Hainanese Chicken at Hainanese Delights

I'm a big fan of Hainanese Chicken, ever since I tasted the real deal at a hawker's center in Sinagpore. (Read  that blog entry here.)

Ever since then, I've been on the lookout for a local version here in the Philippines that would be as good. I've tried several dishes from many other restaurants, including a couple of high end Chinese/Singapore style places, but their chicken always come up lacking.

So far the best local Hainanese Chicken I've tasted I found in Hainanese Delights, which is surprisingly kind of a fast food type place that's slowly spreading across malls in Metro Manila. The two branches I visited was in Robinson's Galleria in Ortigas, and the one in SM Megamall Building A.

Of all the Hainanese chicken I've tasted so far, theirs is the best one I've tasted. The chicken is soft and perfectly seasoned. Their spice combo of ginger, hot sauce and soy sauce is unlimited. (In other restaruants they either had limited amounts of it or didn't have them all together). Not only did they serve the chicken with that special Hainan rice (Rice cooked in chicken stock), it was also unlimited. Other restaurants just serve plain rice which is like WTF. You don't serve Hainanese chicken without serving Hainan rice. That's just wrong. (I'm talking to you, Sentosa, Shangrila Mall.)

Highly recommended, if you want to get an idea of authentic Hainanese Chicken from Singapore!

Check out their website here:
http://www.hainanesedelights.ph/

At Lau Pa Sat Festival Market, Singapore

Researching online where to find the best food in Singapore, I found that the best advice always given is to eat where the locals eat. And Lau Pa Sat Festival Market is one such place. It's kind of an open food court with plenty of different choices.  When the Komikon group and myself went to visit on the evening of September 1, 2012, many of the stalls were already closed, but thankfully enough, many were still open.

It didn't make the choice any less difficult though, as we really had absolutely no idea where we wanted to eat. But there were a few of us who were just crazy to taste the world famous Singapore Chili Crab. After speaking with one of the local servers and getting nowhere, she called her boss who just happened to be Filipina, and it made conversation much easier.

After much discussion we decided to yes, get the Chili Crab, but we also wanted to try the Barbecue Stingray, Chicken Satay, some kind of noodles, and some kind of veggies. Sorry but I don't remember what they were called anymore, ha! ha! The veggies look like Kang Kong, but I think they're actually "Kailan" or some local equivalent.

Our server suggested we just go to a nearby grocery to buy our drinks as it would be far less expensive.  I still think it's unusual that drinks aren't served where you buy food, but I guess I'm just not used to it. Locals I'm sure think this is how it's always done, and will be similarly confused when they visit the Philippines.

Anyway, after around 20 minutes our food arrived.

Barbecue Stingray and Chicken Satay

Some kind of noodles, some kind of greens.

Unfortunately, I was so crazy hungry by this time that I failed to take a photo of the Chili Crab. Actually, I didn't even get to taste it so much aside from the sauce, which was just delicious.

The Chicken Satay was just amazing. The last time I ate something like this was in 1989 in Jolo. I always craved to eat it again ever since. I never knew it would be in Singapore I would taste it again. As with Satay, it is the sauce that really makes or breaks it. And the sauce is probably the best I've ever tasted. It's crazy. I bought a bottled version of this from Rustans some months ago, and it wasn't this good.

Still hungry, I got a big chunk of stingray and ate it. It tasted like fish, but an awesome kind of fish. I then ate the greens which also tasted so good. Some 30 seconds later, my mouth started to burn. HOOOLLLLEEE CRRRAAAP did my mouth start to burn. I took a drink really quick and my scalp started to sweat. The heat wasn't going away. In fact, I felt it increasing. I had to get something colder in my mouth. I ran for the grocery and got something cold... anything cold. I wish I could say my mouth was literally on fire, because it's not literally on fire, but it certainly felt like it.

Back at the table I stared at the stingray and man, I wanted to taste it again because it was so good. But I wasn't sure I could take the heat of it. I decided to scrape off the sambal topping, taking as much of it off as I can. It still tasted awesome, but it still burned, I couldn't believe it.

I don't understand how people could actually eat something this hot. I'm sure they're used to it, but do their mouths still burn, do they still sweat? Do their noses still get runny? The spiciness of it went beyond what I'm capable of, which kept me from fully enjoying the taste of it, unfortunately.

I didn't even attempt to try to noodles as my mouth was just to singed by this time.

All this time I thought I could take spicy food, but I had no idea what spicy really meant until I ate this food. I like to think of it as a challenge. I will try to get used to it by slowly increasing the spiciness of my food. Hopefully by the time I visit Singapore again probably next year, I'll be eating this still without a problem, and hopefully loving it!

Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice

I spent a weekend in Singapore early this September, and the one thing I really looked forward to was trying out the FOOD! But of course. One of the things on my checklist was to visit a local hawker's center where all the locals eat, and try their famous Hainanese Chicken Rice. I'm told this is practically Singapore's national dish, the same way Adobo is the Philippine's unofficial National dish.

I found the Hawker's center after walking for 30 minutes around Chinatown. The entire second floor of this building was a huge food center. It looks very much like our fast food places locally.

It was hard to choose which stall to buy my chicken from because the food on display on each and every one of these places looked delicious. I settled on this place that a huge sign that said "Super Mummy Hainanese Chicken Rice."

I don't know what "Super Mummy" is supposed to mean, but I just went with it. I ordered the Hainanese Chicken Rice with Vegetables for $4SGD.

I gotta say the thing was pretty good! I have already tried variations of this dish locally at various Chinese restaurants and one I did myself, but the one sold here was just terrific. The meat was extraordinarily soft and tasty. And the vegetables... I'm not a BIG vegetable eater, but these vegetables, whatever they were (probably bokchoy), tasted so nice.

One strange thing I noticed, a notable difference compared to local fast food joints, is that you can't buy drinks at the places you buy food. Drinks are sold separately at stalls specifically set aside to sell only drinks. This is something I noticed not only at hawker's centers like this, but also at the big malls.

More Singapore food posts to follow!