chicken chop shop hop

weeks after the oh.my.goat experience, the few of us, plus a newbie, decided to test the famed chicken chops that appear to be the province of hainanese coffee shops and cafes.
chicken chops - hainanese style - is basically fried chicken marinated in some spices and then generously slathered with brown sauce and some vegetables just boiled right and quite unlike the indian vegetarian mash and mush we get in malaysia.
that is another story altogether.
suffice to say, we were just on the chicken chop shop hop that were all within walking distance of each other in kuala lumpur.
we were deciding what would be our control drink and settled for 7-up instead of the crowd favourite kickapoo which is not as readily available as it used to be years ago.
anyway, back to chicken chops.
we met up at sin seng nam - the grand hainanese coffee shop in old market square that is also known as the vatican (why? i don't really know) famous for among others, its chicken rice and chicken chops plus a bar that used to be patronised by planters and politicians of old.
the chicken chop took some 20 minutes to make it to our table - complete with a brown sauce that had bits of carrots and onions to round off the dish.
the chop was firm and tasty - possibly from a freshly-slaughtered chicken - and was superbly marinated with five spice powder and other seasonings for a crispy meaty meal. however, the sauce was a wee too sweet for the liking but saved by the side of fries tinged with salt.
we were anticipating our next meal as we walked in the drizzle towards coliseum cafe along batu road. the grand old dame serves the chinese and western style chicken chops.
the cafe's chinese or rather hainanse style chicken chop came with brown sauce filled with chunks of onions and tomatoes while the western style had options of either black pepper, brown, mushroom or garlic sauces.
we ordered both and a round of 7-up.
the western style chicken chop was breaded and agreed well with the tasty brown sauce with its garnishing of cauliflower and broccoli but the fries was soggy and not salty.
that took 15 minutes to serve but coliseum cafe's thick crust bread and singapore cold storage butter kept hunger pangs at bay.
i thought the chinese chicken chop compared well with the western style. one has to admit, coliseum cafe knows its food.
we then left for yut kee coffee shop along campbell road (am using old road names for nostalgic reasons) and once again, 7-up made its way to the table. the coffee shop workers brought the chicken chops just seconds after the 7-up appeared, making it the fastest-serving chop shop around.
but speed did not make up for quality as the chicken tasted mangy and old although the spices and batter were quite tasty. the brown sauce was just starch with its complement of ready-packed mixed vegetables.
it was the fastest, cheapest and worst. the 7-up made up for a disappointing end to this food run.
my vote for the best chicken chops among the three went to coliseum cafe - either the chinese or western style is great!