Sergeant grabs attention

For chicken rice lovers, Beijing is a fowl haven. While I still struggle to find a decent plate of char kway teow here, there is no lack of yummy Hainanese chicken rice. I have blogged about the bizarrely good plate at Hard Rock Cafe and there have been other decent offerings in the Chinese capital. But this latest entry into the crowded scene has been getting rave reviews from Singaporeans.

Sergeant's Chicken Rice is reportedly set up by one of the original Mandarin Hotel Chatterbox chefs - the same dudes who somehow managed to convince a generation of Singaporeans to pay S$20 for a plate of room-temperature chicken and rice. I know it is good, but I could never understand those willing to pay obscene money for hawker food.


Anyway, Sergeant seems very much like the Siamese twin of Food Republic, following the food court brand rather faithfully - even to Beijing. Food Republic has an outlet here at Viva Plaza （富丽广场） and not surprisingly, the military chicken brand came along. In no time, Singaporeans here have been calling it the "Best Chicken Rice in Beijing". And no one consulted me??? Basket.


Whatever lah, all these self-styled food critics. They don't even have like a proper food blog. Hmph! Sulk. (Ok ok, I have not been blogging very frequently, but hey, this blog is still active, alive and it did take me 15 minutes to set it up). Bloody hell.

Well, after weeks of hearing good things about the Sergeant from those non-qualified critics, I checked it out earlier today. After getting past the dumbass food court system of paying for a prepaid card before you could order food, I managed to get my hands on a nicely put-together plate of chicken rice. The presentation would be familiar to most Singaporeans, an arrangement which I believe came from Chatterbox.


Now for the verdict. It was good. But the best in Beijing? I would withold that honour, for now. I believe the plate at Prima Taste Kitchen gives it a good fight. While the chicken was tender and nicely drenched in soya sauce, it was a tad too cold for me. The meat was supposed to be in room temperature, but not cold. The rice was fragrant and the chilli - possibly the most important part of the chicken rice for me - was sour and slightly pungent with excessive garlic, as it should be.

But the biggest winner? Its price. At only 25 yuan (S$5), it is possibly the cheapest plate of Hainanese chicken rice in a city where Singapore hawker fare is regarded as expat food. Prima charges more than 50 yuan, for example. Good on the stomach, easy on the wallet. Looks like I will be back. Maybe tomorrow.