Restoran Choon Yien — Restaurant in Petaling Jaya

Having last lived in Singapore for 3++ decades, but now in PJ, we have not found any chicken rice and roasted meats in Malaysia that rivals Singapore's. After watching YouTube videos that touted Choon Yien's chicken rice and roasted meats to be one of the best in PJ, we decided to give it a shot. Sadly, we were once again disappointed, although the roasted meats at Choon Yien were notches above others that we had tried in Selangor and KL.

Arrived 10.30am to beat the crowd, but there was already a healthy small queue at the roasted meats stall--mostly families. 😂 In a messed up sort of way, we hoped to be met and trounced by the arrogant, rude owner and his maître d' that most reviewers alluded to, but we were welcomed with open arms. Quite the opposite, the owner and his maître d' were extremely nice and polite. 😂

Seated in 5mins, the food we ordered was served 15mins later. By the time we finished, the entire kopitiam was packed with screaming parents and grandparents losing control of their rowdy, rebellious children screeching their bobbing heads off. 😂 The queue had since grown quite long.

Roasted chicken was what roasted chicken should be. Char siew was better roasted with charred bits compared to others, but an arm's length sweeter than most. Crispy pork's rind was nicely crisped, and the meat juicy.

Although the chicken rice (?) was fragrant and well-seasoned, the quality of the rice used ruined it. Thai jasmine rice would have been a better choice.

Chilli sauce condiment was just average, not the worst.

The chicken soup, laced with bits of Chinese watercress, was extremely tasty, signifying the use of copious amount of MSG. 🤔

Paid RM 29 for a 2-person meal. Not sure if it was cheap or expensive by Malaysian-standard.

Feeling sorry for the neighbouring noodle stall that had hardly any business, we ordered a bowl of curry laksa. Adorned with a selection of Kampar-style fish cakes, tau pok and pork rind, the piping-hot curry laksa was surprisingly quite good. 👍 Noodles were cooked just right. The broth was light, with just the right medley of curry powder and coconut milk, and packed with umami, unlike others we had tried in PJ and KL. 😋😘

Now that we had experienced Choon Yien's chicken rice and roasted meats, it is unlikely that we will purposefully return. 🥴 We could get equally fine chicken rice and roasted meats elsewhere. However, for the neighbouring stall's curry laksa, we will definitely return for more, when we crave for it. 😁

Our search for good chicken rice, and roasted meats in Selangor and KL...

This long time restaurant is located at the ground floor of a residential block in PJ. Be aware that their signboard Choon Yien is no longer there but I can confirm that the stall is still managed by the original owner.

We ordered double roast meat, quarter chicken and a plate of Choy Sum. Chicken soup was complimentary with option for refill. Total damage was RM33 for two persons including drinks.

First off is the roast chicken. The skin was legit paper crispy and the meat very tender and juicy. Paired with the chilli sauce, I must say it’s one of the better roast chicken I’ve had in years.

The crackling of their roast pork was crispy but not as much as the one I had in Pudu recently. However they got the fatty lean meat ratio correct.

Char Siew (BBQ pork) was a tad too fatty for my liking. But according to my KL friend, the locals prefer to have it more fatty than lean. Sigh. It’s great to be young and have no fear.

Choy sum was sweet and crunchy. Fresh to the max and blanched quickly, served with a dash of oyster sauce and fried garlic bits. Good but nothing to get very excited about.

It was the chicken soup that finally impressed me. Legit from the blanching of chickens, most places would simply give you a bowl of soup but here they have added chicken feet and water cress. You get the sweetness from the veg and umami from the meat.

All in all, one of the better places for roast meat in PJ. Be warned that parking is a nightmare here due to the limited lots that were originally meant for residents but with the addition of cafes on the ground floor of all these residential blocks, the lunch crowd will even have to resort to double parking here and create a nuisance for the residents. My advice is to take a Grab there or come very early...

This nondescript little restaurant has probably one of the more famous chicken rice shops in the whole of PJ. People flock to eat here as early at 10:30am, just a half hour after it's opening time at 10 o'clock.

Parking here is available, if you're lucky and early enough. Otherwise, you're in for a good time going round and round searching for parking. A quick tip for you - if you're coming during lunch time, try and park at the roadside outside Happy Mansion, closer to the school. You'll probably find a row of cars there also parked while waiting for school to finish.

The chicken and roasted meats here are all good. The highlight is of course the roasted chicken. It's much lighter in colour than other chicken rice shops, but the skin of the chicken is super crispy. Same goes for the roast pork as well. Another ingredient that sets it apart from the others is the liberal use of deep fried garlic that's sprinkled on top of the roasted chicken. You can actually request for additional garlic (I done this many times) in a separate bowl to add on.

The food sells out very quickly. In fact, during my last visit, everything was sold out by 1:15pm.

Prices have gone up considerably since the old days. Inflation rears its ugly head again, I suppose. But it's still reasonably priced for...