Bumped into Ah Huat at a hawker centre and we chatted over kopi. The topic inevitably centred around what else? New places to eat which we uncovered recently. Ah Huat suggested that I check out Jew Kit Hainanese Chicken Rice at Sembawang Shopping Centre. He has been there several times and he liked it.
And so, here we are at Jew Kit's Sembawang Shopping Centre outlet. Jew Kit has outlets here as well as at Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, Bukit Batok and Killiney Road. I was a little surprised that despite having several outlets, Jew Kit has very little social media presence.
The restaurant was simply furnished, bright, very clean, comfortable and it felt welcoming.
Five of us, we ordered chicken (half a bird), Hainanese herbal lamb soup, pineapple steamed fish, Hainanese mixed vegetables and bitter gourd salad.
First things first, the Hainanese chicken.
It certainly looked impressive. It looked succulent, saturated with juices, smooth, tender and even had a layer of jelly just beneath the skin.
The chicken was poached to just below 99% doneness. Very tender-soft and juicy wet but without the subtle squeaky chewiness that I like in my chicken.
The chicken tasted slightly briny, enough to mask any natural chicky flavour that I like.
The dressing sauce was savoury salty with a bit of aromatic oil in the blend.
Truth be told, this is not really my cup of tea but I know many people like their chicken without that "chicky taste". So, you may enjoy this if you like tender, juicy, smooth chicken meat without "chicky taste".
The rice was done a tad soft and wet. The grains were average quality with some broken and chipped. The rice's savoury flavour and aroma was a little too meek for me.
I like the savoury taste and mild heat of the ground ginger sauce even though it was watery. The chili sauce was also watery but mildly spicy salty i.e. no kick... .
This thick slab of sea bass fillet smothered under a grated pineapple and chili sauce was delightful. The fresh fish was tender and juicy. Its natural sweetness was well complemented by the sweet zingy zest from the grated pineapple, chili sauce. No earthy taste from the sea bass at all. This pineapple steamed fish was my favourite dish of today's meal.
We love this Hainanese herbal lamb soup too. The ribs were tender but slightly more chewy than I like. The flavours were however, delightful - savoury herbal with underlying lamb gaminess in a mild well balanced blend held together with gentle ginger heat.
We weren't expecting much from this plain, homely looking Hainanese mixed vegetables. The stir fried common vegetables looked over done and the first things I saw were those frozen prawns 🤔 🙄
We liked this.
The Bitter Gourd Salad came in thin crisp apple green translucent strips. They were lightly blanched.
Drizzle a brownish colour sauce over it before eating.
The thin strips of bitter gourd had a nice juicy crunch (more crunchy than green apple). With the sauce, every piece tasted sourish, sweet, spicy, savoury with hardly any bitterness. It's actually very tasty and appetising.
All of us enjoyed ourselves at Jew Kit. Even though I didn't really like the chicken as it had no chicky taste, all the other dishes were delicious. If you like your chicken without chicky taste, then it might be a 5/5 for you.
If I want a relaxing meal with nice dishes in a clean comfortable environment, Jew Kit is one place I would consider.
Five of us, we paid $19 per person for our share of the total bill.
Restaurant name: Jew Kit Sembawang
Address: 604, #01-26 (@ entrance ground level Sembawang Shopping Centre), Sembawang Road, Singapore 758459
Tel: +65 6570 3328
Hours: 10:30am - 9:30pm
I like this informative, matter of fact review of Jew Kit's Killiney Road outlet.
Date visited: 13 Nov 2020
洁洁 said on Johor Kaki Facebook:
ReplyDelete"This is my favourite, the original stall is at Bt Batok East 273, the morning shift is best. The bigger outlet is at Bt Timah Shopping centre with zi char dishes. They have another outlet at far east plaza."
Jessica Tan said on Johor Kaki Facebook:
ReplyDelete"I considered it good for Neighbourhood as it’s near my mum’s place n been eating since 20+ years ago when they started at Bukit batok. The stall is still there but helmed now by Malaysian n mainland cooks. Same taste all these years but they expanded offerings beyond chicken rice. They opened subsequently in a few places n the ones I know have closed. Don’t see the couple anymore at the original stall."