Friday, February 16, 2007

Loy Kee Best Chicken Rice

The newest culinary addition to La Piazza in Kelapa Gading is ‘Loy Kee Best Chicken Rice’. I am quite a fan of chicken rice so I was quite excited to try out the latest franchise. Loy Kee is apparently a well established Singaporean chain that claims to be authentic with over 50 years of experience. The menu is quite concentrated but they do have other items on there as well. To be honest I did not really bother scoping them as I only had one thing in mind.


As most traditional chicken rice establishments, Loy Kee also has a full range of fresh boiled and fried chicken hanging in their front window. Although some people who are not accustomed to this Asian display might find it unsanitary, I will assure you that the area is quite clean and well kempt.



There are a few tables available for outdoor seating and ample seating is also set up in doors. The establishment is well staffed so even at peak hours you are sure to be served promptly.



I was worried that being a franchise Loy Kee might not be serving alcohol. Fortunately they do have Bintang Beer and Guinness Stout on their menu. The brew was also served chilled where as other road side chicken rice vendors usually offer ice to cool the beverage. Chicken Rice goes great with cold beer.



An essential ingredient in quality chicken rice is the chilli sauce. If any place offers you some concoction out of a bottle, leave. Its just not right. A bad chilli sauce can nullify a chicken rice meal. I am glad to report that Loy Kee serves up some pretty damn good chilli sauce, with a ginger paste. It may not be the best I have had but it is good enough. The best would probably be at the HDB across the road from my boarding school in Singapore. Shan can verify this.



There were 2 types of chicken on offer, boiled and the other with slightly fried skin. If you don’t like skin on your chicken, fuck off. Its one thing when people ask for their chicken rice with no bones, but if you want it with no skin then move to San Fransisco. In order to get both types of chicken I had to order the 2 person meal, but I knew I would have no problem clearing that. In fact the serving was even smaller than I expected.



The set meal also came with a plate of stir fried greens in oyster sauce and topped with fried onions. It was good but it did not suit what I was going for. It sat on my table practically untouched.



An essential part of the chicken rice experience is also the rice. There can be none of that sticky steamed rice in this mix. I do not know exactly how this rice is made but it is soft and flaky. I would say that Loy Kee has hit the ideal rice spot on. It was great. With some chilly sauce and hot broth poured over it I was ready to dig in. This rice is so smooth you can not even pick it up with a pair of chopsticks!!!



Loy Kee Best Chicken Rice is a welcome addition to the La Piazza set up. They seem to have a little bit of everything here now and this is a quality chicken rice establishment. The meat is tender and fresh, even the chicken skin is thin and just falls of the meat. The whole thing however is just too clean for me. I like to see some fat in my plate and clinging to the chicken. I want to be able to order a big plate of mixed meats, pork and chicken. I want to come across a few pieces in there that are just too fatty to be eaten and have to be left aside. I want imperfection damit! There is another place in KG I frequent that gives me just that. I will visit them again as soon as I am back form Bali. For now, its off to the airport baby. Aloha.

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