I remember it was the last few weeks before my departure from the NUS department of political science; a colleague from another office brought me to a supposedly famous chicken rice stall at Bishan and treated me to a delicious plate of steamed (white) chicken rice!
Even Alex had heard of Ming Ji Chicken Rice! Aside from the long queue that frequently formed in front of the stall, there's an interesting fact to the preparation of the chicken; the chicken would be dipped in ice before it was chopped up and served to you.
The rationale, according to my mom, was that the ice would lock in the moisture and oil in the steamed chicken and this would retain the meat juiciness. Anyway, i am back to finally blog about the stall and above was the S$10 order for two persons!
Rice, one of the three major determinants to review chicken rice, was grainy, dry and would appeal to those who dislike overly oily chicken rice.
Chicken meat was cold (to be expected after its ice cold soak) and chopped thickly to guarantee a satisfactory bite. However, i did notice the meat wasn't as smooth and as tender as the first time i patronised the stall.
Now, i have touched on two determinants and i guess most people would assume the last one should be chilli sauce. Surprise, i am going to replace it with the dark, oily sauce that drenched the plate of chicken meat. Why?
Because i didn't touch the chilli sauce at all; the special sauce was the key reason i managed to devour the entire bowl of rice and was in fact contemplating having a second bowl! It had that nice fried shallots fragrance and taste and although too salty to eat / drink on its own, it was perfect as a dip for the meat and a yummy drizzle for the dry rice.
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Location
511 Bishan Street 13,
Kim San Leng Food Centre,
Singapore 570511
Map
As above (near Bishan MRT station).
Price
S$10 for what we had; for two persons, plus an extra bowl of rice for Alex. A plate of chicken rice, according to signboard, was indicated as costing a minimal of S$3.50.