Heng Kee Hainanese Curry Rice @ Blk 28 Hoy Fatt Road

Update: Heng Kee Hainanese Curry Rice has permanently closed.

I have walked past this coffee shop at the foot of Blk 28 Hoy Fatt Road several times before when I walked from Redhill MRT to IKEA Alexandra, while cutting through Lengkok Bahru. However, I have never thought of checking this place out as ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre is just round the corner.

That is, until someone recently posted a photo of a plate of delicious looking Hainanese curry rice on Facebook linking to Heng Kee Hainanese Curry Rice which, according to Google map, is located inside this very coffee shop. When I Googled further, results revealed that it is permanently closed. 

That got me confused but I decided to go anyway, despite not knowing whether we are talking about the same location? Fortunately, I did not make a wasted trip and found what I came for - the Hainanese curry stall is still in business!

Zhao Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice - Tumeric Chicken Rice @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

It is not an exaggeration to say that Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre is heaven for fans of Singapore's national dish - the iconic chicken rice...

All sorts of chicken rice can be found here, from the common roasted, poached and soya sauce chicken to the not so common salted chicken and the star of today's topic, turmeric chicken from Zhao Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Being one of the latecomer to this food centre, Zhao Ji appears to be the underdog here. It does not help that they are surrounded by the more established names such as Ma Li Ya Virgin Chicken at the front and Hawker Chan at the back.

However, judging from the queue I encountered on the day of my visit, they should be doing okay.

Recipe: Curry Chicken - In Conjunction With National Cook Curry Day

Okay, curry may not be the healthiest dish around but did you know that there are also many health benefits to this zesty mix of spices? Tumeric, one of the ingredient in curry, which gave the dish it's yellow color, reduces inflammation of the joints. Studies has also shown that it protects us against cancer, heart disease and even Alzheimer’s disease. Whoa, I do not realise that curry actually has so much goodness in it until I googled! I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. Bon appetit!	Ingredients: 1 Chicken (chopped and cleaned) 1 pack of A1 instant curry mix 4 medium sized potatoes (cut into wedges) 600ml water 200ml Fresh milk OR Coconut milk A few sprigs of curry leaves Salt to taste Instructions: 1) Fry the A1 instant curry mix and curry leaves with some oil till fragrant 2) Add in the chicken pieces and coat evenly with the mixture 3) Add the water 4) Add the potatoes 5) Allow to boil, then simmer till potatoes are cooked 6) Add Coconut milk to thicken the sauce 7) Add salt to taste 8) Serve with rice, Baguette OR Prata
NATIONAL COOK CURRY DAY For the uninitiated, 21st August 2011 is National Cook Curry Day.  I'm uncertain if this is gonna be a a one-off thing or a annual event. This special day arises because a local Singaporean Indian family were told NOT TO COOK and NOT TO EAT curry in their own home by their new neighbors from China as they could not stand the smell! This riled up every local Singaporeans here be it Chinese, Malay and Indians! I guess patriotic sentiments were running high nation wide as Singapore has just celebrated her 46th birthday not too long ago. Now, you do not step into someone else's home and tell them what NOT to do in it.  That's plain rude and not to mention ridiculous! You came to live in our territory of your own accord so you integrate to our culture and lifestyle; not try to change it to suit you! Singaporeans, let us all UNITE and use food - curry, in this instance, to educate our foreign friends. Everyone is encouraged to cook curry on this day and allow the fragrance of one of our favorite dish waft out of your windows and down the corridor. It does not matter what curry you cook: Mutton Curry; Chicken Curry; Beef Curry; Fish Curry; whatever curry! Just let the aroma of your curry permeate every nook and corner of this tiny island! Let's make this PRC family work at Muthu's Curry till they learn how to appreciate our local cuisine show our foreign friends that we are ONE UNITED PPEOPLE and it takes more than just curry to bring us down!
Note: I used 1kg of chicken wings for this dish I preferred my curried potatoes deep fried Give the curry leaves a few vigorous rubs between your palms to bruise them