The Wordsmith

In an obscure corner of Kuching there is a little kopitiam that sells only chicken rice. Wait, that’s not true. They do have another stall that sells something else or rather but everyone goes for the chicken rice only.

Chicken rice. It’s not really a culinary wonder. You can find it everywhere. It’s just dead chicken steamed with salt, complemented by pickled cucumber, a side-dish of belacan, ground chili paste and black soy sauce.

But then, there’s chicken rice and then there’s chicken rice.  The old masters have perfected formulae for precise temperatures, time, secret ingredients that make the meat smoother, shinier, more perfect and then some. At World Cafe, they sell CHICKEN RICE that’s really other-wordly. The meat is tender, cooked just right, the rice is just fragrant enough to titillate the nostrils but not so strong that it drowns out the meat. The belacan is pungent enough for some people to have a love-hate relationship with it but boy does it pack a zing to the tastebuds.

Here’s how I eat it: when the rice comes, I splash the entire dishlet of chilli into the rice with a good dollop of black soy sauce. Then I put one piece of chicken, de-boned on the rice and smear a pinch of belacan  on to that tantalising, scintillating, enticing piece of white mean. It’s true what they say about good food. It’s better than that other great pleasure in life…(I’ll leave your imagination to work here). Then I put that delightful spoonful into my mouth, close my eyes and have a near orgasmic moment as I swallow, and then down a spoonful of that delightful salted vegetable soup that comes with the whole deal. Good chicken rice is truly a quality  that’s the sum of all its parts. There has to be good chilli. There has to be fantastic belacan. There has to be great soup. Most of all, don’t let them stinge on the meat.

My good buddy and I used to go to World Cafe fairly often. We usually order enough for the next table to raise eyebrows.

The place is tucked in the corner of a row of shophouses behind Central Park, two doors from Caves Pub.