Simply G.Ken: Delicious giant chicken cutlet rice for only $6.50, deserves more hype

One of the most popular eating places in the central area is Amoy Street Food Centre. The eclectic mix of different hawker stalls means there’s a huge variety. There are stalls with Michelin Bibs, old-school favourites, and plenty of unique ventures by younger entrepreneurs. One such stall is Simply G.Ken, a relatively new addition to Amoy.

The signboard is barebones – it features a scribble of a yellow chicken with a double-barrelled “thumbs-up” gesture. Simply G.Ken’s menu is straightforward – fried chicken cutlets, served with seasoned rice, a choice of either a side salad or potato salad, and a sauce. There’s fried chicken skin too, if you’re into it. 

According to Simply G.Ken’s Instagram, the main motivation (or so the owner claims) is that his girlfriend loves fried chicken. He decided to set up a stall near her workplace, so she could come and eat fried chicken anytime. If that isn’t true love, I don’t know what is.

What I tried from Simply G.Ken

The menu at Simply G.Ken features their Set Meal, available in either Large (Whole) (S$6.50) or Small (Half) (S$5.50). Naturally, I chose the Large. It was better value, being only a dollar more than the Small for twice the chicken, and I was hungry. (I will come to regret this decision later.) 

I chose Potato Salad for my side, and the Original flavour for the chicken cutlet. 

Since I felt extra greedy, I added 1 portion of Fried Chicken Skin (S$0.50 for 2 pieces). There were 3 types of sauces to choose from: Original Sauce, Coriander Sauce, and Spicy Tsunami. I got the Original Sauce, which is a ranch-based sauce.

You can get add-ons of extra chicken, salads and sauces as well.

My order was ready extremely quickly – it took less than 5 minutes between ordering and getting my food. The speed would imply the chicken cutlets are pre-cooked and left to sit, but when I received it, it was still piping hot and faultlessly crispy.

I could hear the batter crackle loudly as I stabbed my fork into the thick and juicy cutlet. I took a bite, and the combination of flavours was incredibly intriguing. The Original Sauce was very much what you would expect from anything ranch-inspired – creamy, slightly tangy, savoury. 

Under the super-crunchy crust was flavourful and tender meat. The taste reminded me heavily of ayam goreng berempah, and I would’ve never guessed this flavour profile would pair so well with ranch. Superb.

I was less blown away by the rice. The grains were clumpy and “broken”, and I wished they were fluffier and less wet. I couldn’t identify the flavour profile, other than it being slightly buttery and having a vegetal aftertaste not unlike coriander.

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I really liked the Potato Salad. It was similar to Japanese-style potato salad, with egg and chunky bits of potato throughout. I wouldn’t have minded just replacing the rice with a second scoop of this… or a third. 

The Fried Chicken Skin was very generously sized for the cost. 2 large pieces of crunchy, crackling goodness. The skin was seasoned more lightly compared to the cutlet, letting the natural chicken flavour take centre stage.

Final thoughts

Even though the rice was meh by comparison to the rest of the plate, I still ended up eating everything – admittedly, I was almost ready to give up at the last stretch because of the size of the chicken cutlet.

Simply G.Ken’s menu isn’t anything fancy, but it’s delicious and good value for money. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go into a food coma.

Expected damage: S$5.50 – S$6.50 per pax

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