As a Westie, I hardly travel to the East side of Singapore. So on one rare occasion that I happened to be in the East, we decided to head to a random coffee shop at Tampines Street 23 for lunch.

It was noon when we arrived at the kopitiam next to Blk 201E and the place was already bustling with the lunch crowd. My boss recommended Ji Tou Chicken Rice and gushed about their roasted chicken in particular. Admittedly, I was highly skeptical when I saw the brightly-lit storefront because it seemed like the kind of “chain franchise” at hawker centres and kopitiams. The stall name also sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on where I have seen it before. Nevertheless, we ordered their Steamed Chicken Rice ($3) and Roasted Chicken Rice ($3).

I am more biased towards steamed chicken in general as compared to roasted chicken. Steamed chicken is usually more tender and smooth compared to roasted chicken, which many places tend to do it too dry. When the food came, I dug into the Steamed Chicken Rice immediately, confident that it would be the better of the two based on past experiences.

To my surprise, I was greatly disappointed. The steamed chicken was uncharacteristically dry, saved for the chicken skin, and lacked the usual silkiness that I was used to. I didn’t think it was possible for steamed chicken to taste so mediocre, given that it was normally the method of roasting which leaves the chicken stringier and drier.

I moved on to the Roasted Chicken Rice with tempered expectations. If the standard of the steamed chicken was as such, how much better could the roasted chicken be?

That day, I was gladly proven wrong twice during lunch. The roasted skin was sublime: crispy yet capturing that stirring greasy fragrance from the chicken. The breast meat was surprisingly not as dry as expected, with oil from the skin penetrating the meat to make it juicier. I found myself continuously reaching for more and more of the evenly-cooked pieces of golden brown goodness.

The rice grains were oily and flavourful, indicative of how the chicken stock has been sufficiently cooked together with the rice. For the best experience, take a small mountain of rice and pile it with a few pieces of roasted chicken.

The sauces were however quite ordinary. Ji Tou’s ginger was too watery for me as I prefer my ginger to be more fibrous and pasty.

After the meal, I found out that Ji Tou actually has another outlet in Clementi 448 Market and Hawker Centre. Having patronised the Clementi outlet, I don’t remember it being as good as the Tampines one. I guess that even within the same franchise, there can be substantial differences in the quality of food at different branches.

Ji Tou Chicken Rice exceeds what I would expect out of an ordinary kopitiam. The lads tending the stall were also friendly and ready to strike up a conversation. Don’t expect Boon Tong Kee standards from Ji Tou, but it is a stall I will return to if I am in Tampines or around the area.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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