Hong Seng (Chicken Rice) @ Sec 17 PJ

When we were having our breakfast in Wah Cheong Coffee Shop some weeks back, we noticed a long line of people queuing up at Hong Seng Coffee Shop @ Section 17 PJ (located at the other corner along the same road as Wah Cheong) and decided to try it one day just to see if the hype (and queue) was worth it.  After all, it was voted as one of the Top 10 Chicken Rice in the recent Star People's Food Awards (June 2014).

When you first approach the stall, you'll notice a 'Please Queue Up' and 'Self Service' sign prominently displayed at the side of the stall.  You can understand my hesitance at first as I don't really like the idea of self-service and this (mind you) was not just for takeaways.

With my apprehension in tow, I queued up (like everyone else) but (surprisingly) I was in queue for not more than 5 mins before my turn came up (I was there at around 10am, so I guess the peak hour was not upon us yet).

I ordered a serving of roast chicken (of course), siew yoke (roast pork) and char siew (barbecued pork).  This serving for 3 persons (including 3 plates of rice) costs RM36 which is a bit pricey if you order it like this but you do get more meat of course.  Otherwise, go for individual servings which are fairly priced from RM5.50 - RM6.

The roast chicken meat was tender and juicy and the difference here was that the skin was really crispy (which you won't normally find with other roast chicken offered by some chicken rice stalls).  The only fault was that the inside (or underside) of the chicken was rather salty for my taste.

The siew yoke was flavourful and the skin was again very crispy without being hard (though this was not the case with every piece of siew yoke).  Some of the pieces my son ate was not that crispy (unfortunately) though the ones I had were.  From the 1st pic above, siew yoke is probably their most sought after item (judged by the many slabs of delicious siew yoke hanging in the stall).

The char siew, on the other hand, was more lean than I would have liked (and so it was more chewy in texture).  It was not mediocre but also not near some of the better ones we've had.

They were kind enough to provide a separate bowl of char siew sauce which was a thick, sticky sauce with a sweetish taste.  I don't normally douse my char siew with more of the sauce as it's usually too sweet for my liking.

They also gave us a separate bowl of garlic/ginger/chilli sauce which is a 'must' when eating chicken/roasted meat rice.  However, I was not a fan of this chilli sauce as it was too fiery hot for me.  It had a more dominant ginger taste and not enough of the fresh lime taste.  Also, when a chilli sauce is too fiery hot, in my opinion, it overpowers and takes away the joy of enjoying the natural flavours of the meat coz the roof of your mouth is on fire :(

The chicken broth infused rice had nice separated grains with the right colour and flavour.

My Personal Opinion

This is indeed a decent place for chicken rice and roasted meats in PJ.  Was it worth the queue?  If it was for a mere 5 mins...I should think so!!

Although they made it to the Star's Top 10 Chicken Rice, ultimately it was the siew yoke that won my vote.  It may not be one of the best or as good as the...(wait for it)...legendary one from Pudu but it's good enough in my books.

Coming in a close second is the roast chicken...skin....that was crispy and aromatic.

That leaves the char siew a distant third as there are many better ones around.

After I've made our orders, my husband came over to help carry the plates of food but the stall helpers said they'll send it over to our table (and they brought us soup too when I went to get some)...see....."every cloud has a silver lining"!
 

(Kedai Kopi dan Makanan) Hong Seng
Jalan 17/29 Section 17
46400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor