Our chicken rice stall

There is this chicken rice stall that we have gone to for the past 30 ++ years. It's along Tanjong Katong Road, along the same side of the road as the Katong Post Office, next to the Caltax petrol station. It's part of my growing up years in Singapore.

It's at a coffee shop known as Keng Bee and it is still in it's original condition, as I remember it from all those years ago. There are still those bent wood coffee shop chairs for seats. Where they make the drinks at the back, there is this gleaming hot water dispenser - also been there for years.

This chicken rice stall serves the yummiest chicken ever - smooth moist chicken with a delectable layer of skin on the "white" chicken. Then there's the crispy roast pork and delicious char siew. The roast duck is also excellent. The rice is well flavoured and fragrant, but not oily or greasy. The simple chilli sauce is also more-ish when added with minced ginger and dark soy sauce. What can I say - ambrosia? Manna from heaven?

The boss who owns the stall only works in the day. Dunno what time he goes off. In the evenings, there is this surly, churlish balding guy. He never smiles, just chops the stuff you want and serves it to you. However, over the years I have managed to wrangle a smile out of him. His sulleness is well known with the regulars - never smiles, just growls at you and serves the food.

One evening, HH and I turned up for dinner. When I got there, I told him our order and smiled at him and asked if he had struck the lottery last week. Then he smiled back!! Wow! Then the guy behind me said - he never smiles but he has smiled at you.

When we were young(er!) we would be at this stall at least once a week. We would troop into the coffee shop and Dad would wave at the chicken chopping man - the boss! In a short while, we would get a large plate of all the yummy stuff on our table and we would be tucking in.

I could say that I grew up in the coffee shop with the coffee shop owner's kids - BTW they now run the place and it has gone into the second generation. The coffee shop boy would promptly deliver Dad's "kopi o kosong ice" whenever he walked into the shop. My parents have not lived in Singapore for over 20 years, but when Dad goes to the coffee shop for chicken rice - his coffee comes automatically.

Good huh?