Tong Kee Chicken Rice @ Tanglin Halt Food Centre

Update: Tong Kee Chicken Rice has relocated. The new address has been updated at the bottom of this post.

While researching about the food available in the Tanglin Halt area near Commonwealth MRT Station, the names - Tanglin Halt Market and Tanglin Halt Food Centre constantly turn up and I was left confused, wondering if they were referring to the same place?

Only after paying a visit to the neighborhood did I realize that Tanglin Halt Market and Tanglin Halt Food Centre are two different hawker centres barely a minute's walk from each other.

The confusion arise because some reviewers from burpple have wrongly geo-tagged the food stalls from the market under the food centre.

To add on to the initial confusion, the address for the food centre varies from 1A to 3A Commonwealth Drive.

As it turns out, the food centre is comprised of three octagonal buildings hence each building will have its own block number and so does the food stalls under each block.

Compared to Tanglin Halt Market, Tanglin Halt Food Centre is considerably quieter as the stalls here open for business much later. The air-circulation is good here due to the high ceiling and proximity between the tables are quite spacious.

The first stall I am going to visit here is Tong Kee Chiken Rice which is previously from Margaret Drive. This stall specializes in roasted chicken so you will not be able to find the poached variety here.

I ordered the $4 plate of chicken rice ($3/$4/$5) and was taken aback by the generous portion of chicken meat! I did not request for any specific chicken parts and what I got was the back along the spine.

The chicken which has been chopped into thick chunks are quite fleshy and tender.

My biggest pet peeve when it comes to roasted chicken is having the crispy skin go missing. Why would I order roasted chicken if I do not want the skin? Fortunately, that is not the case here as most of the chicken skin are accounted for.

My only gripe is that the chicken skin is not crispy as they are drenched in a concoction of soy sauce and sesame oil. They are also quite liberal with the cucumber slices hidden out of sight underneath the chicken.

My chicken rice set comes with this small bowl of mysterious, gooey sauce which has a smokey flavor to it. I guess it is a mixture of char siew sauce with either barbecue sauce or worcestershire sauce.

You can have it with your rice or dip your chicken meat in it. I am a purist when it comes to chicken rice so I did not touch it. The soy and sesame oil emulsion from the chicken is good enough for me. I do not even touch the dark soy when having chicken rice.

The chili sauce is quite concentrated and packs a punch. I wished it is a bit more tangy with white vinegar though.

As for the soup, I find it too cloying for my liking. MSG overdose, perhaps?

The chicken rice is not too oily. In fact, I find it a tad too dry and not fluffy enough. Also, the pandan and chicken fat fragrance is hardly noticeable.

I am rather disappointed with their rice. I am not sure if this is a one-off mishap or this is exactly how they want their rice to be? If so, then I am not too big a fan of it.

TONG KEE CHICKEN RICE 東記雞飯

Tanglin Halt Food Centre

Blk 3A Commonwealth Drive
#01-25
Singapore 141003

Business Hours
Tue - Sun: 10am - 5pm
Closed: Mon

Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/p19q4rMUTU1mfi689

🠟🠟🠟NEW ADDRESS🠟🠟🠟
TONG KEE CHICKEN RICE 東記雞飯

Margaret Hawker Centre

Blk 38A Margaret Drive
#01-36
Singapore 142038

Business Hours
Tue - Sun: 10am - 5pm
Closed: Mon

Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/p7KRGpMAfbySVkjb7

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