SHAH ALAM, June 20 — Bean sprout lovers, this one's for you.

Great shows with a great lead need a strong supporting cast to be elevated to the next level, and any chicken rice worth its salt can be measured by the quality of the bean sprouts, or taugeh, even in its backup role.

I’ve eaten and covered chicken rice before where the bean sprouts were either not worth a mention or missing altogether, which may not make or break the experience, but still noticeably detracts from it.

But, like a good summer blockbuster, Nasi Ayam Sungai Buloh is the stage on which this ensemble cast of poached chicken, bean sprouts and rice comes together in perfect harmony.

Much like the last chicken rice place I covered, this place only does Hainanese poached chicken — no roast chicken, char siu or roast pork.

I find this encouraging as nothing gets me more excited than a place, particularly one like this, that displays supreme confidence in its lone speciality and offers little else in terms of alternatives.

It arrives with a pale complexion, leaning closer to white and dressed in an equally light cocktail of soy sauce, sesame oil and chicken fat.

It bears all the telltale signs of great poached chicken: impeccably smooth skin, tender flesh and a taste of chicken so pure it should be bottled and sold.

Add a spoonful of rice flavoured with ginger and chicken drippings to the mix, spiced up with the chilli sauce and you’ve got yourself a winning bite.

However, unlike the last place, the aforementioned taugeh is offered here, and is the Pippen to the chicken’s Jordan.

Short, fat and crunchy, it is the platonic ideal of what taugeh should aspire to be. I’m not one to proselytize, but if there was ever a plate to win over taugeh haters, this is the one.

Each spoonful is enhanced with crunchy fried onions that work in tandem with the satisfying snap of each sprout, it truly is a masterpiece in playing a supporting role to the smooth, slick pieces of chicken.

Here, I dare say the bean sprouts make this place stand head and shoulders over most, and elevate it into dining destination territory.

The bill for a whole chicken, rice and bean sprouts for three people came to RM77.50, with the whole chicken making up most of it at RM60.

Parking here can be a challenge during peak times, so arrive just before or after lunch for better chances.

Nasi Ayam Sungai Buloh

29, Jalan Public, Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh, Shah Alam, Selangor

Open daily, 9am-8pm

Tel: 017-320 7013

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