Hai Ge Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice

Not sure if anyone had noticed but there definitely seems to have been a rise of new entrants into the F&B scene that focuses on serving up Hainanese Chicken Rice — examples of some of such establishments include the likes of Moh Swee Kee Cafe, Le Cheng Kampong Hainanese Chicken Rice and Pin Xiang Kitchen; just to name a few. Hai Ge Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice is a brand name that seems to be quite a new addition to the local F&B scene here. Located within the Kampong Glam neighbourhood, Hai Ge Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice takes over the former premises of the very short-lived and now-defunct Hou Lah; a Taiwanese dining establishment that was perhaps best known for their thick toast offerings. Considering how unique the facade of Hou Lah was previously, it does seem that the folks at Hai Ge Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice had did minimal work to the exterior. That being said, the layout of the interior has changed however — the interior of the space now does seem to flow much better than that when the space was tenanted by Hou Lah, with the food preparation area now tucked towards the back of the shophouse while the cashiering counter is right at the entrance. The shophouse is being decked in a way that carried a hint of nostalgia; whilst the use of white elements does match well against the wooden furnishings with a rattan accent, there is also quite a sense of modernity with how brightly lit the space is. Being an establishment that emphasises on their Hainanese Chicken Rice offerings, it is interesting to note that Hai Ge Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice does label itself as a halal establishment. The menu at Hai Ge Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice is split across sections dedicated to starters, chicken rice sets, whole chicken, half chicken breast, traditional Hainanese chicken rice, congee / porridge, vegetables and sides. Beverages available at Hai Ge Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice includes the likes of homemade beverages like their Home-Made Barley / Chin Chow and the Fresh Lime Juice.

For individual diners looking to try as many items as they wish to without going all out to binge-eat in a single visit, the best item to go for is perhaps the items that are listed in the “Chicken Rice Sets” section of the menu — here, patrons can get to pick and choose if they would like to have steamed or roasted chicken, along with the option to go for a specific chicken part (think along the lines of thigh or drumstick). Each order of the Chicken Rice Set also allows patrons to go for a side, which one can pick between the Baby Kailan with Oyster Sauce or the Stir-Fried Bean Sprouts with Salted Fish. Patrons who can do without the side can of course opt for the items listed in the “Traditional Hainanese Chicken Rice” section of the menu instead — this would essentially be the ala-carte servings of roasted / steamed chicken rice where one would still be able to specify the chicken parts of which they wish to go for. For our order, we went for the HGJ Single Set (Steamed Thigh), and went with the Stir-Fried Bean Sprouts with Salted Fish for our choice of side; also coming with the set will be a bowl of soup, as well as a serving of rice as well. The rice certainly looked the part here, coming with a slightly brown hue that one would expect when it comes to flavoured rice that is typically served with Hainanese Chicken Rice. We felt that the ride definitely carried an alluring savouriness having absorbed all of the goodness of the chicken stock and came even with a rather mild note of ginger; that being said, we were not too big a fan of the grains that they have used for the rice. This was certainly lacking in terms of texture; the grains didn’t really feel particularly lacquered and defined especially considering how these felt like broken rice that some Vietnamese establishments would serve up with Com Tam instead.

It still went well with the condiments however; the dark soy sauce being sufficiently thick and sweet enough to compliment the shortcomings of the rice, while the chili dip was surprisingly zippy without being thrown off-balance by the calamansi as it would have been at some establishments — all that whilst being just tougher touch of spicy that tingles the tongue for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness. The steamed chicken thigh here is served boneless for the convenience of the patrons — the flesh does come with a slightly pinkish appearance which some may not necessarily prefer, though is free from any bloodiness. Drizzled in a light soy sauce, the chicken is surprisingly smooth, tender and moist with the juices of the meat still locked in — the light soy sauce adding a slight savouriness to the flesh while the skin slides down the throat effortlessly. The Stir-Fried Bean Sprouts with Salted Fish in the meanwhile felt decent, though was nothing much to shout about — we would probably liked it a little more if they were slightly easier with the soy sauce, while the also executing the beansprouts in a way that would retain a little more crunch; the former likely being able to put the dish into a better balance of savouriness.

During our visit, we also paired our order of the HGJ Single Set (Steamed Thigh) with the Fresh Lime Juice. We liked how the Fresh Lime Juice does come with a wedge of lime and is in itself a pretty good thirst quencher that refreshes the tastebuds considering how it isn’t particular sweet. One can perhaps argue that Hainanese Chicken Rice isn’t a particularly difficult find around the island, and the price point at $11.80 to $13.80 might be a little steep since it is priced around the same with old-school establishments serving up Hainanese Chicken Rice that has already become a mainstay in the local food scene. With that being said, we do find the prices still rather reasonable considering how Hai Ge Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice still boasts of a comfortable air-conditioned dining environment, while they do also come pretty close in serving up a rendition of halal Hainanese Chicken Rice close to that of what one would expect from a Chinese-run establishment. With all that being said, Hai Ge Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice is a pretty decent establishment to hit up for their steamed chicken; notwithstanding that they could achieve more if they can look into tweaking the recipe for their flavoured rice — also definitely adds on to the options that our Muslim friends can go for in the Kampong Glam neighbourhood.