Once the Ber months hit, I pretty much feast everyday. One fine October night, I was craving for Singaporean Hainanese chicken but was too lazy to cook one at home with my own recipe. I found myself at the newly opened Rice and Rooster in the Marina. Just as the name suggests, they only offer rice and different styles of Thai chicken. I opted for the classic although it didn't meet my standards, having lived and scoured the many chicken rice hawker center stalls in Singapore back in the day. The rice was missing the all-important, strong garlic and ginger combination, and I wanted the sauce trio - chili garlic, soy sauce, and ginger/garlic with sesame oil. I do have to remind myself that this is not exactly the Singaporean version that I've been used to but the Khao Man Gai, a popular street food in Thailand.

 

I was able to chat with the two co-owners, who also own Indo Restaurant, my former happy hour digs in Palo Alto. I commend them both for taking the leap (and risk) to open a chicken rice shop, which I find not so popular outside of Southeast Asia compared to, for example, peking duck, in a not-so Asian part of town. Keep it up, guys! Thank you for making a different box for me just so I can take a nicer photo on my iPhone.