Choong Kee Kampar Claypot Chicken Rice

Today's blog posting is a simple meal in a simple restaurant. We were at a loss on what to have for dinner one day, when we were too lazy to cook. A blank idea-less mind surprisingly resulted in a meal that we actually enjoyed.

Choong Kee Kampar Claypot Chicken Rice is located on Jalan SS22/25 in Damansara Jaya, PJ. We had been to this place a couple of occasions but that was a long long time ago. When the idea of claypot chicken rice crept into our empty brains, we immediately decided on Choong Kee.

Like I mentioned, it is a simple and basic makan place. It is apparently very popular. We arrived there early and there was already quite a crowd. After a short while, the horde started to pack in. Some resorted to sharing tables.

A few Indonesian ladies moved around the tables serving food, clearing tables and taking orders for drinks. But they would not take orders for the food. For that, I had to go to the back, to a boss lady who sat unmovingly at the food serving counter.

The menu selection was very limited. It was chicken rice, chicken rice or chicken rice. No pork, no beef, no anything else. However, we could have add-ins to our rice - sausage or salted fish or both. I ordered a large pot with salted fish.The kitchen was very efficient. Our food arrived in a jiffy. 

The pot of rice looked very good. The portions of chicken and salted fish were quite generous. We did not ask for the "extras". For a few more ringgits, they would add in more chicken and salted fish (or sausage). As we stirred the rice, the aroma rose from the pot. The sauces were more than adequate to permeate the whole pot of rice. The rice was fluffy and was not at all soggy. It was really quite delicious.

Their steamed soup selection was many. There were 8 different soups to choose from. We ordered 2 bowls - a watercress soup and a peanut soup. The watercress was just so so. It was boiled/steamed with some pork bones. I expected better and was somewhat disappointed. To started with, the soup was not even hot - just warm. I like my soup piping hot. The flavor was also not fantastic. 

The peanut was better. Like the watercress, it was not hot. In it was some delightfully soft peanuts and pork ribs. The taste was much better than the watercress. 

We also had a plate of Hongkong kai-lan. It was lightly boiled, stirred in an oyster sauce with a generous sprinkling of fried shallots.

And a nice warm glass of pak chi cho (北紫草 - a cooling Chinese herbal drink).

The meal was as simple as it could get. Claypot chicken rice is not one of our favorites. But the one we got here was good enough to make it a very satisfying meal.