Hoe Kee Chicken Ball Rice in Melaka

This review is long overdue but I just saw the photos in my folder and remembered that I haven’t reviewed Hoe Kee Chicken Ball Rice in Melaka or Malacca, whichever way you want to spell it.

This is the restaurant selling the famous chicken ball rice of Melaka that everyone talks about. Be warned though that there is another restaurant calling themselves the “famous chicken ball rice” but that one actually came later.

Hoe Kee Chicken Rice restaurant was featured on tv in the series “Best Chicken Rice in Malaysia” so it might look familiar to some. It is housed in an old house in Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker’s Walk) and it can be hard to get to if you aren’t familiar with the area. I wasn’t, so we parked in an open car park a walking distance away.

The restaurant is rather quaint due to its location. It is a typical olden days Chinese house with an open air courtyard in the middle. Very interesting. Now, it is full of square tables and chairs with a queue outside. They do ask that you queue and wait to be seated as it is less chaotic that way, especially on weekends.

This is how the chicken rice ball looks. Basically, the hot rice is hand packed into balls about the size of a ping pong ball before serving. Because it is so easy to pop the rice balls into your mouth, it is easy to over eat! The rice is flavoursome as it is cooked with chicken stock. I however, found it rather less fragrant than I remembered it. The rice balls cost RM3 for 12. If they run out, or if they are very busy then they may not serve the rice in ball shapes. This is stated on a notice by the door which serves as due warning!

It is served with steamed chicken or pak cham kai. The chicken was smooth but I found it quite tasteless. A 2 person portion of chicken (without too many bones and quite a small portion) came up to RM8 which I found rather expensive.
We also ordered black bean soup (RM1) which I found too salty and a bit of a rip off and some herbal tea came up to RM1.20.

I like to drown my chicken rice with dark soy sauce and chilli. I’m told its a Southern trait but I find it yummier that way.

Overall, I’d say its nice for a novelty meal, and makes a good conversation piece if you have friends or guests visiting from outstation or overseas. Otherwise, as chicken rice goes, I think its is rather mediocre as the chicken isn’t all that tasty. The key thing going for them is the novelty of the rice balls not so much the chicken.

I wouldn’t make a trip specially to Melaka to eat this, but may consider having it if I’m passing through, and if the queue isn’t too long. On weekends, make sure you go early or don’t bother as the place is thronged with tourists at lunch time.

Pink Parisian [rating:3/5] for price

Pink Parisian [rating:3.5/5] for taste

Pink Parisian [rating:4.5/5] for novelty