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I’m actually pretty concerned about myself. Who in their right mind pitches to write about Chicken Rice twice in a month? Me, that’s who. Self-pity aside, after diving deep into the world of Facebook comments of chicken rice lovers, I found out about Evertop Family Restaurant. According to the slew of comments, everyone was on the same page about one thing— they serve the best halal chicken rice.
What I tried
I ordered the Chicken Rice Lunch Set (S$9). Not knowing what to expect, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited. After a good few minutes of waiting, I got my plate of rice with a side of roasted chicken, stir-fried baby kailan in oyster sauce, fried wantons, and a bowl of warm soup.
First impression? I felt like I was looking at a sad spread, begging to be eaten before getting attacked by a loft of scary-looking pigeons nearby.
It may look depressing but tasted far from a disappointment.
Bonus behind-the-scene story: while trying to pick up a piece of chicken for this shot, it ended up sliding off the fork multiple times due to its softness. And that was the start of my love story with Evertop’s roasted chicken.
Like Bruce Lee Chicken Rice, the serving of roasted chicken also came with a serving of achar. Fascinating because this is my second time heading over to this neck of the woods and seeing a similar plating style. Folks who live around East Coast Road and Joo Chiat, is there a significant backstory about this peculiar pairing?
Although a tad bit oily, the aromatics of the rice could be smelled from a mile away. It was the right kind of greasy, fragrant, and not clumpy in the slightest bit. So good, I couldn’t stop popping spoonfuls of plain rice in my mouth. I do have to warn you though, it will leave you incredibly thirsty afterwards.
Three fried wantons will be included in the set meal. The wantons here have an incredibly thin shell which leads to a perfect ASMR crunch with each bite.
My only complaint is that I wish it had more of the tasty filling.
If you’ve been following my chicken rice reviews, you’d already know how important a bowl of soup is to me. I went in for my first slurp and was devastated. The soup was a hard pass. The little bits of spring onions didn’t do it justice either. It just tasted like a diluted bowl of ‘spring onion water’.
One look at the colour of the chilli and I knew it was gonna be the real deal. I picked up a piece of wanton, dipped it into the chilli and gobbled it down. Perfect combination aside, I was hit with an out-of-this-world level kind of heat. However, it still retained its flavours. Unlike most places, a small dollop of chilli is all you need to elevate your chicken rice experience at Evertop. It could very well be one of the reasons why people keep coming back for more.
The stir-fried baby kailan, however, wasn’t as great as it looked.
The oyster sauce was gooey and thick, and the baby kailan didn’t taste fresh. It lacked a crunch factor and ended up being a soggy tragedy. This is one dish you can do without should you decide to head over to Evertop for your halal chicken rice experience.
Final thoughts
A quick Google search revealed that the Evertop Family Restaurant is a branch of Evertop Halal Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice Pte Ltd located at Clementi since 1989. Did I visit the wrong place? I hope I didn’t.
Nevertheless, I wouldn’t say Evertop serves the best halal chicken rice I’ve had, but they certainly aren’t the worst. Misses aside, I’d go back for their plate of melt-in-your-mouth roasted chicken and chilli. And probably try the other dishes on their menu.
Until then, it’s no more chicken rice for me.
Expected damage: S$9 per pax
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