Pudu 168 (Claypot Chicken Rice) @ Pudu

I decided to check out this coffee shop, said to offer a very good claypot chicken rice in Pudu (other than the more well known one), after reading about it on a blog.  So, on a Sunday evening, we came to Pudu Satu Enam Lapan Coffee Shop @ Pudu to try out this reputed claypot chicken rice.

Let's just say that finding a parking in this area is a nightmare, let alone one that is close to the shop, so be prepared to walk a little.  Once there, you'll realise that it's a very small coffee shop with just about 10 tables inside but, fret not, as they've set up a lot more tables across the lane.  The stall actually operates from the side of the coffee shop with another stall next to it selling fried noodles.  I assume these 2 stalls only open for dinner as I could see a number of closed stalls inside the shop (presumably those stalls operate for breakfast and lunch).

We arrived at around 7 pm and it was already full with people.  We finally got a table but overheard that the waiting period was about 1 hour (actually that was the table we got after the patrons decided to give up the table coz they couldn't 'stomach' the 1 hour wait).  We decided to 'suck it up' and wait since we've already parked the car, walked to the coffee shop plus it was already 7.15 pm.

I guess the reason for the long wait (other than many customers) is the fact that the boss himself does all the portioning of ingredients and cooking himself.  He mans 3 rows of stoves (with each row having about 8 charcoal stoves).

From the no. of charcoal stoves to the big pot of marinated chicken and the big tray of thinly sliced "lap cheong" (Chinese waxed sausages), you'd know his business is thriving ;)

Finally, our food arrived at 8.15 pm.  As soon as the claypot hit our table, you could smell the distinctive smoky, fragrant aroma of charcoal-cooked rice and a whiff of "shaoxing" (Chinese rice) wine.

This Claypot Chicken Rice (big) costs RM17 (and RM19 with salted fish) or RM11 (for small).  I liked that it came with lots of chopped spring onions although the salted fish was just a few measly thin slices (and taste-wise not as fragrant as some salted fish I've eaten).

We did like the tender and well marinated pcs of chicken and lap cheong (wished there were more lap cheong though....and not so thinly sliced until they curled up...kekeke)!  When eating the chicken with the rice, I did get a very slight hint of rice wine coming through but it needed more wine flavour (if you ask me).

As for the rice, I found it to be just okay...the rice is a tad on the wet side due to the overly abundant dark soy (in my opinion)....I would have preferred a wee bit less dark soy.  For those of you who don't love the dark thick soya sauce as much, then this may not be the claypot chicken rice for you.  [#Note: My husband did hint that there was a slight bitterness...although I didn't detect it (but it can happen with an over abundance of dark soy), especially so if you scrape the crispy burnt bits at the bottom of the claypot (which I didn't, of course).]

Or, maybe it was because I was eating my rice with lots of freshly sliced red chillies (which I was glad to see instead of those fiery bird's eye chillies).

We also ordered a vegetable to go with our rice...blanched beansprouts @ RM4 (small)...and they were excellent!  The beansprouts were super crunchy but it was the generous amount of fried minced garlic and the combination of oyster and light soy sauce (which was not over salty) that made it very good =)

Before I came, I read that the soup here is really good.  What I thought was that they serve double-boiled soups but I was mistaken.  They only have one soup and that is their soup of the day...much like those chicken rice stalls where they boil one big pot of soup except this one came with better ingredients (there were some slices of pork belly in it) instead of using cheap parts like chicken carcass and feet :(

When we were there that evening, it was the Dried Vegetables Soup @ RM4 (small)...I think it's called "pak choy kon" in Chinese.  Taste-wise, it was alright...it tasted like something which we (or our moms) used to boil at home to the same level of success.

My Personal Opinion

The claypot chicken rice was good....just not 'drop dead good'!!!  I liked the tender chicken chunks but didn't like as much the quality of the salted fish and the overly abundant dark soy on the rice.

If you want to try this claypot chicken rice, I suggest you come before the peak dinner hours (like before 6 pm or after 8 pm), otherwise be prepared to wait for up to 1 hour for your food to arrive.  It's still a good pot of claypot chicken rice (judging by the large crowds who are willing to wait)....just not good enough to warrant me to wait an hour for...in a warm and not-so-conducive 'eating' environment.

It's funny how I came for a pot of claypot chicken rice but ended up liking the blanched beansprouts...a lot more.....instead! :D

(Kedai Kopi) Pudu Satu Enam Lapan
(Opposite Restoran Sek Yuen)
Jalan Pudu
55100 Kuala Lumpur