The Chicken Rice Chronicles Part 4: Tang Tea House

Aha! We have finally reached Part 4 in our series for Chicken Rice.
"Series?? What series???" you might be asking... Well, you might want to read THIS first then...

Okay ready? This time we are at Tang Tea House!

Chicken Rice ($4.00)

Okay let me start by saying that that picture up there actually shows a HALF CHICKEN serving.
The normal serving for 1 person is definitely lesser chicken than that but you'll see why we ended up with half a chicken by the end of this post...

I think those who have eaten at Tang Tea House will probably know what I'm talking about...

What's so nice about the Chicken Rice at Tang Tea House?
Well, in our humble opinion - it's gotta be the Roasted Chicken!

The meat is well-cooked and super tended. I'm not sure what technique they are employing here but it obviously works wonders and we've never had a time where we regretted ordering the Roasted Chicken at Tang Tea House (sometimes we even order it as is and without rice!)

The meat is super tender and the skin has a nice subtle crisp to it if you're lucky to get that part.
Well, we always order a half chicken so we ALWAYS get that part. Yes seriously. We always order half a chicken. No joke.

And that nice salty gravy that comes along with it... Ooohhhhh... That's the best part to me.
I know I know it's salty and you should eat in moderation but I think I love it too much. It definitely enhances the flavour overall if you ask me.

The rice as just so-so to be perfectly honest with you.
Yeah sure you do get some of the Chicken Rice flavour that you'd expect but it's really a very strong flavour.
Nice and grainy I guess but we have tasted better rice.

But my darling wife did rather like it though... Maybe it's just me...

The chilli is where the team's opinions kinda differ a little bit...

My Mum and my darling wife both adore the chilli. My mum says it's the bomb and even goes as far as to say it's 'the real thing'. I'm guessing she's saying that because it's more on the spicy side and less sweet compared to other Chicken Rice chillies around. My darling wife says it was "just nice".

I actually didn't like the chilli very much.
I guess I'm more used to the type of Chicken Rice chilli with a bit more vinegar and/or sugar. But you can see how thick the chilli's texture is so you know it's packing quite a punch!

Adam's Verdict:
Chicken 5/5 -- Rice 2.5/5 -- Chilli 2.5/5 -- Overall 4/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Chicken 5/5 -- Rice 3/5 -- Chilli 3.5/5 -- Overall 4.5/5

Asmah's Verdict:
Chicken 5/5 -- Rice 2/5 -- Chilli 4/5 -- Overall 4/5

Well it looks like Tang Tea House is tops so far in our list of Chicken Rice stalls for this series...
But then again, this is only part 3... Many more to come!!

But hey... let me repeat again... The Roasted Chicken at Tang Tea House is really the bomb!!!
It's minimum half a chicken whenever we go... Seriously...

Tang Tea House

359 Bedok Road
www.tangteahouse.com

Operating Hours:
11.00am til 4.00am Daily

Tang Tea House - Rojak

So we're back at one of our favourite makan joints - Tang Tea House!
A wide array of food choices and accessible location in the East means we always head back here when we can for some good food and good times.

Today we try a crowd favourite. Something that seems so simple to make but you'd be surprised at how difficult it is to execute a good plate of Rojak.

Rojak with Century Egg ($5.00)

How can anyone resist a plate of Rojak?
There's just something about it that even if you're not the biggest fan, you're still going to take a bite or two if there's a plate of it in front of you.

My favourite part about Rojak (and I'm guessing it's the same for many of you too) is the You Char Kway that comes along with it. And it's always the first to finish and always not enough! That's why I sometimes order a whole plate of just You Char Kway (yes you can do that) but then again sometimes it's nice to have a little variety right?

Well anyways, I personally feel that they're a little stingy with the Char Kway here.

Taste-wise, it's a little less tangy than some other places we've had Rojak. Maybe less Asam water used?
Not too spicy but you can always ask for more chili if you like.

And of course, you don't have to have the Century Egg if you don't fancy it. You can always swap it out for some Sotong Kering if that's your thing. But I do have to say that Century Eggs do seem to be increasingly popular even among the younger crowds.

Adam's Verdict:
Rojak with Century Egg 2.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Rojak with Century Egg 3/5 

Dad's Verdict:
Rojak with Century Egg 3/5 

Mum's Verdict:
Rojak with Century Egg 4/5

I remember there used to be a different stall selling Rojak at Tang Tea House but I guess they've moved on.
Guess this stall will have to do for now :)

Tang Tea House

359 Bedok Road
www.tangteahouse.com

Operating Hours:
11.00am til 4.00am Daily

Botak's Favourites: Sirloin Steak

Okay you guys remember my last post about Tang Tea House right?
Well some of you might be wondering... How come Maryah didn't have any verdict eh?

Well the answer is simple.
She didn't have the Beef Noodles or the Beef Kway Teow. She had...

Sirloin Steak Set ($12.90)

So if you remember the last time I had Botak's Favourites, it didn't go very well.


Well let's face it, my wife and I both love a nice slab of meat. And for some reason it's becoming increasingly hard to find a decent steak nowadays to be honest. For me, I personally have to go all the way to The Ship in KL to guarantee myself a delicious steak.

So how would my darling wife find the steak?

Well I guess you could say that Botak's Favourites definitely does its part in bringing Halal western food to the masses at a reasonable price. But as you would expect, you can't really expect to have the best prime cut ever in the history of the world right? The steak is actually pretty okay in terms of taste and value. Seasoning was simple and meat lovers will not complain about the portion of the cut.

But not to sound too critical, I personally feel that it's not too bad.
I mean, you DO get what you pay for when we're talking about this steak so we can't complain too much.

However, there ARE some things we can complain about.
Because even though we are paying a reasonably low price, you'd still expect some basics.

Case in point - the done-ness of the steak.
They actually give you a choice of how well you'd like you steak and then they kinda disregard your choice.

That's exceptional cooking skill to achieve a medium-rare steak.
The only problem is that we ordered it to be well done.

I know I know a lot of you steak people will argue that a steak is best enjoyed medium-rare or medium-well at most and not well done because the meat gets dried out and on the tough side.
And I do not disagree with you. But I do disagree with asking how we'd like to have the steak cooked and then just cooking it to some other result instead.

Okay fine let's forget about the steak for a minute.

You also get to choose 2 sides with your set.
So we had the Coleslaw and the Double Baked Cheese Potato. (You can also have the Fries or Corn btw)
Well. The Coleslaw was a little on the sour side (which is fine if you like your coleslaw that way) but the biggest crime of the day was the Double Baked Cheese Potato.

Double Baked Cheese Potato. But no cheese!!
Just great.

Maryah's Verdict:
Sirloin Steak Set 3.5/5

I'm still not convinced of Botak's Favourites.
But it's still one of the few choices we have to get such western food so we'll all keep going there I reckon.


Botak's Favourites (within Tang Tea House)

359 Bedok Road
www.botakjones.com/

Operating Hours:
11.00am til 4.00am Daily