One of the Best I've Tried

You know how sometimes you have a craving for simple things but you don’t know where you’d find the best of those things? Well, I’ve been craving for chicken rice for months now, and just recently, my cravings had taken me to Petaling Jaya, where I felt I just might find the best chicken rice in the region.

It was a fair and pleasant Monday and I was in Petaling Jaya for some errands at about 4ish, yet to have my lunch. Most of the restaurant were closed and so I decided to take a gander at the food court in SS2. To be honest, there were many other options but none made my sensory perceptions salivate at the thought of going there. Ok lame. 

So where was I again? Right the food court.

There was only one stall that was open at that hour - Bobby’s Hailam Chicken Rice. Operating it was a really cute old aunty with a helper to ease her work. With haste, I ordered a plate of Hainanese Chicken Rice as soon as I could. The kakak came to my table and said “Dik, 6 ringgit ya”. 

The dish was so fragrant that it was like sitting right in front of stove with a simmering pot of mouth -watering chicken soup! The rice was dense, pasty, and full of chicken stock flavoring that it could see no flaw in it. It also had a delicate mellowness that roused my appetite in a sweet and savory way. I didn’t order for the drumstick like I usually did and so I was served with slices of breasts with a drizzle of soy sauce and slices of cucumber on the side. 

Oh. My. Gosh. 

The chicken had such silky and puffy textures that it just melted in my mouth with such exalted ecstasy! To my surprise, the silky pieces were the breast slices which, were normally quite chunky and….I must have died and gone to heaven. 

Either that or I was just too hungry.

 I enjoyed the meal so much that I decided to have a conversation with the owner herself. A very petite lady filled with good humor, she giggled and said. “Ohhh ini suami saya masak. Saya jual sahaja.” That got me even more interested though I must say, I was a teeny weeny bit disappointed as I have always held the opinion that women were better cooks than men. Maybe this was just an anomaly. 

Heee 

She continued to explain how the chicken was made in minute detail. Apparently it was a team effort that has been running strong for about 30 years. I suppose this explains the incredibly seasoned and matured flavors of their dish. They don’t plan to retire anytime soon and I really hope they don’t. As it is, it’s not a simple task to find a decent chicken rice shop nowadays. There are many around but sadly, few live up to the standards of 

Ms Aruna Sukumar  :D

Chicken Rice is a simple dish that uses simple ingredients, but to make it extraordinary, it requires a lot of care and attention with every little detail attended to. For instance, the chicken needs to be cooked very lightly, pink inside the bones, not too bloody while maintaining a gelatinous skin. 

Let’s hope that aunty leaves the cooking to uncle and not to herself or her assistants. If that ever happens, I guess I’ll have to start hunting again :D

Do try it for yourself. 

SS2 Wai Sek Kai
Bobby Hailam Chicken Rice
Stall No: 47
Not Halal

♥