Choong Kee Kampar Claypot Rice

Claypot Chicken Rice with Chinese Sausage and Salted Fish

Claypot Chicken Rice has always been one of my favourite, often-craved dishes. The problem was, I could never reliably get it from any one place. Luckily, during the last trip home, my friend A told me about Choong Kee Kampar Claypot Rice. He has been a patron of the immensely popular original restaurant in Kampar (duh), Perak, his hometown, for many years and he assured me that their Claypot Chicken Rice is indeed, very good. He, however, could not attest to quality of the food at the new branch that they had established in Petaling Jaya - never having been there before. I wasn't about to drive to Kampar, so I had to trust that they brought their recipe for success to the PJ restaurant too (pun cringe intended).

I was very happy with this discovery. I don't know if it is as good as the outlet in Kampar but the Claypot Chicken Rice that I had at their PJ outlet was one of the, if not the, best that I've ever tasted. Most noticeably, the rice was absolutely perfectly cooked and came apart as loose whole grains, rather than the hard, burnt, clumpy rice that you usually get with this dish. The chicken pieces were moist, tender and beautifully flavoured, together with the rice. The interspersing mild sweetness of the tender slices of chinese sausage (lap cheong) and the sharp saltiness of the melted salted fish that topped the dish were the critical supporting components that added depth and variety to the flavours and textures of this scrumptious, hearty, intensely satisfying one-pot meal.

Stir Fried Lettuce (Yau Mak)

The Menu

Besides their speciality, they also offer special steamed soups which we did not try because I'm not really a soup fan, and a small variety of fresh stir-fried vegetables. We had the lettuce (yau mak) and the bean sprouts, which were both very tasty. They open at 12 noon and apparently the line forms very quickly. They close sometime in the afternoon and re-open again in the evening. They are also closed in the middle of the week, for one day (can't remember which), so please ring the number at the top of the menu in the photo (right) to check. You wouldn't want the agony of craving Claypot Chicken Rice and making your way there only to find that they're closed. It isn't exactly around the corner from where I live but the food is good enough that I would drive (or be driven ;)) across town and risk getting stuck in KL traffic to have it. It is definitely going to be one of my regular 'must have's during my annual visit home. Special thanks must go to A for the recommendation, which allowed me to finally succeed in my quest to properly satiate my claypot chicken rice craving - an endeavour with which, for many years, I have had no luck.

Bean Sprouts (Mung Beans)

Choong Kee Kampar Claypot Rice

No 80 Jalan SS22/25

Damansara Jaya

47400 Petaling Jaya

Selangor

Malaysia