Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice Restaurant - Marina Square - Singapore, Singapore

Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice Restaurant

Singaporeans love their chicken rice and it has become to be known as their national dish. A humble and simple dish that is packed with flavour and is the ultimate comfort food. I am a big fan of chicken rice myself and it's a must have every time I go to Singapore, being reasonably cheap and absolutely delicious. It is readily available in many locations such as restaurants, hawker centres, coffee shops and food courts.

The most famous chicken rice restaurant in Singapore is probably 'Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice', with the most visited branch located at Maxwell Food Centre. Many have pronounced it as one of the best chicken rice stalls in Singapore and I have to agree with them. I've been there a few times having joined the extremely long queue to get a taste of their famous dish but this time around I didn't have the chance to. The line seems to be getting longer and longer, year by year. The post will be coming soon once I find my photos, I promise!

Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice is an established chicken rice stall with 4 outlets in Singapore. We visit the branch at Marina Square for dinner and it is very quiet as most workers have gone home for the day. During lunch, the place is usually a full house with a queue. They don't only sell chicken but have a range of local favourites available too.

You take a seat at a table, then the waiter comes and takes your order. Simple!

The side condiments are placed on every table including dark soy sauce, light soya sauce, green chillies, chilli sauce and ginger. The chilli sauce was good but not great. It failed in comparison to the one at Tian Tian as it lacked that potency. The condiments make a big difference to the overall taste of chicken rice as they work to complement each other.

The two most popular items are the steamed chicken and roast chicken.

The 'Chicken Rice Vegetable Set ($7.00)' is good value. The set consists of a bowl of steam rice, plate of chicken, plate of vegetables and soup.

The rice was fragrant and had a nice flavour to it. It was cooked well in that it wasn't oily, soggy or mushy. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

If you order chicken rice, you usually get the breast meat as the drumstick part of the chicken is more expensive and you have to specifically state that you want the drumstick area. Unfortunately, I ordered without looking at the menu properly and ended up with breast meat, which I've never liked as it is tough and dry. Luckily, the plate of chicken I got was nicely cooked and drizzled with a light soy dressing. The bones were still intact and yay for the chicken wing! The silky, smooth chicken was fresh, juicy and relatively tender thankfully.

As for the soup and vegetables, it was just that, soup and vegetables. It provided a good balance to the meal overall.

The chicken rice here is decent but not the best. For those who want to escape the heat and do some shopping, then this is the place to go as it is located within Marina Square Shopping Mall. The restaurant is fully air-conditioned so you won't sweat buckets. For those who prefer a view of the esplanade, then there is a branch just outside of the mall at Makansutra Gluttons Bay, along with a number of other great dining options.

I couldn't help myself and got a cupcake to have as a night time snack. Twelve Cupcakes specialises in hand made cupcakes that are baked daily maintaining the freshness guarantee.

'Salted Caramel Cupcake' is a caramel cupcake with a caramel infused buttercream. The cupcake was moist and not overly sweet, catered towards the Asian palate. Yummy. Ain't the packaging so pretty? Not the most environmentally friendly but it does its job.

Where?
6 Raffles Boulevard
#04-102B
The Gallerie
Singapore

Phone no: +65 6333 9830

Opening Hours
Monday - Sunday
10:00am - 12:00am

Website - Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice Restaurant
http://www.wnk.com.sg

Website - Twelve Cupcakes
http://www.twelvecupcakes.com/

HAM (Harry and Mario) - Cronulla - Sydney, Australia.

HAM - Harry and Mario

I'll give you guys a  break from my travel posts with more exciting posts about Seoul  to come shortly :)

Even though I live relatively close to Cronulla, I don't frequent the place for breakfast, lunch or dinner as I tend to have a lot of Asian food. I do go to beach for the occasional walk and jog here and there, but rarely eat there cause I find that it is either too expensive or I can make it at home, like the good old bacon and eggs.

Recently, Cronulla has garnered interest among the public, having been mentioned in a few newspaper articles about being the upcoming dining destination, with a number of new establishments opening up. This has suddenly sparked my interest in this place and now I want to try out these restaurants that have been mentioned such as the $10 hot dog, fries and slaw at Old Joe's Restaurant. Yum yum! It's just not all about the beach anymore as a number of great cafes, bars and ice-cream places have opened up.

HAM stands for Harry and Mario, the names of the two brothers/owners of the popular cafe in Cronulla. A small cafe located on the corner of Gerrale Street, not too far from the beach promenade. They are well known for their coffees, both owners having many years of experience in coffee making. The store is filled with customers from the early morning as the locals get their coffee fix.

The interior is modern and very chic. The atmosphere is very relaxed and laid back so you can sit down, read the paper and enjoy your food without feeling rushed.

The menu is on a number of blackboards behind the glass cabinets and finding what you want may be difficult, given the extensive menu . The options are aplenty and deciding on what to have can be confusing. From the usual coffee drinks, pastries, museli, cakes to the popular range of cured meats and paninis.

The muffins and a number of items are made by the mother of the brothers, so that's destined to be a winner.

The 'Cappuccino ($3.50)' is creamy and smooth. The coffee is hot, strong and flavours are bold. My type of coffee.

The 'Iced Coffee ($5.00)' is not for the weight conscious as their version contains a big scoop of ice cream. Refreshingly perfect for a hot day.

The 'Chicken Panini ($11.00)' is toasted to perfection leaving a nice bite and crunch. I didn't read the menu properly and ordered it without knowing there was alfalfa. I'm not a big fan of alfalfa as the taste does get overpowering but I did enjoy the other ingredients. That melted cheese was delicious.

'Raisin Toast' is how it should look and taste. Nothing more to be said.

The coffee here is fantastic and I will just come here for the coffee, but those cakes just looked amazing. That is next on my agenda. I need to try out more places and Cronulla is definitely on the list.

Where?
3/17 Gerrale St
Cronulla NSW 2230
Australia

Phone no: 02 8521 7197

Opening Hours
Monday - Sunday
7:00am - 6:00pm

Website
http://www.hamharryandmario.com/