Makan In Malacca Part 4: The Chicken Rice Shop

I'm guessing some of you may have eaten at The Chicken Rice Shop before.
They not only have restaurants across the Causeway but they also have outlets in Singapore!
But it seems like the number of outlets is shrinking though... Down to only 2 in Singapore!

Hmmmmmmm.....

It seemed logical for us to order a set meal.
It's like $15 and you get ALL that food which is actually really a good deal.
Plus we wanted to try the special item Ayam Sodap Belado!

And we also ordered some ala carte items also :P

Nyonya Pai Tee

Sai To Fishball Soup

Pak Choy with Oyster Sauce

Both of the items above are part of the set meal by the way.

I actually quite liked the Pai Tee aside from how stingy they were with the filling.
The Fishball Soup was nothing special and seemed quite redundant because they give you a small bowl of soup with your Chicken Rice anyways...

As for the Pak Choy (not to be confused with Kai Lan), it definitely provides the salty factor.
Well it's literally just blanched Pak Choy with oyster sauce. Errr... ya.

Chicken Rice (Roasted)

I went for the traditional Roasted Chicken Rice (you have a choice of Roasted, Steamed or Soy Sauce).
The chicken itself was not bad. Really tender actually but a little on the dry side.
The rice was also a little dry. Maybe we're just not used to this kind of chicken rice?

The chilli was also a bit weird.
It comes with the minced ginger which you can mix it for added flavour but it didn't help the overall taste very much to be honest.

I guess we're used to the kind of chilli with a bit more kick.
A little more vinegar maybe?

Ayam Sodap Balado

My my doesn't that look nice and spicy?!
Well it's not.

It actually tastes like Asam Pedas... (I guess they DO love their Adam Pedas in Malacca!).
And it's a tad too oily. The only good point is that the chicken itself was cooked to perfection.

Maybe the ala carte items would fare better!

Kerabu Mango (Mango Salad) (RM 7.99)

My darling wife says this was the winner of the lot.
It had a nice kick to it but it was a little on the sour side for me.

The unique thing is that they had slivers of basil leaves mixed in which gave a very welcome surprise.
It's funny how something so small can make a big difference.
And that's shredded dried shrimps (udang kering) on top by the way.

Crispy Wanton (RM 7.99)

Fried wanton has got to be a favourite with a lot of people.
I'm sure you're at least 75% going to order it if you see it on the menu am I right?

Well let me warn you about the Wantons at The Chicken Rice Shop.
They had a sour tinge to it. We have no idea if the chicken was going south or if they seasoned it that way on purpose. Well I finished it anyways because it was at least one of the more edible items there.

So far it seems like most things are seasoned or flavoured differently from what we may be used to.
I wonder if the same items taste the same way at the Singapore outlets...

Well maybe the last item would be super nice.

Golden Fortune Wings (RM 3.99)

We purposely ordered this item because it looked so good on the menu.
And we're suckers for chicken wings.

But guess what? This was sour too!
I could detect the strong taste of Hoisin Sauce (looks like the marinated the wings in it) but trust me - I can take sour tastes but this seems like it wasn't intended to taste this way.

I'd love to guess again that the chicken was going south (like the wanton) but we didn't even get that far.
Just the skin alone was enough to make us put it down. My darling wife even said that if she could, she'd give it a negative score.

Kuching Famous 3 Layer Tea (RM 5.50)

I know it's weird for me to have a Kuching specialty when I was in Malacca but hey what can I say...
I was intrigued when I saw it on the menu.

Okay so let's run through.
Layer 1 at the bottom is Gula Melaka. (Seriously)
Layer 2 in the middle is milk.
Layer 3 at the top is the tea.

It actually tastes a lot like bubble tea.
Just make sure you stir it up properly before you drink it...
If you make the same mistake I did, then you're in for a mouthful of Gula Melaka.

Adam's Verdict:
Chicken Rice 2/5 -- Nyonya Pai Tee 2/5 -- Pak Choy with Oyster Sauce 1.5/5
Kerabu Mango 2/5 -- Crispy Wanton 1/5 -- Golden Fortune Wings 0/5
Kuching Famous 3 Layer Tea 3/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Chicken Rice 2/5 -- Ayam Sodap Balado 2/5 -- Pak Choy with Oyster Sauce 1/5
Sai To Fishball Soup 1/5 -- Kerabu Mango 3/5 -- Crispy Wanton 0/5 -- Golden Fortune Wings 0/5


This was actually the first meal we had when we arrived in Malacca.
Its kinda made us a little worried to be honest. Definitely one of the weirdest meals EVER.
But it's definitely the kind of place you can bring your family or a large group for a meal.

Maybe we'll try the outlet in Singapore just for comparison's sake.

The Chicken Rice Shop

Mahkota Parade
No 1 Jalan Merdeka Lot No F15 First Floor
Tel: 06-2824928
www.thechickenriceshop.com

Operating Hours:
10.00am til 10.00pm (Sunday til Thursday)
10.00am til 10.30pm (Friday and Saturday)