Rui Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice

Rui Kee - A descendant of the now defunct Swee Kee chicken rice stall which was pretty much a household name in the 80s and 90s. Well almost a descendant. Word has it that some relatives of the original Swee Kee came together to set up Rui Kee (Don't quote me on this. Its all hearsay).

Located along North Bridge Road just opposite Famous Islamic Nasi Padang stall, it is but a small shop sandwiched between pubs and whats not, which makes it rather easy to miss.

Rui Kee boasts traditional Hainanese chicken, which is left lying flat after cooking instead of hanging like most places. This is supposedly to retain all the juices and fluids within the chicken instead of letting it drain away. The tried and tested result? A chicken which is much juicier and more succulent than your average one. However it did come across as a little bland without much flavours and not to mention a little fatty under the skin as well. The rice, which had looked promising from the start, was but a shade of good chicken rice. It wasn't as fluffy and tasty as I had expected it to be. But on the upside, it was less oily, which is great for health conscious people. Here comes the winning formula - the chilli which is made from a secret recipe. Although I don't really take chilli, but this was simply great. All of us just couldn't seem to get enough of it. If anything, I'll be back just for the chilli.

Stir fried Kailan - The vegetables were very normal and not worth a mention. But hey, greens are good and make sure you stuff yourself on lots of them.

Dinner with drinks for 3 pax came up to about $25, which is actually breaching the expensive mark. But then again, the chicken is pretty decent and the chilli just gives you that kick so it might be a place to consider revisiting.

See all my pictures here