Chicken Rice Story

Chicken Rice is a fool proof dish. If there is nothing I fancy at any eating place here or back home, I just go for the safe choice of chicken rice. Basically knowing what to expect when the dish comes. But there isn’t any chicken rice that I can say THE chicken rice.

When I was young, there was this chicken rice restaurant called the Restaurant Alfiah. The owners were Indian Muslim. They sold the best chicken rice I could remember. The chicken meat, marinated in black soya sauce was succulent. The kind you want to suck on the bones long after you have munched the chicken flesh dripping with soya sauce with smacking lips and oily fingers. Their rice was fluffy and their chilli sauce was perfect.

Restaurant Alfiah was always full. Back then when not many could afford fancy restaurants for celebrations mini or otherwise, families would throng there for any celebration… children doing well in school or ‘open-table’.. family gatherings etc. Or just when Mum’s not cooking. Each trip there I remember was something to look forward to. Our chicken rice would come with the sayur chap chai and as much as vegetables not being my most favourite, their sayur chap chai was irresistible.

Thinking of chicken rice from Alfiah brings back many wonderful fond memories. I loved it when we packed the Alfiah chicken rice home. They were packed in green boxes and inside, the chicken rice would be wrapped in plain square plastic sheet. A small packet of chili sauce packed in a small plastic packet would be included inside. To eat, one usually had to bite off the corner of the plastic packet and the chili sauce would either ooze out or purge out, depending on your biting skills. Sniff the aroma of the crispy fried chicken on perfectly fluffy rice, squirt the chili sauce all over and that’s it.. devoured it with my hands. Classic.

Restaurant Alfiah is no longer existing. I couldn’t find any other with the same standard. Not any more. After Alfiah, any other chicken rice to me is just mediocre…

This chicken rice was made using the Sarawak beras ANDA, which is semi sticky like beras pulut. I don’t quite like it as I like chicken rice fluffy so I use beras basmati to cook my chicken rice.

Both pictures taken from the Singapore Chicken Rice Restaurant, Miri Sarawak.