and slowly fried till fragrant, before chicken oil and stock are added to build a flavourful broth. The rice is then stirred in continuously until all the liquid is absorbed, before being left to finish cooking on its own. That extra attention to process shows in every grain. 4.5/5
It’s no wonder that Taiwanese YouTuber Angel Hsu crowned it the best rice after visiting 100 chicken rice stalls across the island! (Also read my subsequent review of whether chicken rice is safe to consume in Singapore)
There Is Jelly Under The Skin
The chicken is also excellent. Ah Boy tells me he only uses the freshest birds, each at least 2kg, for better flavour. For those of you who are queasy about chicken that is still pink near the bone, fret not. They make sure it is fully cooked through to the bone while still managing to keep that tender, silky texture intact.
The skin has the requisite layer of jelly underneath, and the meat pulls away cleanly. Overall, I would say this is as good as poached chicken gets in Singapore.
My only gripe is that the soy sauce could be a little more punchy. If they could also drizzle some of that fragrant chicken oil used to cook the rice over the chicken, it would be just about perfect. 4.25
Roast Chicken and Other Dishes
The roast chicken is also excellent. The skin is beautifully lacquered and the meat is well seasoned, tender and juicy all the way through. The pickled achar on the side is a nice touch, adding a refreshing contrast to the richness of the chicken.
They also serve a soup of the day, and on the day we visited, it happened to be a lovely lotus soup. 4.25/5
Ever since my trip to Ipoh, I always order a plate of tau geh whenever it is available. Tau geh in Singapore can be very good, although it can never quite match the ones from Ipoh. They cook it in the chicken broth, which gives it a lovely depth of flavour.
However, I felt that if they shortened the poaching time a little, the tau geh would taste more fresh and crunchy, more like the ones in Ipoh. 4/5
For those who love to have steamed chicken soaked in curry sauce, Ah Boy offers Chicken Curry Noodles too. Theirs is a Malaysian version where the gravy is less lemak than our local version. It’s pretty decent, though you wouldn’t make a special trip for it. 4/5
Conclusion
Overall, Ah Boy serves a highly competent plate of chicken rice that’s well worth the trip if you’re out West. The rice is one of the best I’ve come across. If you consider the rice to be the soul of the dish, then this is the place you have to go!
