CHICKEN rice for me means a poached bird, never the roasted kind.

I also prefer kampung chicken. At Zheng Kee Chicken Rice, “chouw kei”, which translates to grass-fed chicken, is served.

The poached chicken did taste special at this casual eatery in Segambut, Kuala Lumpur.

The skin of the chicken had a light yellow tinge and had bite while the flesh was smooth, juicy and sweet.

It was served with a chilli sauce and ginger sauce with spring onions.

I liked the lightly cooked liver and the springy gizzard too.

We added pork to our lunch, of both the barbequed and roasted variety.

The sticky caramelised edges of the char siew stood out, and the meat had just the right amount of fat. The roasted pork had the crispiest skin, with a hint of five spices in the meat.

We had also ordered a chee yau char fan, or hot rice stirred with lard and generously topped with lardons, chilli and spring onions. Also on the plate was half a salted egg.

The rice, rice drizzled with a little sauce, could be enjoyed on its own but it tasted good too with the poached chicken.

The rice went down well with the double-boiled coconut chicken soup, another signature dish.

We loved the soup inside the old coconut, which drew sweetness from the chicken, wolfberries, dong sum, pak kei, red dates and longan. It was doubly sweet from the coconut water too.

Good double-boiled soups are hard to find, but Zheng Kee has more than 10 of them on its menu.

The fish maw soup with black chicken caught our eye as well as the tian qi chicken soup with ginseng slices. Those would have to wait for our next visit.

As we had turned up early for lunch, the owner Mok Wai Kin, took charge of our orders and even recommended the drinks.

We were pleased with the creamy and aromatic fuchuk barley he presented to us. 

Zheng Kee Chicken Rice is a 40-year-old family-run business that began as a stall.

On our way out, we could not help but take home with us a coconut chicken soup (RM18) and a leng chee kang tong sui each that we picked from the stack of boxed selections on the counter.

Our plate of chicken cost RM30, roast and barbequed pork RM20, pork lard rice RM9.

Zheng Kee Chicken Rice is at Jalan 17/42, Taman Kok Doh, Kuala Lumpur. Call 012-383 0621, for enquiries. It opens at 10am. – April 22, 2023.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.