Our Review On The Yeo Keng Nam Chicken Rice (Braddell)
We visited this Yeo Keng Nam (Traditional Hainanese) Chicken Rice Restaurant, located at 8 Braddell Road, on a Sunday Afternoon before our Aerial Yoga Lesson over at the PUB Recreational Club.
We only knew about this Restaurant after we tried googling for a place to eat and to our surprise we had actually drove past this place (along Upper Serangoon Road) many times.
After being guided by Google Map, we reached the area and the first obstacle we had was that the parking spaces were not clearly marked and seemed to be limited (the Restaurant seemed to have two dedicated spots for customers but were already taken) so we just tried our luck parking in the open area opposite the restaurant.
It was near to 2pm and the place was around 50% filled. Our first impression of the Décor and atmosphere of Yeo Keng Nam Chicken Rice Restaurant were similar to those Traditional Eating Outlets in Hong Kong, with the Preparation Counter near the Entrance and then Wooden Tables and Benches. On their website, this Restaurant had over 50 years of legacy and was visited by quite a number of Hong Kong Singers and Actors.
We were given a table at a corner. Not very well-lit. The ladies who attended to us passed us the menu and waited eagerly to take our order. We had to ask for more time to look through the menus.
Menus
Other than the popular Chicken Rice, Yeo Keng Nam Chicken Rice also has other Tze Char dishes like Fish, Beef, Pork, Seafood, Soup, Clay Pot, Noodles, Vegetables and a small list of refreshments. Most prices were already more than $10 for the Small option. The Tze Char items were already available in the afternoon as seen from other tables. For the Steamed Chicken / Roasted Chicken & Rice, they were under Other Dishes – Item 901, 902, 903 and 904.
What We Ordered
We tried asking for Item 101 (Half, $17.90) with half of it being Steamed Chicken and the other half being Roasted Chicken but we were told that was not an option. The lady staff told us that they only served individual portion with a plate of rice, separately.
A bit disappointed and so we just went with Steamed Chicken Drumstick with Fragrant Rice (Item 902, $6.00 + $1.20), Roasted Chicken Drumstick with Fragrant Rice (Item 902, $6.00 + $1.20), Sambal Kang Kong (Item 711, $8.90), Coke Zero ($1.95) and Iced Coffee O ($2.50).
— Steamed Chicken Drumstick Rice, Roasted Chicken Drumstick Rice & Sambal Kang Kong
These dishes were served less than 10 minutes after ordering, Pretty fast! Time to eat!
— Pig Stomach Soup, Cucumber Slice and Sauce
First thing that we tried was the soup. Surprisingly, they gave us Pig Stomach Soup (but just the soup with no other ingredients than the greens). Soup had a strong peppery and thick authentic taste. It was nice and we had hoped for refills but that did not happened.
The second and third thing that we tried were the Cucumber Slices and the Base Sauce. The cucumber tasted freshly sliced and was very crunchy. Good to eat if still feeling hungry. The base sauce was a thick layer of Sesame Oil, very fragrant but not drinkable on its own. We also thought it may not be that suitable to splash over the rice.
— Fragrant Rice
If you like eating Chicken Rice a lot, you will not find this Fragrant Rice that special but it was still nice to eat on its own (with its own oiliness and fragrance). We also got a different (and nice) taste when we mix the rice well with their chili and/or dark soy sauce. You can also try to drink a mouth of soup after eating the rice to get your taste bud fired up.
If you are not a fan of Fragrant Rice, you can also ask for plain white rice.
— Steamed Chicken and Roasted Chicken
The meat was not deboned so we had to make efforts to tear the meat apart or took the bones out. Luckily the bones were not sharp (so we could safely say the chef got good chopping skills).
We liked the skins. The Steamed Chicken had a thick chewy skin whereas the Roasted Chicken had a thin-but-still-nice-to-chew-through crispy skin.
Both meats were tender and they were easy to tear apart. They were good to eat on its own or with the chili sauce and dark soy sauce. Portion wise, they were really just nice for each person.
— Dark Soy Sauce and Chili
For sauces, there were these three items on the table – Dark Soy Sauce, Chili and (possibly) Ginger Paste. We were not fans of Ginger Paste so we did not touch that. We liked their Chili and Dark Soy Sauce. Chili had a certain level of taste and spiciness. Dark Soy Sauce was thick with a bit of sweetness and even good to eat on its own.
— Sambal Kang Kong
The serving portion of this Sambal Kang Kong was good enough for two. Taste wise – it was surprisingly not very mushy and salty but sadly not too spicy enough. There were also bits of fried garlic bits which were nice.
— Iced Coffee O (Really Sweet!)
Initially we had asked for Ice Coffee C Kosong but this option was not available so we just went with Iced Coffee O as it was. We forgot to ask for Kosong and the sugar level was really high.
— Payment
We made payment after the meal over at their dedicated Cashier Counter. Additional charges wise, they charged GST but no Service Charge. For contactless payment mode, they had only DBS Paylah.
How To Get To Yeo Keng Nam Chicken Rice?
Address: 8 Braddell Rd, Singapore 359898 (Google Map)
Opening Hours:
- For weekdays and non PH – 10.30am to 3pm and 5pm to 9.30pm
- On weekends and PH – 10.30am to 9.30pm
- Closed Every Tuesday
Website / Order Online: http://www.ykn.com.sg/product/