A Hainan Chicken Rice Journey - Savoy, Mee & Greet, Cluck2Go, Side Chick, Green Zone, Tasty Food, Auntie Ping [Thoughts + Pics]

Hi @tartlet,

Thanks. Yes one of the places that had some standout qualities was Mee & Greet (listed in the original post), that’s West L.A. :slight_smile:

1 Like

Give LAX-C Steamtable a try! The sauce is incredible! If you go on the weekends you get fresh hot coconut cakes at Mae Tings!! Take a rice and curry to-go for lunch/dinner next day!!

That kitchen is powered by Thai Aunties!!

1 Like

I tried the Lax-C hainan chicken at your recommendation and thought it was pretty good. Chicken was a touch dry but the rice was not too heavy or dry considering it was clearly a batch that was made earlier. Can I ask why you specifically recommend it over others?

Unfortunately, my work had a not great experience with Side Chick this week. Yesterday they couldn’t get it to deliver at all and today they said the rice was off somehow. I didn’t get to try it myself and I think any restaurant should get a fair amount of leeway when received through a third party delivery system but I was told this was a rare misstep.

Mostly because of the sauce tbh. I think it is incredibly well balanced on all the different flavor notes. I wish they use only thigh/drumstick meat your right it can be a little dry. I am a sauce guy, which for the Singapore style I actually like Savoy.

Whether it’s Thai, or Singapore style it is hard to find a place that does all 3 components of rice, chicken, and sauce perfect.

Re:Side Chick the original chef our own @JLee is no longer affiliated with them.

I thought the Lax-C sauce was interesting, too. Thinner consistency but it still adhered to the chicken well.

As for Side Chick, I definitely don’t mean to convey our experience as a ding on @JLee or the current staff. If anything I think it’s commentary on the third party delivery apps.

If I’m in central/east side LA (by ‘central’ and ‘east side’ I mean between Hollywood and Silverlake, lol), I get my Hainan Chicken from Siam Sunset @Western. Mom and Pop Thai place that does a decent Hainan Chicken. They also have fresh tofu in ginger soup (?) that is seriously addicting. Maybe it’s just ginger juice. Either way, gingery deliciousness.

no one has mentioned cocoin kitchen in the ESGV. on the south side of colima west of hacienda blvd. you have to be looking for it to find it.

i tried their HCR this week. their regular plate is around $10. i and my companion elected to go for the half chicken at $13.99 which includes a bowl of rice, BTW. an extra bowl at $1.50 was deemed a better value than getting two regular plates. we also each ordered a lunch special and we gorged.

NOTE: lunch companion took the pic. you can see my old phone in the upper left corner. stop making fun of my pics. let’s see the kind of pics you get using that phone.

their chicken is steamed and is very moist. some might find the amount of schmaltz on the chicken off-putting. i liked it, but others might find it greasy. it’s what you get if you don’t plunge your chicken immediately into a bath of ice water to get a layer of fat to form between the meat and the skin. i love schmaltz so it works for me.

they had no sweet soy to go with the scallion & chili sauces. this was a disappointment. the chili sauce had more of a latent spiciness than in your face like, say, sriracha (which also available on the table but IMO overpowers the balance). none of the meat was deboned, so you had to be a little careful and doing so resulted in a ton of schmaltz all over one’s fingers.

if you were in the ESGV and wanted HCR, i’d say going to cocoin kitchen would be a reasonable choice.

3 Likes

Sounds like the current operation is a shitshow.

I’ll let you guys in on a secret of mine: I think the best white cut chicken I’ve ever had was at Phoenix Inn in Chinatown. Yup the original OG one, you wouldn’t think so but I’ve had it twice and I think it is because the chefs there have probably been working there since before I was born or was a toddler.

7 Likes