The Chicken Rice Shop: Malaysian Chicken, Rice and More

Even as a wandering foodie, I still haven't eaten in a lot of Malaysian food joints in the country. Although I've got a taste of Malaysian cuisine when I went to Singapore two years ago, I know I still haven't had enough. Luckily, the beau and I got to try The Chicken Rice Shop, a humble-looking quick service restaurant that turned out to have come from Malaysia.

The Chicken Rice Shop Harbour Square The Chicken Rice Shop

Earlier last week while we were in Harbour Square, I convinced the beau that we dine at the first restaurant that piques my interest. And within the area, The Chicken Rice Shop came off to me as the perfect place to have dinner without splurging too much. I have to admit though, I didn't have any idea that we're already up for a Malaysian evening meal until I saw the menu. But being adventurous when it comes to food, we decided to give it a shot.

The Chicken Rice Shop Chicken Utensils Holder

The interior at The Chicken Rice Shop is what you'd expect from a quick service restaurant -- brightly-lit with blacks, reds, yellows, greens and photos of the joint's food items. It actually reminded me of our famous local inasal food spot. However, although the place seemed ordinary, I was really amused by their adorable chicken utensil holder.

Nyonya Pai Tee P78 Kuching 3 Layer Tea P58

The Chicken Rice Shop offers a lot of food items on their menu. But after a few minutes of skimming through a list of both the familiar and the foreign, I decided to start the meal off with 4 pieces of Nyonya Pai Tee (P78) which are crispy top hats filled with shredded vegetables and chicken meat, and served with a tangy sweet and sour sauce. I also had a glass of Kuching 3 Layer Tea (P58), a sweet concoction made of black tea, milk and palm sugar.

Braised Towfoo and Egg P98

Being a hardcore tofu lover, my date got us a serving of the Braised Towfoo and Egg (P98). Although this plate looks really good, we were left disappointed. The tofu was lifeless and bland while the braised egg was tough and chewy. Both the beau and I thought that maybe this plate has been sitting too long on the counter top before it was served.

Hainanese Chicken P128

For main course, I got myself a personal platter of Hainanese Chicken (P128) served with chili and ginger sauces, rice and soup of the day. For such a low price, I was really impressed of how decent the chicken portion was. The chicken meat also passed my taste buds as it was very moist, tender and had a light, delicate taste that blended really well with the bed of cucumber slices and soy-sesame sauce.

Hainanese Chicken Rice P128

And as if I didn't find myself already satisfied, the rice and soup were also very tasty. Cooked in chicken stock, the rice was oily yet equally flavorful. The soup on the other hand, also had a very evident chicken flavor. I'm guessing that the accompanying soup was also made from the same chicken stock the Hainanese Chicken and even the rice were cooked in.

Honey BBQ Chicken Noodles P168

Since my date is a big fan of noodles, he got himself a serving of the Honey BBQ Chicken Noodles (P168) which comes with steamed wanton and free soup of the day. Unlike myself who was satisfied with my orders, the beau wasn't too happy with his dry noodle platter. Although the Honey BBQ Chicken tasted phenomenal -- beautifully grilled and glazed with sweet honey BBQ sauce, the noodles and wanton were a little dull and lifeless for him.

Ais Kacang Regular P70

I was already getting full after the seemingly mid-heavy meal, but being a desserts person, how can I ignore The Chicken Rice Shop's list of sweet meal enders? So although I pronounced it wrong, I ordered a regular Ais Kacang (P70) before billing out. Pronounced as ice kachang and not kakang, this bowl is a traditional Malaysian shaved ice dessert drizzled with raw sugar syrup, coconut milk, red beans and ground peanuts, a simple meal ender that didn't fail to satisfy my sweet tooth.

THE VERDICT

For an impromptu evening meal, I was happy to have chosen to eat at The Chicken Rice Shop. The interior may not be outstanding, but it was very comfortable. Service was also note-worthy as the servers were all very friendly, courteous, prompt and alert to our needs. However, when it comes to taste, the beau and I have different stands. While I enjoyed my experience, my date found the flavors too bland for his palate. I guess Malaysian food is not for everyone.

Taste - 3.5/5
Ambiance - 4/5
Service - 4/5
Price - 4/5
Overall Value - 4/5


The Chicken Rice Shop, Harbour Square
G/F Harbour Square, Pedro Bukaneg St.,
Manila, Metro Manila
Philippines
Malaysian Official Website

39 comments:

  1. Delicious! I want to taste that.

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  2. kala ko ung Hainanese Chicken green mango.ehhehe drooling na naman ako.

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  3. i think satay lang ang nakain kong malaysian dish ever pero i loved it.

    ate sumi, natawa ako kasi binasa ko muna yung AIS KACANG as "kakang" before ko nabasa ang "pronounced as ice kachang" :))

    based on your photos, i think ang ais kacang ang pinakamasarap tingnan. :)

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  4. I havent tried malaysian cuisine, but based on the pictures alone i could tell they really look yummy. I would personaly like to try the Honey BBQ Chicken Noodles. I've watched Ramsey's Escape in Malaysia and i saw that they have lots of good food there that are worth for a try.

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  5. This is certainly interesting though out of the way for me. Very affordable. I love tofu too, too bad the one you got didn't live up to your expectations.

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  6. Nice photos of food. They look very delectable to eat. :)

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  7. Makes me miss chicken rice in Singapore.

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  8. yung milk tea ang umakit sa akin hahaha ... my friend told me about the 3 layer milk tea e ... sakto nagpost ka

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  9. Masarap talaga ang Malaysian cuisine :D

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  10. delicious!!!!! :D love Malaysian cuisine!

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  11. Nice presentation makes food look more delish! Loved it :P

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  12. thought the Braised Towfoo and Egg was good. hehe. but i wanna try the chicken rice and noodles! :P

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  13. ice kacangs are the best! and i'd like to try the Nyonya Pai Tee, they look so fancy!

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  14. Wow they already have a restaurant here! Yey! I've stayed in Malaysia for 5 yrs and this is one place we always frequent to, my favorite is their Pai tee.. ;)

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  15. Wow! I would love to try the dessert, a twist of our very own halo-halo.

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  16. I'm not sure if I've had Malaysian food. You take nice pictures, the food made me hungry, and I just had late dinner!

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  17. Haven't tried Malaysian cuisine pa. This post makes me want to do a cheat day! LOL

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  18. I'm a great fan of Chicken Rice shop's Ais Belinda =D http://www.tsinoyfoodies.com/2011/11/chicken-rice-shop-for-some-chicken-and.html Havn't tried their Ice kachang yet but I've tried the ais cendol too nothing special though.

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  19. Just got home from Harbour Square, saw this restaurant, should try it next time. =)

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  20. I'd love to try the hainanese chicken.. im still exploring malaysian cuisine.

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  21. Never tried Malaysian Cuisine, gonna try it one day!

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  22. I also want to try Malay food, thanks for sharing

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  23. My mouth just waters for those Hainanese Chicken. I hope they put up one sa Alabang.

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  24. I miss your blog Sumi! Their interior colors looks like mang inasal for me lng ah. Ganun din ung mga colors ginamit :D for the food it's not that so eye catchy like other restaurant. Parang the usual lang. haha sorry but the Ais Kacang looks yummy! :9

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  25. I love hainanese. it is not oily and tastes good!

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  26. My experience of Malaysian food was at Hotel Equatorial in Melaka...I thought it was great, but then what do I know of Malaysian food?

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  27. i think they have a branch in katipunan that i passed along one time... but yeah, i saw this branch in harbor square too! too bad my family weren't that adventurous that time so i wasn't able to try this out! :(

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  28. Food looks very good! Mouth-watering! ;)

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  29. Food looks simple but definitely yummy!

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  30. Hi Sumi, there's a Chicken Rice Shop at Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall and I love their Curry Laksa. I found the Nyonya Pai Tee a bit too oily, but the Hainanese Chicken is good... Love your pics :)

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  31. curious with the taste of Ais Kacang.. looks yummy!

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  32. They serve really good food here. Love their version of milk tea.

    Denise
    http://satisfyingjuansappetite.blogspot.com/

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  33. I got to try this first when I was in Kota Kinabalu. I have to agree, the Hainanese chicken and Chicken rice were really flavorful! And I must say, their group meals are value-for-money coz they don't scrimp on the dishes, unlike in a fastfood joint here.

    kimiviajera
    http://kimiviajera.blogspot.com/

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  34. I have tried this restaurant with my husband here in the Philippines. At first, I was not enticed with how it looks (not because it doesn't look good, but, it just that I'm not experimental when it comes to my taste buds). But, the food tastes good.

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