Malaya Corner 3
The third installment of the Malaya Corner adventures in which Kelly and super-cute sidekick/husband RJ attempt to eat their way through the wildly extensive menu at Malaya Corner, Sunnybank, Brisbane.
So off RJ and I trotted to Malaya Corner filled with hope and hunger for what was sure to be another gastronomic good time.
Dodgy photo of Malaya Corner
Once again we were bamboozled by the array of options on the menu. Luckily it is logically divided into rice dishes, fried noodles, noodle soup and rice porridge (in my language the latter category translates into "avoid"). So once you have decided what kind of carbs you're after you can just pursue that section and make you selection. Very good system, I say.
So many options!
I wanted to try the tahu goreng (fried tofu) for entree but RJ convinced me that since I hadn't taken a proper photo of the kari puffs last time, we should order it again. Hmm. As you can see from this photo I was convinced! Next time we will be eating the tahu goreng - I will not be tricked again by Mr Ambivalent-About-Tofu!
Kari puffs
I'm a big fan of the giant glasses of lemon Coke served here, but with a visit to the dentist just around the corner I thought I'd better steer clear. He can always tell when I've been drinking Coke! Horrible man. Anyway, we decided to go for the free self-service tea which is in big plastic jugs on the counter, next to the self-service water.
Free tea - yippee!
Having been doing some serious Singapore reminiscing lately, I decided to order the Hainanese Chicken Rice. Hainanese chicken rice is the staple standby of any newly arrived and/or culinarily unadventurous foreigner in Singapore. It's also a firm favourite of locals and other adventurous eaters. What I'm trying to say is that it's not just for scaredy-cat foreigners, but it does happen to be their food of choice.
Its simple appearance - chicken and rice - hides the delicious truth: this is no ordinary chicken and rice.
The chicken is poached and served with fragrant rice cooked in chicken broth. A yummy soy sauce is poured over the top and the meal is accompanied by a special kind of chilli sauce, grated ginger and chicken broth. When my meal arrived it smelled exactly like the many, many chicken rice dishes I had enjoyed when I lived in Singapore.
Unfortunately, the chicken was served cold, which was a bit of a shock. And I also remembered that back in the S'pore days I had enjoyed the chicken rice served with roasted chicken a bit more than the poached version, but this was only a small problem.
Hainanese chicken rice
The flavours of the rice and chicken were spot-on, but I probably wouldn't order this dish again. The cold chicken - although pretty tasty - was a bit hard to get my head around! And if I'm eating chicken with the skin on I do prefer it to be crispy and brown, rather than soft and white.
RJ ordered the Malaysian Curry Chicken with Rice. His succinct review was "I've had better." I tried a bit of the curry sauce mixed with rice and it was nice, but not very spicy.
Malaysian chicken curry with steamed rice
All in all, it was not our best visit to Malaya Corner, but we will not be deterred! We will return! The char kway teow beckons!
After dinner we made our now-traditional pilgrimage to Yuen's Supermarket, but that's another post...
Other visits to Malaya Corner:
Malaya Corner, Sunnybank
Malaya Corner 2
And because Google Maps is so much fun, I've located Malaya Corner - it's in the shopping centre on the south east of the intersection.
food and drink chicken rice curry Brisbane
So off RJ and I trotted to Malaya Corner filled with hope and hunger for what was sure to be another gastronomic good time.
Dodgy photo of Malaya Corner
Once again we were bamboozled by the array of options on the menu. Luckily it is logically divided into rice dishes, fried noodles, noodle soup and rice porridge (in my language the latter category translates into "avoid"). So once you have decided what kind of carbs you're after you can just pursue that section and make you selection. Very good system, I say.
So many options!
I wanted to try the tahu goreng (fried tofu) for entree but RJ convinced me that since I hadn't taken a proper photo of the kari puffs last time, we should order it again. Hmm. As you can see from this photo I was convinced! Next time we will be eating the tahu goreng - I will not be tricked again by Mr Ambivalent-About-Tofu!
Kari puffs
I'm a big fan of the giant glasses of lemon Coke served here, but with a visit to the dentist just around the corner I thought I'd better steer clear. He can always tell when I've been drinking Coke! Horrible man. Anyway, we decided to go for the free self-service tea which is in big plastic jugs on the counter, next to the self-service water.
Free tea - yippee!
Having been doing some serious Singapore reminiscing lately, I decided to order the Hainanese Chicken Rice. Hainanese chicken rice is the staple standby of any newly arrived and/or culinarily unadventurous foreigner in Singapore. It's also a firm favourite of locals and other adventurous eaters. What I'm trying to say is that it's not just for scaredy-cat foreigners, but it does happen to be their food of choice.
Its simple appearance - chicken and rice - hides the delicious truth: this is no ordinary chicken and rice.
The chicken is poached and served with fragrant rice cooked in chicken broth. A yummy soy sauce is poured over the top and the meal is accompanied by a special kind of chilli sauce, grated ginger and chicken broth. When my meal arrived it smelled exactly like the many, many chicken rice dishes I had enjoyed when I lived in Singapore.
Unfortunately, the chicken was served cold, which was a bit of a shock. And I also remembered that back in the S'pore days I had enjoyed the chicken rice served with roasted chicken a bit more than the poached version, but this was only a small problem.
Hainanese chicken rice
The flavours of the rice and chicken were spot-on, but I probably wouldn't order this dish again. The cold chicken - although pretty tasty - was a bit hard to get my head around! And if I'm eating chicken with the skin on I do prefer it to be crispy and brown, rather than soft and white.
RJ ordered the Malaysian Curry Chicken with Rice. His succinct review was "I've had better." I tried a bit of the curry sauce mixed with rice and it was nice, but not very spicy.
Malaysian chicken curry with steamed rice
All in all, it was not our best visit to Malaya Corner, but we will not be deterred! We will return! The char kway teow beckons!
After dinner we made our now-traditional pilgrimage to Yuen's Supermarket, but that's another post...
Other visits to Malaya Corner:
Malaya Corner, Sunnybank
Malaya Corner 2
And because Google Maps is so much fun, I've located Malaya Corner - it's in the shopping centre on the south east of the intersection.
food and drink chicken rice curry Brisbane
posted by Kelly @ 7:22 am
2 Comments:
At 9:26 pm,
Amanda said…
Hi Kelly,
My first experience with chicken rice was at the Malaysian Noodle place on Elizabeth and I too was shocked that the chicken was a bit cold but enjoyed the flavours nevertheless. Indeed I find it hard to forget and by chance at the Coles supermarket in West End two weeks ago I found some packet flavouring for Hainese rice by Asian Home Gourmet range and decided to make some chicken rice at home.
I used chicken thighs bone in and skin on and boiled them for about 20mins then dipped them in a combination of soy sauce and sesame oil and then popped them in the oven while I made the rice with the flavour sachet and the left over chicken stock. I used my dutch oven and put the rice in it on top of stove and some peanut oil and then added the stock and popped it into the oven for about 20mins.
By putting the chicken in the oven, I was able to serve the chicken hot and the skin crispier much more to my husband's liking. The soy and sesame also give it a lovely brown hue.
I minced ginger and minced garlic too. To the garlic I added some sambal olek and an Asian friend at work told me to add chicken stock to both the ginger and garlic condiments as well.
All in all I was able to replicate the entire dish and was so happy with the result I made it two weekends in a row.
The left over rice is so frangrant and moreish!
I don't know if you will want to give it a try but I thought it was really easier if you find the sachet and try making it yourself.
At 10:16 am,
Kelly said…
Hi Lushlife, thanks for the "chicken rice at home" tips. I will have to give it a go!
Hi Pseudo Chef, mmm, I also love the dark soy sauce! I'll keep an eye out for the PrimaTaste box too.
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