The roasted chicken topped with fried minced garlic and served with fragrant rice.
ON THE busy Jalan PJS 11/9 lined with eateries is one shop that is always a magnet for the lunchtime crowd.
The shop selling garlic roasted chicken rice in Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya, is the ideal spot for garlic fiends as the pungent bulb is incorporated into its classic chicken rice.
People start flocking here from as early as 8am.
Old cucumber soup offers comforting goodness.
By 9am, there are hardly any seats left, and by 1pm, the food is completely sold out.
Garlic Roasted Chicken Rice shop owner Cheng Kok Siong said, “We opened this place in 2013, so we have been serving the Sunway area for 10 years.”
At the very front of the shop and tucked to the left is the chicken rice stall with golden whole birds hanging in two neat rows beside thick slabs of roast pork, char siew and pork sausages.
The best-seller is the chicken rice costing RM6.50 per portion, while the char siew rice and roasted pork rice cost an additional RM1.
A long queue taking shape outside the chicken rice shop in Bandar Sunway during lunch hour.
A portion of chicken rice here used to cost RM5 in 2019/2020 when I was a Sunway student.
“We sell about 40 to 50 whole chickens a day, and the recipe comes from my family which I have adapted through time,” said Cheng.
He brings out rows upon rows of roast chickens by the hour.
“I start preparing the food at 5am and the food is usually sold out by 1pm,” he added.
Through the stall window, you can also see two trays filled with braised hard-boiled eggs and tofu that can be added to your meal.
It may seem daunting joining the seemingly never-ending queue outside the stall which gets longer between 8am and 1pm. However, the food is worth the wait.
During my visit, I enjoyed a fragrant plate of garlic rice, a plate of roasted chicken and a bowl of warm old cucumber soup.
The first thing that appealed to me was the roasted chicken. A ladle of char siew sauce and soy sauce is poured over the chicken. Then it is topped with a simple yet salient ingredient – fried minced garlic.
An intense and aromatic garlic flavour hits you at first and when you dig in, you will find the slight crunch of crispy garlic pairs well with the tender chicken.
The sweet and salty chicken pieces, thanks to the combination of sauces, also has spring onion slices as well as fresh, crispy sliced cucumber.
On another plate is the aromatic yellow rice, and its mild taste tangoed well with the garlicky chicken.
To wash it all down, you have refreshing old cucumber soup with chunky cucumber pieces and chicken bones.
The chicken broth is slightly sweet and savoury with mild saltiness.
Diners can also take home the homemade garlic topping. It is such a hit that it is sold in jars for RM12 each.
The chilli sauce the stall serves alongside its chicken rice is sold for RM7 each bottle.
Garlic Roasted Chicken Rice Shop operates at 35, Jalan PJS 11/9, Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya between 8am and 2pm from Monday to Saturday.
It is closed on Sunday.
