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I have a confession— I’m a fried chicken addict. There’s just something so beautiful about the crispy golden chicken skin and the white flesh glistening in its very own juice, and oil that sets my salivary glands in involuntary overdrive. So when a friend informed me of Restaurant Wong Soon Kee, an economy rice stall in Subang Jaya which has customers thronging for their kam heong fried chicken, I knew I had to go try it out.
Even at 11am, there were already many customers crowding around the economy rice stall.
They serve the usual economy rice items like braised pork belly and pan fried luncheon meat. There’s also sweet and sour pork, deep fried pork belly and butter fried fish. But my attention was caught elsewhere… the elusive kam heong fried chicken.
And there it was, right at the end of the endless rows of dishes— the fried chicken. Fun fact, the fried chicken is first marinated in their special kam heong batter before it’s fried with curry leaves and onion in a giant vat of boiling hot oil.
What I tried at Restaurant Wong Soon Kee
I opted for a plate of rice, stir fried spinach with garlic and of course, the kam heong fried chicken (RM14). I have to admit, I was a bit intimidated by the size of the fried chicken as the bird covered half of my plate. Restaurant Wong Soon Kee’s kam heong fried chicken smelled enticingly savoury and the crispy skin was extremely inviting.
I wasted no time and immediately dug my fork into the fried chicken, then took a bite. The crispy chicken skin was an absolute delight. After the initial crunch, I noticed that the moist, juicy meat inside had a faint background hum of kam heong spice.
It wasn’t overly salty like those at other fried chicken joints, but the chicken still had that distinct umami factor. But if I had a bone to pick, I must say I’d enjoy the chicken more if the kam heong flavour was more pronounced.
Lek Kii Chicken Rice: RM6.80 chicken rice & crispy siew yoke with a spicy chilli sauce
The rice with soft grains was delicious. In fact, it was incredibly tough to stop eating the mountain of rice together with the crispy fried chicken. The stir fried spinach was perfectly seasoned, making this dish a winner in my eyes.
I quickly realised that the serving of chicken was too much for one person, even for someone who can easily demolish a 2-piece KFC meal. I definitely recommend sharing this chicken with a friend, unless you’re planning to have it on its own. I do however feel that RM14 for economy rice is definitely on the expensive side, especially if it’s just for one person.
Final thoughts
If you’re planning to swing by Restaurant Wong Soon Kee for lunch, do take note that the restaurant gets incredibly packed and you may need to share a table (that’s what happened to me).
But for such delicious fried chicken, I understand the hype and the endless queue of loyal customers who continue returning for their favourite, in spite of the wait.
There are plenty of other stalls at this restaurant selling a variety of dishes such as wan tan mee, beef noodles, hokkien mee, prawn mee and more. Just don’t skip out on the fried chicken, it’s definitely worth queuing up for.
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