Unorthodox HCR Vina style

Wandering hungry through Footscrazy on a wintry Wednesday lunchtime. I happened upon a relatively new establishment - Rice Pho & Rolls. My first thought was to sample their delicious looking Bánh cuốn - then I noticed they served HCR - well of course I had to try it.

Oh so very delicious - if apparently unorthodox by the Singaporean or Malaysian standard...I had no idea that this was also a real Vietnamese favourite - cơm gà Hải Nam!

The first thing that struck me was the characteristic yellow skin of the Vietnamese style steamed chicken. 

Basically the chicken is steamed and then turmeric mixed with sesame oil is brushed onto the skin - for both the colour and to help seal it and stop the bird from drying out.

The rice in this version was very molded and kind of crunchy on the outside and absolutely redolent with classic Vietnamese flavour - topped with dill and fried shallots.

Unlike its Malaysian counterpart - there was no ginger sauce - although the flavour of the rice indicated a good amount of ginger present in the broth used to cook the rice. 

The dipping sauce was light soy with a bit of sugar and fish sauce, plus that great salt 'n' pepper mix you squeeze the lemon onto for a dipping paste. Plus: a side of KIM CHI! 

Finally - the broth. Oh - SO. GOOD. Deep and umame - tangy with fish sauce and coriander - as I slurped all the way down to the bottom, I uncovered a small vertebrae, which explained the richness of the broth.