Sunday, April 08, 2007

Hoe Kee Chicken Rice Ball, Malacca, Malaysia

One perk about Singapore is that you can still enjoy the occasional roadtrip up to our (friendly?) neighbor Malaysia. Politics aside, Malaysia is a country rich in culture, heritage and of course delicious food. I can't even remember when was the last time I went on a driving holiday to Malaysia, I have vague memories of a kid peering out of the car window as our automobile traveled along the beaten coastal and village roads (the highways weren't even ready then). It seems almost surreal how quick time has gone by because that kid is now behind the wheel. Malacca was our destination of choice for this short Easter getaway. I picked up a few food tips from Malaysian foodies Boo and Babe in the City KL and planned an itinery revolving around good Malaccan grub.

First stop was Hoe Kee Chciken (sic) Rice Ball. This is similar to the Hainanese chicken rice that you get in Singapore except that the rice grains are rolled into nice bite-sized balls. Although the more famous establishment for chicken rice balls in Malacca is Chung Wah, this was actually recommended over Chung Wah by the locals.

One thing about packing rice grains into a ball is the tendency to over-compress the grains together and form a dense (hard) texture. Fortunately, these rice balls, although spherically packed, were still soft and fluffy, not to mention fragrant and tasty as well.

The chicken here had good texture. Although it didn't taste entirely organically farm-bred, it had a firmer bite and stronger flavor than the generic chickens one would get in Singapore. It was tender without being bloody as well. Not too shabby a start to a another round of overseas feasting.

D

3 comments:

boo_licious said...

Yum, been ages since I ate this. Sad abt this being better than Chung Wah.

If I do go Melaka, I know I'll eat Chung Wah as there's where my bosses eat and they're old school Melaka people.

Sebastian Ng said...

Ooooo looks like an easier new way to eat chicken rice without utensils... chicken rice balls and eat the chicken...

D said...

Boo: Well, to be fair to Chung Wah, I didn't try their fare this time round due to limited time. But I'll love to do a taste-test the next time I'm down in mouse-deer town.

seb: I still used a fork and spoon =P