Healthy Food: Singapore Shiok!*: Chicken Rice, Haymarket (29 Sept 2010)

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Singapore Shiok!*: Chicken Rice, Haymarket (29 Sept 2010)

Eating World Harbour Plaza food court
Shop 213, 25-29 Dixon Street, Haymarket NSW 2000

My NEW favourite Chicken Rice

If shiok means 'an expression of satisfaction' then Singapore Shiok is a gem waiting to be discovered by all Singaporean and Malaysian food lovers in Sydney.

One of the joys of having a food blog is you sometimes get recommendations from readers which lead to great finds. Thanks to Eve who commented on my Malacca Straits post in recommending Singapore Shiok!*. Tucked away in the same food court that brings you one of Sydney's most blogged ramens from Gumshara is the basic and unassuming looking Singapore Shiok!* which looks like it might be closed but it's not. It's been open since April 2010 and takes up the position of where KL Kopitiam used to be. Currently they serve only 9 classic dishes which are cooked to order and that's why the bain-marie is all empty and not used. Less is more as they say and in this case it seems to be true. I'm hoping they might introduce some entrees like Chicken Satay or the elusive Popiah.

The Chicken Rice ($8.80) decorated with cucumber and tomato slices is wonderfully silky and moist as one would hope to find in Sydney, but rarely does. I order the thigh which is thankfully boneless — a rare treat to find from city eateries which usually leave the bones and more often than not will be splintered. The accompanying rice is flavoursome enough with chicken stock and ginger notes to my liking — better than many places which serve plain rice or less flavoursome versions. The thick sweet kecap manis is quite strong in flavour so I use it sparingly and the chill sauce with fresh ginger goes well with the dish. The cloudy looking side soup is the only let down for me which is overly spiced with white pepper and I wish it was more a clear style soup with chinese vegetable like Jaya Malaysian — one can only hope. The best chicken rice in the city I've had to date is at
Sayong Curry & Laksa Malaysian Cuisine but Singapore Shiok!* is now my preferred leader. I look forward to trying their other dishes — the hor fun I spotted looked generous and very promising.

Other visits to Singapore Shiok!*:
• 6 Oct 2010 - Har Mee
• 30 Sept 2010 - Hor Fun with Seafood
• 29 Sept 2010 - Chicken Rice

Other places tried for Chicken Rice:
• Singapore Shiok!* - 29 Sept 2010
• Malacca Straits - 23 Jan 2010
• Yummy Chinese - 20 Jan 2010
• Laksa House - 24 Sept 2009
• Laksa King - 16 Sept 2009
• Malaysian Food House - 18 Aug 2009
• Malay-Chinese Takeaway - 6 Aug 2009
• Mc Lucksa - 5 Aug 2009
• Jaya Malaysian - 29 July 2009
• Sayong Curry & Laksa Malaysian Cuisine - 22 July 2009
• KL Kopitiam Malaysian Cuisine - 19 Oct 2009

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Silky and moist chicken, No bones, Decent flavoured rice, Reasonable prices

CONS: Side soup has too much white pepper taste for my liking, Need to wait for orders to be cooked, Food court tables aren't cleaned as regularly as hoped when busy

MUST TRY: Chicken rice and all other dishes on the menu to compare especially the Hor Fun, Laksa, Char Kway Teow and Har Mee.

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