Yet Con Restaurant & Their Famous Chicken Rice (逸群鸡饭) @ 25 Purvis Street [Near Raffles Hotel]

Yet Con - honestly, the first thought that came to mind was whether this would be a Vietnamese restaurant although the display of yellow-skinned steamed chicken was testimony that this place serves one out of a few national dishes in Singapore; chicken rice!

With a history spanning close to seventy-five years and its unabashedly claim as "famous chicken rice", i chanced upon this eatery in 2012 when i had a satisfying meal at its opposite neighbour (Saveur) and was quite charmed by its stuck-in-past presence! 

Only the existence of air-conditioning reminded us that we were not brought back to the past when most coffee shops have similar setup. I didn't quite dare to take pictures of the counter (the old man manning it did appear a bit threatening) where there was an ancient looking box!

Anyway, here's the food (with free flow chilli and garlic)! 

Rice

Served in a bowl, it did give off an impression that this would be good. Sadly, it wasn't the case and there was none of that chicken rice fragrance that often makes it irresistible not to order a second helping. 

Kailan in Oyster Sauce

Pretty good crunch even though i didn't have great expectation for this normal dish which wasn't that hard to master to begin with. Having said that, i think i can still make a mess out of it if i am the one cooking!

Braised Tofu

I was anticipating tofu dressed in a different form; the star wasn't so much the tofu. I actually preferred the vegetables that were served in a saucy concoction similar to the type of mui fan my mom used to prepare for us! 

Sweet and Sour Pork

Once again, normal!!! Wait, on second thought, i think i didn't really like it. I like my gu la rou to have a crunchier texture yet oozing with fattening juice when you sink your teeth in. This was a bit too soft for my liking and i can pick up subtle traces of that porky taste. 

Chicken 

One word - oily! Texture of the chicken meat can be compared to Tian Tian chicken rice but it lost in the category of flavour which simply wasn't as tasty as Tian Tian. Another thing i took issue with were the reddish, bloody parts near the bones.

I like my chicken fully cooked. 

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Location

25 Purvis Street [Near Raffles Hotel]

Price

The old school, handwritten receipt didn't have itemised pricing even though it might help to note that we paid around S$55 for the above, inclusive of five bowls of rice and five drinks (4 barley, 1 lime juice).

Menu

As above! Many people were having the steamboat!