Loke Yun Chicken Rice @ Ampang

I would occasionally receive discount vouchers from FoodPanda and this normally happens (I notice) after a break in orders from them for a period of time.  The value of the discount vouchers given usually varies from RM5 - RM15 with differing minimum order amounts...and I've been on the receiving end of a few of them in the past.

So, when I was presented with a Welcome Back voucher of RM15 value to be used with a minimum order of RM40, I decided to redeem it for food from Loke Yun Chicken Rice in Ampang.

Loke Yun Chicken Rice is a long established name (since 1971)...winning the accolade of "Best Hainanese Chicken Rice" as I read in the Star papers (but that was way back in 2008 lah!).  I've passed by the place numerous times but have never eaten there coz my family is not into poached chicken + my sister-in-law (who's from the area) didn't quite sing its praises either.

I got myself a Poached Chicken Thigh Rice @ RM12.90.  They did justice to the poached chicken thigh which turned out tender and tasty seeing that this was just the regular farmed chicken, not even choi yin kai or kampung chicken.  Shop prices for half (regular) chicken is RM28 while quarter chicken is RM18 (FoodPanda's price is RM28 for quarter chicken).  

The chicken rice came with both a soy sauce and a freshly blended chilli sauce, separately packed.  The soy sauce was of a decent quality though slightly salty for my taste buds but alright when eaten together with the rice.  The chilli dip was quite different from the usual ones I've had as this one had a tad more blended ginger paste taste in it.  This fresh chilli paste was coarse and spicy (spicier than usual ones)...but I detected a light bitter aftertaste.  Not among the best chicken rice chilli dips I've had but it was still relished just because there was so little of it.

There's an option to add on soup (RM2.50), chilli sauce (RM0.80) and ginger sauce (RM0.80).  Well, this is a first for me, a chicken rice shop that charges for soup (RM2.50)? O_o  That's not right, if you ask me! Furthermore, no ginger sauce came with my chicken rice (not sure if it was left out accidentally or I had to add that on as an extra!), so I didn't get to taste it. >_<

I got an extra serving of rice @ RM3.90 (rather pricey for just rice) since I ordered a few side dishes to go with my meal (with the intention of keeping some for dinner).  The had nicely separated grains with a fragrant enough dose of chicken flavour going through it.

Of course, Loke Yun is more popular for its offering of Corn Fed Chicken (choi yin kai or kampung chicken) but that is only offered in half (RM39, FoodPanda's price is RM60...omg!!) which is probably sufficient for 2 - 4 pax.  There's no single portion orders, so unless you're a big eater, you need to come here with more poached chicken fans to be able to try.  There's even Crystal Chicken (RM96 for a whole chicken) on offer (booking required) but not sure what crystal chicken is though.  Is it anything like crystal char siew with a supposedly melt in the mouth texture? @_@

The first side dish of Braised Tofu + Egg @ RM8.80, the sauce had nice flavours and was not salty though it had a slightly more watery consistency than the ones I've eaten.  The tofu was soft as it should be.

Usually when braised eggs are left steeping (and cooking) in a braising liquid for a long time, they tend to have a slightly firmer consistency but these ones were much softer than usual.  Would I have liked the egg and tofu to take on a deeper colour from the braising broth?  Sure.  

For the next side dish of Braised Chicken Feet @ RM6.90, there were at least 2 pairs of chicken feet (making a total of 8 pcs).  The chicken feet were very tender and soft though some may find it lacking that collagen stickiness they crave.  I don't mind a less gelatinous texture.  Certainly a more than decent rendition of braised chicken feet in my opinion.

This sauce had a thicker consistency as well as being slightly sweeter than the sauce that came with the braised egg and tofu.  I preferred this braise as it was the better tasting of the two soy-based sauces.  With the extra side dishes I ordered, they should have been a little less kedekut (stingy) and gave me more of their fresh chilli sauce. :P

But the surprise dish of the day turned out to be the Siam Chilled Okra @ RM10.30 with its young and tender okra (nothing like those old, stringy okra), served with a sauce that had notes of sourness and sweetness which was very refreshing to eat.  The sauce had this sticky glaze effect and was probably made with tamarind, ginger, bird's eye chillies, lime juice and sugar (I'm guessing here).

The dish is rather appropriately called Siam Okra....and it might as well be since the sauce carried very appetising and well-balanced flavours of salty, spicy, sweet and tangy all-in-one which is the hallmark of any Thai dish.  Since this was served chilled, you can certainly keep it in the fridge for eating later without compromising on the taste.

Other side dishes on the menu include bean sprouts, hot & sour mustard greens, iceberg lettuce, shallot beancurd and fuzhou fish ball.  You'll also find chicken innards (liver, gizzards & intestines) being offered here.

The total price of this meal was actually RM42.80 (not including delivery fees of RM6.35) but I had a RM15 discount voucher to offset, so I paid RM34.15 in the end for the meal.  This meal could easily feed two persons or, in my case, one person for two meals.  I left the majority of the side dishes for my dinner later that day since my 'boys' won't be caught dead eating chicken feet (eww to them) nor slimy okra (as they term it) for that matter! >.<

I was a bit shell-shocked (when I was writing this post) as I had compared FoodPanda's prices with a photo of their menu (which I found on Google reviews with a May 2021 date stamp).  I was simply aghast at the price difference!! >_<  Doing a quick mental calculation, if I had the same meal at the shop, it would have cost me a little over RM25 only (just so you know, the dine-in prices for the chicken rice - RM8, okra - RM6.50, the tofu + egg - RM5.50, chicken feet - RM3.50, rice - RM2 and rice - RM1).  I don't think I've ever encountered as high as 60% mark-up over dine-in prices for restaurants I've patronised through FoodPanda (on the average, it's usually around 30%).  Oh-em-gee.....60% higher?!  Why such a high mark-up? O_O  

My Personal Opinion

Expensive and overrated are two words constantly associated with reviews of Loke Yun.  Expensive...I'd agree if one orders food delivery but dine-in prices seem reasonable (except maybe the corn fed chicken) though some may find the portions on the small side.  Overrated....I can't comment (everyone has their personal preference and taste + I wouldn't know how it compares to their earlier quality) but I did come away liking what I had and wouldn't mind having it again.

The standouts were the poached chicken (and I only had regular chicken) and chilled okra (this dish alone is enough to get me to return).  I can imagine the choi yin kai tasting even better with its firmer flesh and stronger 'chicken' flavour.

Perhaps when dining-in is allowed again (no more delivery, that's for sure...especially after finding out the exorbitant price difference!), I can drop by for a visit....but if I want to try the choi yin kai, I'd have to rope in some poached chicken lovers to come with me! ^_~

Loke Yun Chicken Rice

158 Jalan Besar Ampang

Pekan Ampang

68000 Ampang

Selangor

Tel: 03-4291 9884