Good Satay (好時沙嗲)
Price: $47 HKD
Dined at: 3PM
Rating: 7/10
'"If you had to eat one dish for the rest of your life, what would it be?"
What kind of stupid question is that. But we've probably all thought of it whilst in the orgasmic throws of eating something truly amazing, and quietly said to ourselves "yep, this'd be it". For me that dish is Hainan chicken rice. The singaporean signature dish leaves you with 3 things to chow down. The fragrant coconut and stock cooked rice, fluffy and full of flavour. Next, the masterful chicken stock. Most importantly, the chicken itself. Room temperature with the gelatinous skin barely connected to the intensely tenderised meat, served with trio of ginger, chilli and sweet soy sauce. I'm getting excited just writing about this.
Having tried both the institutions that are Wee Nam Kee & Chatterbox in Singapore, I like to think that i've had the best chicken rice there is. But chicken rice is one of those highly subjective things, every dedicated fan has a different favorite chicken rice restaurant, and everyone eats their rice with a different ratio of condiment mix. Purists deny the sweet soy sauces importance, some combine the ginger and chilli into a single paste, some prefer dark meat, the variety in this single dish is endless.
Good satay is adorned with magazine and news paper cutouts on its front facade, each a review praising its satay, laksa and chicken rice. Located in a rather desolated eighties themed mall on a quiet strip in east Tsim Sha Tsui.
Despite its relatively grim surroundings and exterior, this place can get pretty busy at times. Not wanting to wait for my chicken, and hungry as all hell I went at mid afternoon when only a few tables were seated.
$46 HKD gets you Good Satays chicken rice set. The rice itself is fragrant and wonderfully oily. The chicken is cleanly cut with no bones or dark bits (though some prefer the rougher cuts). The tender breast meat and gelatinous skin can't help but put a big smile on my face with the menage a trois of condiments, each one generously applied. It's fantastic. The only disappointment is the soup which is lukewarm and lacks salt.
