Ok, anyone watched the channel 8 show - 抢摊大行动’s Bedok Reservoir Chicken Rice episode just now?
I felt so sorry for the hawker – Xiong. He lost the gold medal because of one vote!
I have been a fan of the show and have watched several episodes this season. Out of so many hawkers who participated, Xiong showed the most enthusiasm. I was pretty impressed by him from start that he appeared to be positive despite his plight. Also, different from the usual 抢摊hawkers who always appeared blur and slow, he do not even need to be prompt by the host Quan Yi Feng and Zhong Qin to listen or to start asking questions and even took initiative to ask the Chef relevant questions. Of course, one might argued that he had 20 years of experience to begin with, thus appeared to be at ease and could learn the rope fast. But what is more heartening is that he displayed positive attitude throughout the show.
I thought he had a high chance of getting gold, but too bad he met a difficult食客 (eater)。 She commented that the rice was too hard and that the chicken meat was uncooked. I was slightly flabbergasted when hearing her comments. Indeed, I did not taste the chicken rice myself, but from what I see the chicken meat looked quite decent, the boiled chicken looked quite tender. Rest of the 29 eaters also thought that the food is nice. Furthermore, Chef Judges also gave their thumbs up. Contrary to that eater’s controversial comments, executive chef from Fairmount rebutted that the rice texture was just nice, not too hard nor too soft. Chef Daniel commented that chicken meat is also perfectly cooked.
I wondered if there were any selection criteria for those eaters? Though the show (not sure whether out of politeness) addressed them as foodies, but I doubt that they are really foodies. You see, anyone off the street can eat and tell you their preference, but not everyone knows how to eat. Eating and knowing how to eat are different skills sets. It is not easy to be a food critic. Now you know, food blogs are more than beautiful photos and tempting words.
Not sure who is more unlucky, the female eater who happened to have eaten a piece of uncooked meat, or Xiong who served her that fateful plate of alleged uncooked chicken meat…
I wish Bedok Reservoir Chicken Rice all the best and hope he would keep up the standard.
How to differentiate a good Chicken Rice?
Actually, what the lady said was incorrect. Good chicken rice texture should be slightly firm, flavourful when eaten on its own and most importantly emitting fragrance of the fried onions and ginger. Unless she is referring to chicken rice balls, otherwise no one eat soft chicken rice.
Usually, when eating boiled chicken meat, you should be able to taste the tenderness and moisture in the meat. In order to retain the tenderness and moisture, cooking time and method are the crux of a good boiled chicken. Boiled Chicken are not boiled all the way, they are in fact boiled for 20 - 30 mins and left soaking in the hot water for 20 - 25 mins. This cooking method allows chicken meat to retain moisture and is usually just done. It is also common to see blood in the bones and thigh meat near the bones, but most of the time, they are not undercooked.
Boiled Chicken meat should also not have texture of the roasted chicken meat. Roasted Chicken (usually fried) is more well done and would have a firmer texture, less moisture.
I felt so sorry for the hawker – Xiong. He lost the gold medal because of one vote!
I have been a fan of the show and have watched several episodes this season. Out of so many hawkers who participated, Xiong showed the most enthusiasm. I was pretty impressed by him from start that he appeared to be positive despite his plight. Also, different from the usual 抢摊hawkers who always appeared blur and slow, he do not even need to be prompt by the host Quan Yi Feng and Zhong Qin to listen or to start asking questions and even took initiative to ask the Chef relevant questions. Of course, one might argued that he had 20 years of experience to begin with, thus appeared to be at ease and could learn the rope fast. But what is more heartening is that he displayed positive attitude throughout the show.
I thought he had a high chance of getting gold, but too bad he met a difficult食客 (eater)。 She commented that the rice was too hard and that the chicken meat was uncooked. I was slightly flabbergasted when hearing her comments. Indeed, I did not taste the chicken rice myself, but from what I see the chicken meat looked quite decent, the boiled chicken looked quite tender. Rest of the 29 eaters also thought that the food is nice. Furthermore, Chef Judges also gave their thumbs up. Contrary to that eater’s controversial comments, executive chef from Fairmount rebutted that the rice texture was just nice, not too hard nor too soft. Chef Daniel commented that chicken meat is also perfectly cooked.
I wondered if there were any selection criteria for those eaters? Though the show (not sure whether out of politeness) addressed them as foodies, but I doubt that they are really foodies. You see, anyone off the street can eat and tell you their preference, but not everyone knows how to eat. Eating and knowing how to eat are different skills sets. It is not easy to be a food critic. Now you know, food blogs are more than beautiful photos and tempting words.
Not sure who is more unlucky, the female eater who happened to have eaten a piece of uncooked meat, or Xiong who served her that fateful plate of alleged uncooked chicken meat…
I wish Bedok Reservoir Chicken Rice all the best and hope he would keep up the standard.
How to differentiate a good Chicken Rice?
Actually, what the lady said was incorrect. Good chicken rice texture should be slightly firm, flavourful when eaten on its own and most importantly emitting fragrance of the fried onions and ginger. Unless she is referring to chicken rice balls, otherwise no one eat soft chicken rice.
Usually, when eating boiled chicken meat, you should be able to taste the tenderness and moisture in the meat. In order to retain the tenderness and moisture, cooking time and method are the crux of a good boiled chicken. Boiled Chicken are not boiled all the way, they are in fact boiled for 20 - 30 mins and left soaking in the hot water for 20 - 25 mins. This cooking method allows chicken meat to retain moisture and is usually just done. It is also common to see blood in the bones and thigh meat near the bones, but most of the time, they are not undercooked.
Boiled Chicken meat should also not have texture of the roasted chicken meat. Roasted Chicken (usually fried) is more well done and would have a firmer texture, less moisture.
It is actually wholesaler shop, specialising in Cantonese style roast meat, roast duck and cha siew. Guess what caused the long queue?
