Claypot rice seemed to be well-liked by the older generation. I never expected myself to take a liking to it, even with my extensive love for all kinds of Singaporean hawker food.
New Lucky Claypot Rice has completely changed my mind. Situated in Holland Drive Market & Food Centre, the humble stall definitely tops the list for both affordability and taste in terms of claypot rice.
Holland Drive Food Centre is also newly renovated — offering an airy, spacious and clean dining area which boasts many other stellar hawker food stalls.
The signature Claypot Wu Wei Rice came after a 15 to 20 minutes wait as the rice is glazed in a claypot at high heat to perfection. It comes in options for two pax ($10/$15), three pax ($15/$20) and four pax ($20/$25).
Alternatively, you can also try the Claypot Chicken Rice if you want something without pork.
The Claypot Wu Wei Rice was a hearty dish with an array of ingredients, which satisfied all my senses after a good mix with the speciality dark sauce and a generous drizzle of oil.
The chunks of chicken thigh and breast in the claypot rice definitely scored an A+ from me, with it being tender and well-seasoned. Each spoonful was filled with just the right amount of salted fish and mix of lap cheong (Chinese sausages). It had a delectable taste from cooking with charcoal, which kept me coming back for more scoops.
The dish was very reasonably priced considering its portion size and generous servings of ingredients. As usual, hawker food always scores the highest for satisfying both my wallet and my belly.
The fun part of every claypot rice meal is the the crispy charred ends of rice stuck to the pot when you’re done devouring the majority of it. I loved how there was a thin layer of that to scrape up and enjoy at the end.
New Lucky Claypot Rice also offers five traditional soups. We had a bowl of the Lotus Root With White Fungus Soup ($4), which reminded me of the soup that my grandma makes.
The broth was the ideal go-to comfort food and I really enjoyed the generous serving of lotus roots and pork-ribs that were slow-cooked to perfection.
The plate of Oyster Sauce Vegetables ($4/$5/$6) unfortunately didn’t quite suit my palate. Cooked simply with the vegetables boiled and topped with oyster sauce, the dish ended up being overly salty and soggy.
I’d recommend ordering the Chicken Feet with Mushroom ($8), which was glorious. I especially enjoyed this dish as the chicken feet, mushroom and black fungus were braised to perfect chewiness. The savoury sauce also wasn’t too salty — a perfect match to the claypot rice.
New Lucky Claypot Rice is THE place for good ol’ claypot rice in Singapore. The dishes are packed with ingredients and you’ll be hard pressed to find somewhere else offering such affordability.
To avoid the long waiting time, give them a phone-call to make reservations at least 30 to 45 minutes in advance. I would definitely go back for the claypot rice — even my grandmother agrees!
Expected damage: $9.50 per person
