Sing Swee Kee at Seah Street has opened a new outlet at HDB Hub in Toa Payoh.

Some of us will probably be familiar with the famous chicken rice balls in Malacca. There are also a few stalls in Singapore which feature them as well. I have never been a fan of chicken rice balls because they are molded by handpressing the rice which kinda makes them dry yet mushy in terms of texture.

Sing Swee Kee takes chicken rice balls one step further by deep frying them. The rice balls are shattering crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Notwithstanding the deep-frying process, the fragrance of ginger and pandan ,and umami flavours of the chicken stock are retained. It is essentially a Singaporean "aracini", Italian rice balls which are stuffed, coated with bread crumbs and deep fried. Its a good interesting way to start a meal. It's a tad dry but maybe they can stuff shredded chicken in there in the future!

As for the chicken rice, it is simple and good. The roast chicken is moist and flavourful. The rice is alright but a tad dry. I prefer my chicken rice a little more "wet" and oily.

Don't look down on hawkers k. They can also innovate and create new dishes!