Xiao Hei Chicken Rice @ Pandan Cahaya

This isn't a food introduction post (after all, it's just mere chicken rice!) but more of a food post that's good to know...that needs to be shared....and that may benefit some of my readers coz it's ridiculously worth it.....kind of a $aver post....lol!  So, obviously, it's only for those people who live or work in and around my area or where the shop is located.

Sometimes when I can't decide what to eat, my fingers will just keep scrolling ShopeeFood and that was when I stumbled upon this Xiao Hei Chicken Rice @ Pandan Cahaya.  Well, chicken rice is a dime a dozen as you're bound to find one such stall in any coffee shop.  Some are excellent, some are good but most are decent enough and that's because (I think) roast chicken is probably the easiest to nail successfully of all the roasted meats like char siew, siu yoke or roast duck.

The first item on the menu I tried was the Roasted Chicken Rice + Drink @ RM8.50.  I didn't see the "+ drink" initially, so imagine my surprise when I found out that the already fantastic price was inclusive of drinks (RM6.50 without the drink).  So, is this ridiculously worth it or what?  And at delivery price some more! :O That seems more like in-store prices with no mark up (heck, you may not even get that price for dine-in at some places).

For my choice of drink, I went for the cham peng (iced coffee + tea) and was pleasantly surprised to find it good.  I ordered the drink without putting in a request for less sweet just to gauge how sweet their drinks can be and was nicely confronted with a drink that's not too sweet.

Shock aside at the incredible value, the roasted chicken was also decent in taste.  Although I didn't get all thigh parts (which I requested), it was understandable as I ordered almost close to their closing time.  The few slices of siu yoke (roasted pork) you see was an add-on for RM3 (which I added to reach the minimum spend so that I could use the discount).  I didn't think the siu yoke was all that good, so you can safely skip that.  They've recently added siu yoke rice (RM12.50 + drink, RM9 without drink) option on their menu.

Encouraged by the superb deal and tasty chicken rice, I ordered the Poached Kampung Chicken Rice + Drink @ RM10.50 next (RM7.50 without the drink).  Again, the poached chicken was good, in fact better than the roast chicken if you ask me.

I requested for chicken thigh (as usual) and this time I got the part I want.  The chicken was tender with good flavours though the skin may be a little fatty (it usually is a little fattier around the thigh).  Knowing that it was smooth, tender and juicy, I don't think I'd mind if I was given a bit of chicken breast (so I don't think I'll need to ask for a specific cut the next time I order).

For the choice of drinks, I chose teh peng (iced tea) this round.  It was decent too though I liked the cham peng more.  The other drink choice is kopi peng (iced coffee with milk).  I'm not sure what's the rationale behind the pricing of the food as the drink prices seem to go up (from RM2 - RM3.50) depending on the main meal ordered.

I liked the rice too...a good portion with a good dose of chicken flavour.  I thought the flavour was better than a lot of the chicken rice stalls out there.

The accompanying soy sauce was fragrant and delicious too, not too salty that I was able to pour all of it into my rice.  The fresh chilli dip is spicier than the norm but that didn't stop me from finishing it.  Not only that but they also provide a blended ginger paste (not something you get regularly at many of the chicken rice stalls).

Not only was the food tasty and value for money but they can still afford to absorb the pricier/better packaging (put those places who charge more to shame but yet give you shabby packaging like those cheap styrofoam and soft transparent plastic type of packaging).  Look at the packaging for the drinks, thick packaging and properly sealed with no leakage, like those from higher end cafes or kopitiams.  Even the packaging of the soy/chilli dips are in small plastic bags with resealable tops.

My Personal Opinion

If you live or work around Ampang or the Pandan Triangle areas (they've recently opened a second branch/stall in Taman Shamelin Perkasa), I don't think you can get a better deal than this....that's superb value for your money yet delicious.  Where can you find a rice meal with an iced drink at just RM8.50 in times (of increasing prices) like this?  Not even at dine-in prices...and if you factor in the RM3 ShopeeFood discount, the price is even more inconceivable! ^.^

So I hope my little public service announcement (lol) is a shout-out to those looking for a good bargain or offer awareness to those who did not even know you can get a meal at such an unbelievable price.

Note that this price is only offered on ShopeeFood (and not FoodPanda where the price is similar but comes without the drink...which goes for between RM4 - RM5!).  Not sure if this was a mistake on their part in forgetting to add on a mark-up (for delivery) on ShopeeFood, so take full advantage while you still can.  Don't say I bojio? ;D

Xiao Hei Chicken Rice

52B-G Jalan Pandan Cahaya 2/3

Pandan Cahaya

68000 Ampang

Selangor

Restoran Kok Kee Hawker @ Pandan Cahaya

When it comes to siu chow places that specialise in one-dish meals, there aren't that many in our neighbourhood or not many we'd be happy with until we came across Restoran Kok Kee Hawker @ Pandan Cahaya.  These one-dish meals, be it a noodle or a rice dish, are not only popular go-to quick and simple meals but, more importantly, they're super affordable.

My very first order from this place was the Dry Fried Beef Kuey Teow @ RM11.  When it comes to kuey teow, I've always loved it fried (just like how I adore char kway teow).  I reckon it's because of the shape of the flat rice noodles that makes it have great contact with the wok thereby allowing it to get that nice charred flavour or wok hei.

This dry fried kuey teow is fried with thinly sliced beef (on some days the beef is more tender), crunchy sliced onions and spring onions.  This dish can be slightly inconsistent when it comes to the wok hei.  On good days, you can smell the wok hei the moment you open the box.  Nevertheless, this is still a dish I frequently order from here.

With the dry fried beef kuey teow making an impression, I didn't need any persuasion to try the Cantonese Ginger Onion Beef Kuey Teow also @ RM11.

Since the sauce was packed separately (as it should be), it would be easier if I ate it from a bowl (coz I don't like to pour hot gravy into a plastic box anyway).  The kuey teow was well charred with smoky hints of wok hei but (again) can be a bit inconsistent, sometimes more wok hei, sometimes less.

The beef slices too, some can be more tender (if you happen to get the thinner cut pieces), cooked with ginger and spring onions in a well balanced, delicious eggy sauce that's neither too starchy or too watery. Just wished that they didn't use so much dark soy when frying the kuey teow to bring colour to it as the soy eventually turned the sauce darker when mixed with the noodles.

I ordered this Salted Fish Fried Meehoon @ RM9.50 coz I saw that it had quite many likes compared to the other dishes.  The meehoon was fried with salted fish, small chicken cubes, fish cake slices, egg bits, sliced onions and crunchy beansprouts.   Just look at the charring on the fish cake slices and you'd know that this was fried well.  The key to good fried noodles (or fried rice) is to get the wok searing hot before any ingredients go in.  I'm happy that the reviews didn't steer me wrong coz this turned out to be my favourite dish from here.

Having had great success with the fried meehoon, I just had to order the Singaporean Fried Meehoon @ RM9.50 too.  What they do so well is that they're able to fry the meehoon without breaking up the meehoon too much or making them mushy and stuck together.  Between the two, I prefer the more savoury salted fish fried meehoon than the sweeter-based Singapore fried meehoon because of the use of tomato ketchup.  If you're extra hungry, you should order this coz, for some reason, the meehoon portion is usually bigger than the other noodles.

Their Fried Loh Shi Fun @ RM9.50 with sliced pork, fish cake slices, egg bits, shredded onions and taugeh was well flavoured and not oily.  But you'll be missing a bit of that crunchy texture in the beansprouts in this dish as they tend to be limp after being braised in the dark sauce.

The Braised Yee Mee @ RM9.50 was satisfying in terms of flavour with slivers of lean pork, fish cake slices and choy sum.  I felt most of the noodle dishes were successful though the liew (ingredients) may be a bit lacking but based on their prices, I can't really complain.

Besides noodle dishes, they also offer a wide array of rice dishes and, of course, one of the most ordered dishes at any siu chow place is fried rice.  I often use it  as a yardstick to judge if the eatery's food is any good.  I had the Luncheon Meat Fried Rice @ RM9.50 that was cooked with luncheon meat cubes (not much of it though), chopped long beans and egg bits.   I thought it was just decent enough as the rice grains were a bit broken.

But my son thought otherwise.  He felt that his Whitebait Aberdeen Fish Fried Rice @ RM9.50 with whitebait (a rather generous amount) and bits of chicken was lacking in flavour.  I thought the fried rice was alright as I could smell and taste the wok hei in the rice even if it was rather light.  But then again, I'm someone who prefers my food to be lightly savoury whereas my husband and son need it well seasoned.  If you prefer a more salty option, there's also the Salted Fish Fried Rice that you can order.

Yet another frequently ordered dish at any siu chow place (as it's liked by many) is the Sweet & Sour Pork Rice @ RM10.  There were more than 10 pcs of sweet & sour pork nuggets with slices of onion, tomato and cucumber in a satisfying sweet and sour gravy except the pork didn't quite nail that crispy exterior.

I couldn't finish the rice as the portion given was more than the liew (the rice portion was more befitting for a man) but there's no cause for complaint because of the lower price tag compared to other siu chow places.  I won't go so far to say that this is a good sweet & sour pork as I've eaten better ones but satisfactory enough.

The Salted Fish Minced Pork with Rice @ RM10 I ordered was for a member of the family who must have rice....lol.  It was served with some sauteed greens of bok choy.  There's also a version of the minced pork with salted vegetables.

I could see that a piece of salted fish filled the centre of the minced pork patty.  Not sure if the salted fish taste was adequate throughout the patty as I didn't taste it.  His only comment was that the patty was a bit thin.  I thought it was quite alright seeing that the piece of patty was almost as big as the box.

After trying two beef noodle dishes with success, I thought I'd finally have one with rice....the Curry Sliced Beef with Rice @ RM11 (with add-on egg @ RM1.50).  The curry beef was cooked together with long beans, shredded cabbage, sliced onions and curry leaves.  Unfortunately, the curry wasn't good at all as it tasted predominantly of curry powder and other dry spices.

Foo yong tan is one of the very popular dish at tai chow (Chinese stir-fry dishes eaten with rice) places.  It's difficult to foul up what's basically a fried omelette with either lap cheong, char siew or prawns and shredded vegetables of (but not limited to) cabbage, carrot, onions and fresh chillies.  This Fu Rong Egg Rice @ RM9.50 was no exception.

My Personal Opinion

Prices (already reflected here) have gone up since the start of 2022...but isn't that just the norm everywhere with food prices these days?  I've not seen one place (at least not the regular places I patronise) not increase prices by 50 sen - RM1! >_<  Even the cheapest RM1 pre-packed small nasi lemak went up to RM1.20 since the turn of the year (of course 20 sen is negligible but it still represents a 20% rise!).  My kopi-o-ping now costs 30 sen more and, just this week, my go-to yong tau foo raised prices by 20 sen a piece....haiz.

After trying numerous rice and noodle dishes here (and they have more), I have to say the noodles fare better than their rice dishes in terms of taste (at least that's what I prefer).  The wok hei was more apparent in the fried noodle dishes as well.

Although we still rely on (and prefer) K W Restaurant's tastier one-dish meals, we now at least have another option for affordable meals for week day dinners when the home kitchen is closed (or when the wait at K W is just too much to bear).  It still remains one of our most ordered delivery for simple fare even if the taste isn't particularly outstanding. ^_~

Restoran Kok Kee Hawker

27 Jalan Pandan Cahaya 2/2

Pandan Cahaya

68000 Ampang

Selangor

Tel: 03-4270 4083