Heng Ji Chicken Rice @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

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What I really looked forward to the most while growing up during the early 1980s, was my family's occasional weekend trip to Chinatown.

What it meant, was that Dad has received his paycheck and we are in for a treat as we would head to Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre for dinner at Heng Ji Chicken Rice.

Dining out was a luxury for us then as Singapore was in a state of recession at that point of time. Dad was fortunate to have kept his job but he worked such long hours that sometimes, I do not get to see him for days especially when he have to work OT through the nights and for that pittance of a salary, money was never enough.

As such, I truly appreciate the times when we could actually sit down as a family to have a meal together.

Facebook memories recently reminded me that my last visit there was some 10 years ago.

To be honest, we stopped patronizing Heng Ji for a period of time due to the discovery of Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle which is the "new kid on the block" then.

I remember walking past Liao Fan one day, completely mesmerized by the beautiful soy-glazed birds hanging on the racks. Compared to the paler looking ones at Heng Ji, Liao Fan's chickens looked like a million dollars.

But, we too have stopped going to Liao Fan (now rebranded as Hawker Chan) after they received the prestigious tyre award. The queue was already bad enough during their pre-award days. Needless to say, it got worst after that.

We have since found a new darling where a whole bird costs only $12 (now $15 due to the chicken crisis).

Even though I have not gone to them for a while, Heng Ji still have a special place in my heart due to the early childhood memories associated with them.

I found out from the news that the owners had recently retired. As their own children expressed no interest in taking over, they had handed the business over to a pair of Malaysian cousins (unrelated to them).

I decided to go down for one last hurrah and hopefully I am not too late.

On the day of my visit, neither of the cousins were there. I know because according to media reports, both of them are females aged 26 and 30 years old.

However, it was a younger man and an elderly uncle inside the stall. It took me some time to recognize that the older man is the actual owner of Heng Ji.

The cousins are probably undergoing training with him which explains what he is doing there.

I ordered a chicken thigh rice ($4.70) and surprisingly, it was served on a proper plate instead of a disposable plate like before.

After picking my sauces, I found a table nearby to enjoy my meal.

The chicken is still how I remember it to be. Well, it had to since the uncle is still running the show there. The real test for the cousins only come when the uncle let go of the reigns.

What makes Heng Ji different is the use of broken grains which give their rice its unique mouthfeel. I admit that I am not a big fan of the rice used but hey, it is what makes Heng Ji, Heng Ji.

Should they decide to switch over to using some other rice one day, then it is just not the good old Heng Ji anymore.

With new management come new changes - in this case, sauces! While the poached chicken did not stray far from the original taste, I noticed that the chili sauce is not what it used to be.

As far as I could remember, Heng Ji's chili sauce has never been the garlic chili type used by regular chicken rice stalls. Theirs is sweeter and of a deeper shade of red, almost like the color of blood. You can compare the chili sauce in the photo on top to this photo from 10 years ago.

As for the ginger dip, it remains the same - savory and super runny.

Regrettably, there are also some price adjustments.

Up till April 2021, a plate of chicken rice here starts from $2.50 while a whole chicken costs $20. Now, it is $3.70 and $27 respectively.

Inflation is a dirty word although I would not deny the possibility of the recent chicken ban from Malaysia as the main cause.

And one more thing: Heng Ji who used to open for business from 3pm has now carried forward their opening time to 11.30am. That is also part of the reason why we did not patronize them as we go to Chinatown in the mornings now.

This is the photo from ten years ago that turned up in my Facebook memories.

The lady here is Madam Lin En Ai, beloved wife of the uncle mentioned above which makes her the second generation owner of Heng Ji. I have been told by the adults since a long time ago that she is a Cantonese opera singer.

Ever since my parents started bringing me there to eat their chicken rice as a wee little boy, she has always been a permanent fixture at the stall, chopping away that I recognize no one else but her.

She is like the poster girl of Heng Ji. In fact, I did not even know who her husband is. When I first saw the uncle today, I thought that he is a new hire by the cousins. It is only when I browsed through the old photos of Heng Ji and saw him appearing in most of them that I realized who he is.

When it comes to Heng Ji's pak cham gai (white cut chicken), people either love it or hate it.

Those who cannot appreciate Heng Ji's Cantonese-styled poached chicken may have unknowingly compared it to the more common Hainanese chicken.

I would be damned if you ask me to differentiate the two but I think the nuanced differences lies in their cooking methods.

For those who like it, there is still time to have a taste of uncle's old school chicken rice before the cousins completely take over. As for whether they could carry on the legacy and propel Heng Ji towards the next forty years, only time can tell.