Ah-Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice

Maxwell Food Centre has plenty of chicken rice stalls so you are spoilt for choice. We tried the Ah-Tai Hainanese chicken rice (1 whole chicken) plus a few other dishes. Okay, the main star of the dish, the chicken - it's not bad but not as smooth as I expect it to be. The sauce is lacking in flavour which doesn't help because such chicken are usually quite bland so a good sauce is essential to let it soak up the flavour. I'm fussy about my chicken rice, so the texture & flavour was only so-so for me. The rice is less oily than most chicken rice which is good if you want to cheat by telling yourself it is "more healthy". We had veggie, bean sprout and chicken liver & gizzard. I enjoy the liver & gizzard as they add extra texture to the overall meal. The veggies and bean sprout...I'm not so fond of. Pretty much standard fare.

2013-03-14

A rare Saturday got me at Ah-Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice Stall at Maxwell market! I love chicken rice especially when their meat is super tender. A good chicken should be tender else its booooooo~Having said that, Ah Tai chicken rice never fails me. The chicken really delicious and tender. It is juicy too. However, the rice was a little too dry for my preference. it would definitely be a great idea to hop by Maxwell in the weekends for an affordable meal too. The vegetable namely 'chye sim' and 'bean sprout' was commendable too. It is never a problem ordering vegetable to go with our meals. Remember, we have to take adequate servings of meat and vegetable and of course fruits to have a healthy diet Another dish will be chicken legs ! It is full of collagen and chewy. It is my first time taking it and i thought was not bad ! Girls, quick get your hands on it soon. (:

Heard that their chilli sauce not bad too!

Go try it out soon ;) Joey

2013-03-09

SGD 3(Lunch)

It is my first time i joined Open Rice for food tasting at maxwell hawker centre. The stall name is called Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice! Well, im sure that food lovers definitely heard of Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, Ah Tai is similar too. From what I seen from their news articles in Ah Tai stall, I read that the chef is previously from Tian Tian.
So lets move on! Estelle had kindly "chop" tables for food tasting. It took quite awhile for Ah Tai stall to prepare the food for us though. Ah Tai Hainanese FoodDisappointing

Firstly, i was quite disappointed with the rice, it was actually quite cold and dry, and it was lacking in the taste too.
The chicken was pretty good, i managed to get the chicken wing portion and it is really tender and juicy. I am not a great fan of hainanese chicken due to the fatty layer under the skin, but Ah Tai hainanese chicken does not look fatty, and defnitely dont taste fatty too!Hainanese Chicken

Another part about the meal i was very impressed with was the chilli sauce! According to the boss, both the chilli sauce and garlic sauce were handmade. I must say the chilli sauce was really fantastic! Its thick and spicy, unlike some chicken rice stalls that provide very diluted chilli sauce. I really recommend those who love chilli to have a try!

The cai xin and beansprout taste decent and nothing special about then.
The chicken feets! From what I heard, this dish contained high amount of collagen. So girls, get this dish if you happened to eat at Ah Tai stall.Cai Xin and BeansproutChicken Feet

Overall, I think the dishes are quite good. I will recommend those who love to eat chicken rice to have a try. If you dont love chicken rice, go ot a try too! Who knows you might like it after trying?

2013-03-09

SGD 4(Lunch)

I was invited by Openrice to have a food tasting session at Maxwell Road Foodcourt. There were a lot of stalls with selling different kinds of food at there. Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice was the one we going to try out. Look at the three different sauces for Chicken rice, it really improve customers’ appetite. Especially the chilli sauce, it was the secret recepi from the boss.The fragrance of the chicken rice was strong; even I can smell it from far away. Indeed fantastic butter rice, not over-cooked while best-eaten with the black sauce and the ginger sauce. We were served by a huge portion of chicken from Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice stall, the boss was so generous. The price was fair, costed $3.50 per normal plate of chicken rice.

Same as normal hawker centre, I felt a bit stuffy there yet I enjoyed the whole food tasting, we was chatting, eating, capturing photos and playing mini games there. Thanks Openrice!!!

2013-03-09

SGD 4(Lunch)

First time having food tasting with openrice and I've enjoyed myself so much, be it eating the yummy chicken rice or meeting new people What a wide spread of food right! I love the homemade chill they have that goes so well with the chicken and also the ginger sauce (a must when eating chicken rice!) Love the chicken because it's so smooth and also juicy! Feels like having one right now It was my first time eating chicken feet and it taste so good! What's more it's good for the skin so ladies, eat more I don't chicken gizzard so I can't comment much, but nevertheless, it's indeed a yummy chicken rice food tasting experience for me

Read more: http://sszeki.blogspot.sg/2013/03/openrice-chicken-rice.html

2013-03-09

I am being treated a wide spread of food of this stall at the famed Maxwell Market by Open Rice. The grains of rice are robust in consistency. The chili sauce packed a punch and not overwhelmed by vinegar. The steamed chicken is deboned and chopped into huge and juicy pieces. Love the way the baby bak choi and bean sprouts are been prepared here, cooked just nice, not too raw unlike most places are.

2013-03-09

SGD 0(Lunch)

It was a great and first experience of mine participate in this type of event. I am a lover of food and i have ate some of my virgin food like chicken feet which taste real good and also help in collagen. It was a whole piece of chicken and it was nice but maybe abit oily. The bean sprout was really sweet and nice. The vegetable was acceptable.The bean sprout just cost $2 and it is must try.The chicken feet is also a must try food. It is really taste like jelly.The chicken was too much for us but we ate almost all.

Thanks to OpenRice, a few OpenRicers and I were given the chance to have a taste of this delicious chicken rice stall located at Maxwell Food Centre, a popular haven that houses many famous and highly raved local food stalls.

There were only ten of us splitted into 2 tables, yet the owner was really generous in serving us a whole chicken for each table along with many side dishes such as chicken gizzard, chicken feet, beansprout and boy choy. The full table of aromatic food really entices ones tastebud.

Once all of us were settled, we can't wait to tuck in! First, i took some soup which was light tasting and clear without any traces of oil seen. It has a subtle fresh chicken taste and not overly salty. It really warms my belly and futher stimulate my appetite for the feast ahead. Time for the essence of a chicken rice stall- the chicken rice and the chicken! The chicken rice was flavourful and well distributed thorough the whole plate. One applaudable point is that it was cooked until such that each grains of rice was intact yet fully infused with flavour which burst and released into your mouth with each bite. To cook the rice until this way (similar to how you cook spaghetti till al-dente) definitely revealed the well experienced skill of this stall's chef.

Next, the boiled white chicken was chopped in thick chucks which allow substantial and satisfying mouthfeel and taste. The chicken was drizzled with appetising light soysauce and sesame oil. Though i wished that the chicken meat itself is more infused with flavour, but this tiny 'flaw' can totally be ignored when you accompanied the chicken with their own made chilli and ginger sauce. I have heard from the daughter of the chef that they have to wake up really early to do all the preparation work, one including grating the ingredients to make these sauces. They insist of making their own sauce despite all the additional hard work as in this way, they can maintain the freshness and quality. Such dedication is really admirable. One thing to note is that their chilli sauce is a little spicier than most other stalls so be sure to test out your level of comfort before dousing your plate of chicken with it!

The few side dishes are not to be missed too.The chicken gizzards were fresh and tasty without the foul smell that are commonly associated with animal organs. The gizzards were crunchy while the livers were soft and melty. The chicken feet was another impressive dish that i really enjoyed. Want to replenish your collagen for supple skin? Likes to eat chicken feet but find deboning them a nuisance and unglam in public? Have a plate of their chicken feet! Their chicken feet are served without any bones, leaving you the crunchy gelatine skin for ease of enjoyment. How thoughtful!Nevertheless, one cannot forget about the must-have vegetable for a well-balanced meal. The boy choy was blanched, removing the raw taste which green leafy vegetables commonly have, while the beansprout were sweet and crunchy. Both were drizzled with a light tasting sauce and sprinkled with scallions, enhancing the fragrance of the dishes. Healthy and simple dishes that accompanies really well with the other 'heavier' dishes.

Overall, i truly enjoyed every dishes from this stall and am really grateful to OpenRice for the warm invitation to this food tasting event.

2013-03-09

I have heard so much about this chicken rice stall. I made an effort to come by just to try it. A basic plate of chicken rice is at $3. The serving of chicken was rather generous with crunchy cucumber. The rice was flavourful and fragrant as well as fluffy and grainy. The chicken tasted decent. It was tender with its juiciness still intact. Their chilli has a nice hint of spiciness that complemented the rice and chicken rather well. I felt their standard is in comparison to their competitor just a few stalls away. This is therefore a good alternative as their queue is relatively shorter and service is quicker.

2013-03-05

Ah-Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice 阿仔海南鸡饭 is a chicken rice stall set up by Mr Wong Liang Tai, more commonly known as Ah Tai. Ah Tai was actually the former chef of the famous Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice and has been working there for the past 20 years. He had differences with the owners' daughter who took over the management of the business in 2010. After several incidents and heated arguments, Ah Tai was sacked in October 2011 (Both Ah Tai and the owners are relatives). Subsequently, he and a partner (who was a key helper in Tian Tian) set up a chicken rice stall just 3 stalls away from his former employer (Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice) at Maxwell Food Centre.

Chicken Rice is a de facto national dish of Singapore. If you still have doubts, visit Maxwell Food Centre, and you will notice that there are already so many chicken rice stalls. One will be spoilt for choice when it comes to chicken rice as there are more than 6 such stalls in this food centre. With Ah-Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice being the new kid in the block, the chicken rice war at Maxwell has escalated. Several other chicken rice stall owners have expressed their unhappiness as they were concerned about their business. The least they need now is for another strong competitor next to them. As mentioned earlier, Ah-Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice 阿仔海南鸡饭 located at Stall No. 7 is located 3 units away from Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice which is located at Stall No. 10.

I visited at around 630pm on a weekday for dinner. There was no queue then. (By the way Tian Tian was closed that day). Anyone knows if there's a queue during lunch hours? What makes a good Chicken Rice? Well, there are three factors; namely the rice, the meat (chicken) and the chilli. I can't help but compare using these three factors to compare Ah Tai's chicken rice to Tian Tian's chicken rice which I had previously.

In terms of rice, Ah Tai's rice was indeed fragrant and flavourful. However, it was hard and very dry. I prefer Tian Tian's rice as it was softer and more moist.

In terms of meat (chicken), Ah Tai's version was decent. The timing was grasped nicely as the chicken was tender and tasty, not tough. However, all the good work was undone by.. well the way the chicken was chopped. Yes, the chopping style does makes a difference (ask the older generation or professional chefs on the way to cut meat, be it chicken, duck or pork and you will know what I mean). I have not gotten to the point where by I am such a professional foodie that I can point out this is a wrong cooking style. What makes it so obvious in this case was that it was so terribly cut that there were small pieces of bones protruding out or small pieces of bones that came off and was mixed with the rice and chicken. When I mean small, a comparison will be the size smaller than a half of the rice grain (in the photo above). Seems trivial, but it matters. With that being said, Tian Tian's version was much better as their chopping style was better and their chicken was drizzled in their special sauce that made it more fragrant and tasty. (The gizzards given were hidden below the chicken.)

In terms of chilli, Ah Tai's version fared better. It was more tangy with a stronger oomph of spiciness.

(For the sake of comparison) In terms of presentation, I am very sure that Ah Tai's version loses out to Tian Tian's. Just take a look at the above picture and compare it to Tian Tian's version. Ah Tai's version was more sloppily done considering the fact that there was no queue... hmm..

Personally, I still prefer Tian Tian's chicken rice. The chicken and rice are better than Ah Tai's version. But despite all these, I still prefer my chicken rice at Golden Mile Food Centre.

For the record, if the taste is good and the presentation is lousy, I certainly do not mind! After all, never judge a book by its cover, appearances can be deceiving.

Detailed review: http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2012/12/ah-tai-hainanese-chicken-rice-maxwell.html

This stall is a rival stall of the famous tian tian chicken rice at maxwell food centre. Actually to be honest, i wanted to try tian tian chicken rice but the queue is too long and i only have 1 hour for my lunch. So in order not to waste time i just went over to ah tai to order my plate of chicken rice as there is only 2 person in the queue. The uncle at the stall was very friendly and nice, when i told him i wanted roast chicken he told me that they do not sell roast chicken and there is only white chicken. He told me to give it a try and i said ok to it. There is an option of either $2.50 or $3, but i wanted to save money so i took the $2.50 chicken rice and the portion of it was rather big! lucky me!

The chicken is very soft and tender and the chili that comes along with it is nice too. The rice isn't too oily and overall i think it is very worth my $2.50. Another helper at the stall pass me my cutlery after i place my order and i feel that it is a nice gesture because he doesn't have to do it but out of his initiative he did it so i was impressed.