Kok Beng Chicken Rice @ Taiping, Perak

Purpotedly one of the Top 10 BEST Chicken Rice in Malaysia (featured exclusively on a ntv7 and Guang Ming Daily's joint hunt for the best in Malaysia, back in 2007), Kok Beng Chicken Rice has been gracing the grounds and gourmet scene in Taiping for a good 16 years.

Sinful, caramelized goodness on the hangers

Previously operating from another lot, Kok Beng has since relocated to this new outlet on Jalan Kota in Taiping in 2000, and has been doing rather brisk business on a daily basis.

Ong Kok Beng is the proprietor of the chicken rice, a friendly chap probably in his late 30's, or 40's. An estimation of course, but given his cheerful demeanour and approachable aura, he could well be in his 50's without people realising it. :)

Prove of their worth - Kok Beng being featured on several media portals

A simple coffee shop without much glitz nor glamour, Kok Beng is easily noticable from the streets, thanks to its bright orange-yellow coloured signboard with a chicken as its mascot. The place can easily seat a capacity of 50 or so customers, though the time we were there, most preferred the take-away option.

The traditional, homemade blended chilli sauce with ginger and garlic

Serving poached chicken, roasted chicken and barbecued marinated pork (Char Siew) with rice and soup of the day, one never needs a menu at Kok Beng's.

The roasted chicken, the smooth poached chicken and Char Siew, and the chicken rice

The fluffy grains of rice had a mild hint of oil from the chicken (not that gross, trust me), not too oily and suits those healthy-minded ones. The chilli sauce deserves a mention, for staying true to its Hainanese moniker, using only fresh chillies, and ginger, grinded to a pulp-ish yet smooth concoction, with a slightly spicier kick than the usual watered-down version from the bottles.

The poached chicken was a little disappointing in my opinion, though firm and tender, but not the pleasantly smooth type. Of course, I'm not suggesting that one must go all out for raw, smooth and slithering down one's throat version sometimes served by some of the big names in Ipoh (Lou Wong comes to mind).

The roasted chicken fared better, though the skin was not of the crispy kind. But the star of the show was undoubtedly, and surprisingly, the Char Siew. The homemade variety, without the artificial reddish hues, and served with a sweet and salty caramelized dark sauce.

The chicken rice is priced at RM3 per plate, though ours which came in a combination of two meats came to about RM5 per plate. A meal for two including drinks and soup came to RM12.80.

Location : Kedai Kopi Kok Beng Chicken Rice @ 38, Jalan Kota, 34000 Taiping, Perak.

Tel No : 6012-505 6697 or 6012-522 6697.

Opens daily from about 11am until 2 or 3pm, or until the food's finished for the day.

Closed on every other Monday, hence call in advance before arriving.

Want some other views on Kok Beng Chicken Rice? Here goes :

cynthia's a gal who had been frequenting the shop since her younger days.

foodbuddy.net loved the Char Siew as much as we did.

the list of the Top 10 Chicken Rice in M'sia from tourmalaysia.com.