Posts tagged Chicken Rice

Chicken Rice Chronicles: Rasa Delights, Eastwood

Review
Review of Rasa Delights in Eastwood

Review of Rasa Malaysia, in Eastwood

I’m not the most nationalistic Singaporean you’d find around, but one thing I AM very proud of is the Chicken Rice. First concocted by the Hainanese who migrated to Singapore “back in the day”, this has become a national treasure, and one of our most famous exports.

Most countries in the South East Asian region now have their own versions of Chicken Rice, with our closest neighbour (and fellow foodie community) Malaysia having the most variety!

And when it comes to food, more variety = more deliciousness. Always.

Deep fried chicken rice balls

One such variation are Chicken Rice Balls. You’d think it’s just a case of rolling the rice up into balls, but you’d be wrong. There are so many things to consider: to sauce or not to sauce, chicken in or on the side…and at Rasa Delights in Eastwood, it’s whether to deep fry it.

Yep, when you think that Chicken Rice can’t get any more decadent, you can always roll it into a ball, crumb it in panko and deep fry the sucker.

Deep fried chicken rice balls

Here, it’s pre-sauced and mixed with bits of chicken, crumbed with panko (a Japanese breadcrumb made with white milk bread) and served with Japanese mayo on the side. Kinda like if a Japanese person decided to attempt a Singaporean classic I guess. Not quite the pay off we were hoping for, but points for trying.

Chicken Laksa

Of course, just as a measure of quality, we also ordered the Chicken Laksa. Strips of poached chicken sits atop noodles in a shrimp/chilli/coconut broth. While it hit most of the flavour notes, this particular bowl unfortunately wasn’t thick enough for my taste. Good laksa, to me, is meant to be gao – a Hokkien term for a thickness or richness that you look for in things like Laksa, or, you know, milk teas.

I was severely lacking the shrimp and eschallot mince that is meant to make up most of the soup, much like how assam laksa has flakes of sardine all through it. Not bad for a laksa in Australia, but not quite the laksa my mother has spoilt me with growing up.

Hainan Chicken Rice, with an extra fried egg on the top

So back to the chicken rice it is. I must say that this hits most of the marks for me – silky chicken, glossy rice cooked with chicken fat – BUT I have an issue with the sauces. And to a South East Asian the condiments are half the battle. There have been long, snaking queues in Singapore just for good chilli alone. Well, there’s been long snaking queues in Singapore for not very much, but you know what I mean.

The chilli lacked body, and the ginger sauce was weak. AND WHERE IS MY SOY DRIZZLE. True chicken rice, to me, has to be completed with a soy drizzle that is made of soy, chinese rice wine, and chicken stock that is made from cooking the chicken. Keeps the chicken thoroughly seasoned and keeps the rice juicy. And we like it juicy.

Service wise, they were polite and very accommodating, and they checked in on us often enough without hovering. So that was nice.

I’m still a bit pouty about the lack of condiments, but not a bad option to satisfy cravings for Malaysian food if you happen to be in Eastwood.

This meal was independently paid for.
Rasa Delights
80 Rowe St
Eastwood, NSW 2122
Phone: 02 8040 4605
Website: https://www.facebook.com/rasadelights.au

Rasa Delights on Urbanspoon

Ramly Burger in Sydney! Yang’s Malaysian Food Truck

Food Truck Review
Aerial shot of our order from Yang's Malaysian Food Truck!

Aerial shot of our order from Yang's Malaysian Food Truck!

In Singapore, night markets (pasar malam) are big business. They take on a nomadic, gypsy quality, moving from suburb to suburb, with makeshift tents sprouting up overnight like daisies after a spring shower. Loud music begins blaring, hawkers begin hawking, and pans and grill go on the heat and curls of smoke start beckoning, crooking its wispy fingers and luring you into the bright light.

And with food like that, you’d think that you have died and gone to heaven.

The Ramly Burger debuted in Singapore in a pasar malam to great fanfare, causing queues round the block as we are wont to do. Originating in Malaysia, this burger was created by a man named, well, Ramly, and consists of a beef or chicken patty, covered in egg, lettuce, sauce on sauce on sauce, and is the sloppiest burger you’d ever eat. Even now, with all the knockoffs, most of the Ramly burgers in Malaysia are made with patties sourced from the original Ramly makers.

So when I heard that Yang’s Malaysian Food Truck was serving up Ramly burgers on the menu, I was like a kid with an early Christmas, chomping at the bit to get my hands on it. But of course, a food blogger never just orders one thing off the menu. No, we order the whole damned lot.

Roti with ChickenRoti with Curried Chicken

Soft Shell Chill Crab with MantouSoft Shell Chilli Crab with Mantou

Ramli SliderRamly Slider

Chicken Rice BallsChicken Rice balls

Curry PuffsCurry Puffs

The Soft Shell Chilli Crab with Mantou is a fantastic take on the Singapore Chilli Crab, with more fresh chillies used and not quite as sweet as I was expecting. And you know, deep fried milk buns are always a winner with me. The Chicken Rice Balls were quite surprising, since I’ve never had them that way before, but the little morsels grew on me…maybe because I’m a lazy eater and these were convenient mouthfuls. The chicken was a tiny bit on the dry side, but on the whole still a thoroughly enjoyable dish. The Ramly Sliders were great as a slider, but at the risk of sounding like a perv in a red light district, it needs to be dirtier, and greasier. It was almost too clean and sophisticated to really communicate the Ramly experience. The curry puffs had the super flaky pastry spot on – I could feel my arteries clogging, which is always a good sign when you’re eating pastry – but the filling was just a touch…wet. Again, no relation to the red light district.

Inside of a Curry Puff

As a food truck, Yang’s Malaysian Food Truck is off to a great start, serving up quality Asian-inspired food in convenient to-go portions. There’s some maturing that needs to happen, as with any new food business, but I do think that they are a truck to watch. *thumbs up*

This meal was independently paid for.
Yang’s Malaysian Food Truck
79 Edinburgh Rd
Castlecrag, NSW 2068
Phone: 0408 221 213
Website: http://yangsfoodtruck.com

Yang's Malaysian Food Truck on Urbanspoon