Hoe Fong Chicken Rice @ Seapark PJ

I don't know how long Restoran Hoe Fong Chicken Rice @ Seapark PJ has been around but it has been around for a really long time (at least 3 decades old I read somewhere).  Even the signboard looks mighty old and faded.

My spouse has eaten here countless times (mostly when at work) but I was introduced to it only recently.

The first time I tried this chicken rice was as a take-away.  I liked it enough to come back for another visit, this time a dine-in.

If you're looking for the usual roasted chicken, you won't find it here.  Their speciality is fried chicken rice though they also offer poached chicken.  I don't know the individual prices of what we had and I vaguely remember how much the total meal was (probably around RM35+ with two drinks and a packet of poached chicken rice).  You can have a fair idea of the prices from the list displayed at the shop.

My spouse ordered a whole Fried Chicken Leg (thigh + drumstick) with two plates of rice (RM14?). You can see the chicken is freshly fried on site at the front of the shop.  Their signature chicken is fried without any batter and it was fried whole which made me think that the chicken must have been pre-cooked before hand (maybe not the whole way through) as the chickens hanging at the shop do look that way (before being fried). Plus it'll just take too long to deep-fry the entire chicken without the meat getting dry.  The fried chicken thigh was served with a drizzle of light soy underneath.

The standout for me was the savoury chicken skin.  It was nicely crisp and thin, and (more importantly) without any visible fat underneath.  This crispy chicken skin is possible because they flash fry the chicken again when an order is made.

Although this was fried chicken, the meat was opposite of dry.  Not only was the meat moist and tender, it had flavour too which made me think that maybe this is not the ordinary "yuk kai" (broiler chickens).  It tasted more like "choi yin kai" ("village" or "kampung" chicken) although this cannot be confirmed since I didn't ask the shop owner nor was this mentioned in any of the blogs I read about the place.  Irrespective of what chicken they used, this was a good fried chicken! ^o^

Besides fried chicken, we added on a side order of Fried Chicken Liver (don't know how many pieces they gave us) and three pieces of Penang Lobak @ RM1.70/pc to perk up our chicken rice meal further.

Their accompaniment of Fried Chicken Liver was rather unusual too as I've not come across fried chicken liver being offered by chicken rice stalls as they'd be just boiled.  The chicken livers achieved a nice crust on the outside but still tender on the inside.  I can only get fried liver from Malay mixed rice stalls (or nasi lemak stalls) but those are always so over-fried that they're usually very hard.

The Penang Lobak was a winner too.  I really liked that they had nice crispy edges.  This was certainly one of the better Penang Lobak I've come across, I told my husband, only for him to burst my bubble by saying that he had seen the lobak coming out straight from a packet and fried.  Prepackaged lobak?  Not house-made?  I'll never know for sure...unless I'm brave enough to ask the owner! ;P  It'll probably go something like this, "Hey, boss, the lobak is not made by you?  It's commercially prepared lobak?"  I can just imagine the consequences.....wuahahahaha! :D  But if I know the brand, I sure wouldn't mind getting some to cook at home.

Besides these two fried sides, you can also order a dish of blanched beansprouts to accompany your chicken rice meal.

The rice was alright.

It was great eaten with condiments of house-made chilli sauce (a bit more fiery than the usual ones I've tried) and minced ginger (not often seen or given at chicken rice stalls).

I also wanted to try their Poached Chicken to see how it fared against the fried chicken, so I opted for a take-away box to be eaten later.  The tender poached chicken was just as good.  Again, there was flavour in the meat.  If this is not choi yin kai, then it must be from a supplier of good tasting chicken (I was once told by a chicken rice seller, when I mistook his chicken for choi yin kai, that he uses chicken specifically from Bukit Mertajam).  I usually don't eat the skin of poached chicken but I ate this one as it was almost devoid of any fat.

My Personal Opinion

If you're hankering for fried chicken rice, instead of the usual roasted chicken, this place would be a great option.  They seem to have mastered the art of deep-frying, not only with their fried chicken, but also the chicken liver and lobak.

Only setback is that the shop is old-looking and cleanliness is not tip-top as the floor is rather slippery from of all that grease and oil because of the deep-frying done at the front of the shop.

That aside, it does offer a good fried chicken rice.  So, walk carefully or just "tapau" (though I can't guarantee the fried chicken will stay crisp by the time you get home)! ;P

Restoran Hoe Fong Chicken Rice
No 25 Jalan 21/17 Seapark
46300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 016-276 1472