• Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved chicken. She loved it so much she would have it in every single meal.
One day, she was walking at Plaza Singapura when she came upon a stall at the food court which had a curiously long queue. Everyone bought a banana-leaf plate of food with the biggest chicken thigh she had ever seen!
“This chicken comes with a magical black sauce that grants happiness to whoever eats it,” an elderly man in the line said.
Intrigued, the girl joined the line, bought the grilled chicken, and ate it. My, she thought, this is the best chicken ever! And she felt happy.
As time went by, she returned to the stall for more chicken. But the lines just kept growing longer and longer. It came to a point where the agony of waiting for her grilled chicken became a tad too much. She went cold turkey (no pun intended) and weaned herself off the best chicken she’d ever had.
Years later, she was walking at another mall, Tiong Bahru Plaza this time, when, lo and behold! She found her beloved chicken with the same magical black sauce! And there was no queue! Eagerly, she bought a plate of grilled chicken. Her hands shook and lips quavered as she took the first bite.
“It’s a blast from the past!” she exclaimed. “This is the exact same chicken, minus the queue!”
Photo by kitchen secrets
It’s even grilled and served the same way, too!
Ayam Panggang (grilled chicken)S$4.80
Rating:
It cost the same and came with the same sides of omelette, a bowl of soup and a yummy chilli paste. The chilli and the magical black sauce were just as awesome.
The only thing that may had been slightly different, she observed, was that the chicken thigh here was a wee bit smaller than the original, which looks like this:
No one seemed to mind. People were just happy to enjoy the grilled chicken without having to queue.
How should I know? Because I am she, the girl who loves chicken. And she lives happily ever after.
Tiong Bahru Plaza, Kopitiam
302 Tiong Bahru Road, level 3
Singapore 168732
Bus services: 5, 16, 33, 63, 123, 195, 851
Nearest MRT: Tiong Bahru
Opening hours: 10am – 10pm daily
Oct 16, 2009
4
though my office is jux beside tiong bahru plaza, i don’t go to the food court for the indonesia grill.. becoz.. its jux nt as good as the one at plaza sing.. =(
however, tampines mall’s food court does have the branch from plaza sing.. nt sure if the taste is the same though.. =)
Oct 16, 2009
3472
You know, the first time I visited the stall, I thought it’s a bad knock-off of the original. But they have improved on their chicken. In recent months, I find that the black sauce is really the exact same taste as the original! Maybe it’s just me :)
Oct 17, 2009
4
hahaha! then maybe u shd try the one at tampines mall food court.. it’s a branch from the plaza sing.. hehhee.. nt sure abt the queue though..
Oct 17, 2009
3472
Cool! I never realised they have a branch. I will check out the one at Tampines Mall. Thanks!
Oct 16, 2009
72
wow, i need to check out this stall at Tiong Bahru since its near my place. The one at Plaza Singapura is still the original and best in my opinion but the long queues are always a turn off. It doesn’t matter what time you go (i’ve even starved myself till 3pm for lunch just to avoid the queues), there’s always a crowd.
There’s another outlet in Marina Square food court – not sure if its the same owners but the chicken there isn’t fantastic.. sauce doesn’t match the taste of Plaza Sing, plus the chicken isn’t grilled that well too..
Oct 17, 2009
3472
In the past I used to think that good food is worth queuing for, but I really dreaded the long waiting time and eventually stopped patronising the stall altogether. When I go to Plaza Singapura these days, I eat at other places like the Manhattan Fish Market or even Chippy British Take Away.
I have seen many food court stalls selling such chicken, but so far I think only the one at Tiong Bahru Plaza has managed to make a sauce that comes close :)
Oct 17, 2009
14
Aidoh, soon you will have to go cold turkey again soon. With this post I bet the long queue will start forming and then…
Oct 17, 2009
3472
Hopefully not! Tiong Bahru Plaza is still a neighbourhood mall after all… Hmm.
Oct 17, 2009
10
love this fairytale
I can smell it
even never try Indonesian grilled chicken
I’ll try to grill chicken like this one
It might be like napali grilled chiken
Oct 17, 2009
3472
I’m sure Thai grilled chicken is delicious, too :)
Oct 17, 2009
2
LOL! that was a very cute story
Oct 17, 2009
3472
Haha I’m glad you like my corny chicken tale!
Oct 17, 2009
57
I’ve found the secret to the one at Plaza Singapura.
Go at 11:25AM in the morning. :p
I know, because I did that today and for the first time ever… NO QUEUE! WOOHOO!
By the time I was done, there were three others in the queue, though. :D
Oct 18, 2009
3472
Haha the early bird catches the worm!
Oct 18, 2009
72
haha.. i thought you’d found the secret ingredients and recipe for their sauce!
Thanks for the update on the queue.
Makes me wonder, we should install a ‘live webcam’ to monitor the length of the human traffic jam at the Plaza Sing store (just like the one at the Woodlands Immigration Checkpoint).. when there’s no jam, we make a mad rush for the stall! :P
Oct 17, 2009
182
Happy for you. Enjoy the lovely chicken. :)
Oct 18, 2009
3472
Haha thanks!
Oct 19, 2009
7
The one at Tampines Mall foodcourt cost only $4.80. No queue. I had not tried the one at Plaze Sing, tried a few times at Suntec, the dish is really appetizing.
Oct 19, 2009
3472
Oops, noticed a typo in my post. Actually all 3 stalls sell the grilled chicken at $4.80. Good to hear that there’s no queue at the Tampines Mall food court. Another alternative!
Oct 22, 2009
1
If you think that the PS one is gd, you have never tried the one in NUS engine canteen. It is much better and cheaper ($3). It is simply the best.
Oct 22, 2009
3472
That’s right, I haven’t. I wouldn’t give anything to try it now. I’m just glad that my days at NUS are over :)
Thanks for sharing! I agree with you that $3 is cheap, but it also makes me wonder if the chicken is as ample as the one at PS or even Tiong Bahru.
Oct 23, 2009
137
Haha I enjoyed the cute story. The fairy tale beginning and ending suit the castle theme of your blog. Maybe you can consider doing more of these short stories now and then? It makes an interesting read from the normal food reviews.
Oct 23, 2009
3472
Haha the idea for a once-upon-a-time story just came to me out of the blue! I had some fun with blogging this review :) Good to hear that readers are so receptive of my humour/corniness.
Nov 26, 2009
5
I didn’t know the original was in PS. But I really love this stall.
And seriously, the chicken is getting smaller even since the start of 2009. For some reason I have no idea.
I might run around and try the one at PS I suppose. =)
Nov 26, 2009
3472
You don’t say. I was there last week and noticed that the chicken was distinctly smaller than before. I don’t mind it that much because the chicken is still too much for me to finish! I think the one at PS still maintains their standards and serving size. If you don’t mind the long line, you should definitely try out their Ayam Panggang. Here’s my review :)
Mar 19, 2012
1
if there anybody know the ingridient or know how to cook this ayam panggang..im also #1 fan of this..i want to learn how to cook this food..your help very appreciated..
thnx in advance..
Aug 25, 2014
1
Same here, last year i went to Singpore and also fell in love with this bbq chicken! I looking for the recipe to create the Ayam Panggang myself. If someone has the recipe please share it :)