Relish ultra crispy ‘siew yoke’, melt-in-the-mouth crystal ‘char siu’ and smooth poached chicken at Sungai Besi’s Sin Yuan Chicken Rice

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — A common greeting among Malaysians is, “Have you eaten?”

In my case, it’s become, “Have you tried this place before?”

We love food and it extends to how we connect with others. If we’re not cooking up a storm to feed someone, we love to share our treasured food finds with everyone.

Lunch is all about ‘siu mei’ like ‘char siu’ and ‘siew yoke’ with fragrant rice.

Hence I constantly get food recommendations. They come up in conversations, whether face-to-face or on WhatsApp, Instagram and so forth.

Occasionally, I even manage to reconnect with people I have not seen for many years, as they reach out to me to let me know of their favourite place.

I cherish each one of these recommendations as in a way, it signifies how every person loves to feed us good food.

Ken Liew is the man behind the amazing roast meats here.

The latest recommendation from an ex-colleague is what led me to a commercial area in Sungai Besi to try out Sin Yuan Kee Chicken Rice.

At one glance, you may dismiss the place as just a roadside shack in an industrial area.

One needs to peel back the many layers to discover its rich history in the art of siu mei or Cantonese roast meats.

The crackling for the ‘siew yoke’ has an irresistible crunch that pairs well with the tender, juicy meat.

The place is an icon around the Sungai Besi area, where the family is famous for their roast meats. That know-how has now been passed onto the second generation.

Previously located at Jalan Chan Sow Lin, they moved to this location in 2019.

You will find Ken Liew at the helm here, taking charge of roasting the char siu and siew yoke. There’s also roast duck, poached chicken and roast chicken.

Crystal ‘char siu’ made with pork cheek has a glistening look.

His wife tells me Liew picked up the technique from her father who ran the original shop. Her uncles are also skilled in roasting meats.

Here, they also offer a variety of noodle dishes, giving customers more choices.

As I looked around during lunch time, I could see people tucking in to their Ipoh chicken kuey teow with just clear soup and poached chicken. Or maybe pork and fishball noodles. There’s also kolo mee, sam kan cheong (pork ball noodles), curry mee and wantan mee.

Here, the crust and meat has a seamless juicy bite where the crust is also not too sweet.

The noodles are available all day, while the roasted meats like char siu and siew yoke emerge freshly roasted at around 11am in time for the lunch crowd.

I managed to “catch” the roast pork with its magnificent golden texture one day. One lady who was there to pack home the siew yoke was just so happy to see it fresh that she even requested for a few pieces to eat straight away just to relish that crunchy skin.

What’s amazing about the siew yoke is how that golden crackling remains crunchy throughout. It’s also served with their curry mee. Even when I left it to soak up the curry, the skin remained crunchy.

Poached chicken has a silky skin and smooth, juicy meat.

That’s truly incredible roast meat skills.

Even their char siu is well executed. You get thick cut pork belly pieces in the curry mee, or go for the prized pork cheek char siu with its glistening crust.

They make the crystal version, where the outer layer has a charred crust that is sticky and the inside is melting fats and juicy meat.

Other places tend to make the outer layer a little harder but here, the texture is seamless, making each piece a juicy bite.

Pair your lunch with their ‘suen lat choy’ which has a mild spiciness and a lot of mustard greens.

I didn’t get to try the roast duck or roast chicken but their poached chicken had an impressive silky smoothness with juicy meat. My favourite bit was the jelly-like skin.

There’s a compromise though as you may find the bone to be reddish which may irk those who are fussy about it.

Even the rice is good. You get fluffy, separate grains with a distinct flavour of the chicken.

Curry mee for breakfast, where the stars of the show here are the thick cut ‘char siu’ and ‘siew yoke’ even though the curry broth lacks a spicy kick.

The chicken rice starts from RM7 for the wing portion. It’s RM8 for the chicken drumstick with rice. For my poached chicken drumstick without rice, it was RM6.

The char siu rice or siew yoke rice is RM12. You can order a combination of meats with your rice, like chicken drumstick, siew yoke and char siu for RM18.

There’s also suen lat choy or hot sour mustard greens (RM7) for a small portion. The appetising stew is made with the trimmings from the roast meats, dried red chillies and vegetables. Here, their version has a light broth with a tinge of spiciness and a subtle tanginess.

You can also help yourself to a bowl of soup to go with your chicken rice.

During lunch time, you can see all kinds of orders from chicken rice to different types of noodles.

If you’re looking for an indulgent breakfast, their curry mee (RM12) will fit the bill perfectly.

It’s a beautiful looking bowl but the catch is the curry. It lacks a much needed punch of spices.

It makes up for this with the generous thick cut char siu made with pork belly and siew yoke.

This place is hidden inside an industrial area peppered with factories and auto workshops.

The curry is served piping hot, with other goodies like cockles, pig skin, beancurd puffs and bean sprouts.

As they offer wantan mee, you can order the curry with the egg noodles.

Sin Yuan Kee Chicken Rice, 1, Jalan 4/89B, Kawasan Perindustrian Trisegi, Kuala Lumpur. Open: 7.30am to 3pm (Monday to Saturday). Closed on Sunday. Tel:012-3130079. Facebook: @SinYuanKeeChickenRice

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

** Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.