Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice & Restaurant

No way is their chicken rice near the best or representative of Singapore. I visited them last sunday during late lunch time at 1pm, the place was fully packed- both inside and out. Looking at the crowd, I thought they must serve decent chicken rice. Luckily for me, I was alone so I need not wait too long to get a table with 3 strangers. I saw three men at the 'stall' chopping chicken. There was no menu. I only saw some laminated menu lying elsewhere but it's a zi cha menu -probably for the night business. I stood in front of the stall for 5minutes but no one served me. I decided to approach one of the aunties in red waitressing there. She asked me to wait for a table. Luckily for me, I was alone so I need not wait too long to get a table with a couple. Then she simply asked me "white or roasted?" I wanted the latter. She scribbled some numbers of a paper and toss it in a tooth pick container in front of me. My part of the table hasn’t been cleared and cleaned yet. So there I was sitting opposite the waiting couple, both of us looking awkward. (Not a place for a date) Fortunately another auntie came by with a rotating bucket and cloth. For a moment, I wondered how many table tops have she wiped with that cloth. After clearing the plates, she asked me to move my chair to let her “bucket-on-wheels” pass. Their service staff are dressed in red polo tees and majority are young ladies from mainland China and the rest are aunties (I’m thinking this is a family business?) Another waitress came by, put down the wet napkin fork and spoon (washed? with a red chili flake still on it)-I demand a change of spoon. Another waitress went around with bowls of soup. Mine happened to be half a bowl- not that I'm a plain soup lover anyway. So I don't mind that. After 10minutes of looking around, my plate of roasted chicken and rice finally arrived. The portion of rice was generous - a full bowl. The chicken was ...I'm dumbstruck. I wasn't clear what portion of the chicken I was given. It was definitely not the drumstick, neither was it the usual chick breast you get at most stalls for $2.50 to $3. In fact, there were more boney chicken ribs and skin than meat. Albeit it was nicely garnished with julienned spring onions and cucumbers, there was not enough meat to go with the rice. I ended up adding the condiments on the table -dark soy sauce and chili sauce to finish my rice. It was $4 for the roasted chicken rice and 20cents for the wet napkin. I asked the Philippine couple sitting opposite how much were they paying for their plate of drumstick, their ‘invoice’ stated $4.80 x 2. In fact, they ordered an additional portion of white chicken to go with their 2 plates of rice. The PRC waitress who served them brought them a plate of roasted meat –by mistake and when they clarified they ordered the white meat, the waitress muttered some words under her breath and the couple was like “what did she say?” I suggest you go for the chicken drumstick if you die die have to try it here rather than hop over to the many other chicken rice stalls which actually serve more meat than bones and skin.

Yes! Try this if you're more into skin and bones over tender juicy meat. Only if you are in the region of Thomson or Novena and there’s no other option.

That’s right. Friends and colleagues working near my area have been telling me about this particular supposedly famous chicken rice stall – Wee Nam Kee – lined up along Thomson Road @ Novena Ville.

Read a few food reviews and indeed some were raving about it. Make a trip there and there was a crowd during lunchtime – surely this is a good sign! Alas, everything else went downhill from there onwards. The rice was fragrant enough, but a tad under-cooked, making it difficult to shallow.

The Roasted Chicken was pretty dry and tough as well and nowhere near the standard of Tian Tian Chicken Rice @ Maxwell Food Centre, which is known for it’s smooth and tender meat (although I have to highlight that they only serves Hainanese-styled Steamed Chicken).

We also order the side dishes like the Stir-fried Dou Miao with Garlic and Deep-fried Toufu and I was not impressed at all. The Dou Miao were seriously under-cooked, and chewing the stem of the veggies proved to be a struggle.

The Toufu was just as bad, as it came thickly coated with flour – more like toufu fritters to me, unlike those find in Boon Tong Kee – that comes in small cubes that is easy to eat. Along with drinks, the meal added up to $25.40, miscellaneous included – definitely not good value for money for 2 people.

You can view the photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.