KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 — Fate seemed to be pulling me towards Yan Chicken Rice.
Sometime back, I discovered their chicken rice. At that time they were operating in a house, offering chicken rice, roast duck and steamed fish.
It was good. But I felt it needed to be exceptional to stand out among the sea of chicken rice found at almost every coffee shop in town.
Fast forward to the present. Maybe Darren Tan, the owner, "heard" me as I could spot the upgrades made to the offerings, pushing it up the ladder to greatest.
The roast duck is gone. All the focus is on chicken rice, where I felt the quality of the meat was so much better now. Steamed fish is still there, given options for family-style meals to share.
Even the location is better — inside a building with a high ceiling — allowing for a breezier dining experience.
This has catapulted the stall to become the latest social media darling. Some even tout it as one of the best chicken rice in Ampang.
The story doesn't end there. Fame had attracted whispers in the wind.
In early October, rumours circulated that they artificially coloured their chickens, one even said you can get cancer from eating it.
Tan posted a notice on Facebook to address these concerns. In his post (in Chinese), he shared an excerpt citing a method used by Chinese restaurant chefs to achieve that bright yellow hue.
The secret lies in the use of the fruit from the plant, known as gardenia jasminoides. It's also known locally as "buah kuning".
The pulp from the fruit gives a deep orange yellow colour, which is used as a natural dye for food. The Koreans call it chija.
On the popular Korean cookbook author Maangchi's website, she explained that the herb is used to treat fever and the Koreans will brew tea using the fruit. Her grandmother would make her own poultice with the fruits to relieve her arthritis pain.
Tan explained that it's a method he picked up during his days working in the kitchen of Pullman Hotel and also in Genting Highlands.
He uses it for his kampung chicken or choy yin kai. For his wat kai or smooth chicken, he uses tai shan kiok, which has a little turmeric added to the skin to give it a lighter yellow hue.
Tan took a short break following this issue. Last week, when I made my latest visit, business was back in full swing. Hopefully, they have overcome that hurdle.
So let's talk about chicken. I sampled both varieties. The wat kai is the crowd favourite, selling out faster than the kampung chicken.
I could understand why once I tasted both. The wat kai had a smoothness I enjoyed tremendously. It's not soft like the usual poached chicken but it retains a nice bite.
From the other spectrum, the kampung chicken's meat has a firmer bite. What I liked was how the skin has a slight crunch too.
Go for the wat kai, if you prefer a pocket friendly meal as prices start from RM8.50 for a single portion of the upper portion of the chicken with rice.
The kampung chicken is only available as a half portion, a choice of the top portion or bottom portion, making it good for sharing among a few people. It's RM22 for the top portion where the breast meat is located and RM28 for the bottom portion where you get the chicken drumstick.
A dollop of fried chopped garlic gives the chicken more flavour too.
The rice served here is yellow but that's not the story. Instead, the grains are plump and separate, making it an enjoyable bite with a hint of flavour from the herbs and chicken broth used.
Add the ginger paste and a piquant chilli sauce with your chicken and rice for a satisfying meal.
Don't ignore the sides, as they're not the generic stuff you get at other places. Their bean sprouts (RM9 for a small portion) was a big surprise.
You had the crunch from the white sprouts but what elevated it was the use of tiny crispy dried prawns, mixed with the fried shallots. It uplifted the taste of the rather bland vegetable, making it something you will fight for when it comes to the last spoonful.
Braised Chicken Feet are great too. Spend some time relishing them. Your patience in getting through those small bones will yield gelatinous skin and tender bits of the meat.
The only blemish to this dish is a slightly less fragrant sauce though with that texture, I can forgive them. A small portion will cost you RM6 but make your stomach happy.
Other goodies served here include braised beancurd, steamed eggs and steamed beancurd. There's also braised eggs with jammy yolks.
If you're dining here with a big group, order the steamed Song fish head. There's five styles to select like the usual ginger paste, spicy and preserved radish.
The Preserved Radish Steamed Song Fish Head (RM38 for small) will supplement your chicken rice perfectly. However, in terms of execution, it falls slightly short with some parts of the fish like the collar a tad firmer than I like. However, the head is superbly gelatinous, making you relish stripping all that goodness from the bones.
Yan Chicken Rice, 45A, 47, 48, Plaza Ampang Jaya, Taman Pandan Mewah, Ampang Jaya, Selangor. Open: 9am to 2pm. Tel:011-16387717. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YanKeeYanKitchen
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