GEORGE TOWN, Jan 17 — At the mention of chicken rice, Hainanese chicken rice immediately comes to mind. The Hainanese are famous for their silky smooth chicken served on a bed of fluffy, rich and fragrant rice accompanied by chilli vinegar sauce.

While chicken rice can be found in most coffee shops, food courts and hawker centres, only a few of these proclaim they are selling Hainanese-style chicken rice as it is quite different due to the way the chicken and rice are prepared.

Hainanese chicken rice is all about tender, silky smooth chicken — be it roasted or steamed — and flavourful and rich rice which is so delicious you may be tempted to order another bowl. Sometimes, the rice itself, due to its being cooked in pure chicken stock, is good enough to eat on its own without requiring any additional sauces.

If you have a hankering for some delicious chicken rice, then the Hainanese-style chicken rice is the best bet for a satisfying meal.

These stalls usually have only two choices of chicken, steamed or roasted. The chicken is chopped into bite-size pieces, served with some soy sauce on top of sliced cucumbers and garnished with spring onions.

Over the years, some of these stalls have included other side dishes such as roast pork also known as sio bak locally, and barbecued pork or char sio. The most interesting addition would be a very typical Hokkien dish, the kiam chai boey.

Now, the kiam chai boey is a very meaningful dish steeped in culture; many households used to make it as a way to save leftover food from being thrown away during Chinese New Year. Kiam chai means salted vegetables while boey stands for leftovers which is literally how the flavourful soup is made.

The salted vegetables are actually pickled mustard greens and these are boiled in a huge pot together with chicken and roast pork leftovers and then the concoction is further enhanced with dried chillies, some nutmeg and tamarind. This results in a murky vegetable and meat soup that is salty, spicy and sour.

Many Penang ethnic Chinese grew up with the kiam chai boey and ate it at least once a year, so despite its strong flavours and pungent aroma, it is quite a favourite for many.

Other than the kiam chai boey, all chicken rice stalls usually serve the rice and chicken together with a bowl of simple clear cabbage soup and the must-have chilli vinegar sauce.

The chilli vinegar sauce is usually specially prepared by the respective stall as it is a mixture of chilli and vinegar for a sourish and slightly spicy sauce to dip the chicken into. Forget bottled sauces as this sauce has to be freshly made and usually spoils easily due to the added vinegar.

Although there are plenty of chicken rice stalls to try out, here are some lesser-known — but no less delicious — Hainanese chicken rice stalls to try out in Penang:

Golden Gate Cafe, Jalan Tun Dr Awang
GPS: 5.330616, 100.278260
Time: 11am- 3pm

This stall offers mostly roast chicken with crispy roast pork and tender barbecued pork as sides. They also have the kiam chai boey which has a clearer consistency and is mildly spicy. What sets them apart is the thick dark sauce that they ladle onto the rice generously, adding more depth of  flavour to the fragrant rice.

Chang Sern coffee shop, Burmah Road
GPS: 5.432210, 100.311280
Time: 11am-3pm

This stall offers both steamed and roast chicken, also with crispy roast pork and barbecued pork as sides. Their kiam chai boey is spicier and as with most other stalls, it contains the leftover chicken parts and plenty of kiam chai for the salty sourish taste.

Eng Thye Cafe, Chulia Street
GPS: 5.418849, 100.335399
Time: 11am-4pm

This coffee shop, occupying two shophouses, is probably one of the few typical Hainanese-style chicken rice that is quite well known. It only serves up two options, steamed chicken or roast chicken. The chicken is chopped and placed on sliced cucumbers and served with fragrant rice and a clear cabbage soup. They do not have the kiam chai boey.

Wen Chang Cafe, Cintra Street
GPS: 5.417353, 100.333224
Time: 11am-3pm

This is another typical Hainanese chicken rice stall that offers only steamed or roast chicken with clear cabbage soup and their signature fragrant rice cooked in chicken stock. Unlike other stalls, this one also offers their own lor bak as a side dish to go with the chicken rice.

Peng Yang Restaurant, Jalan Pancur
GPS: 5.394968, 100.311388
Time: 11am-3pm

This is a very little known coffee shop except by residents living nearby and the chicken rice stall offers very soft and smooth roast and steamed chicken. Their kiam chai boey is thick, savoury, spicy with lots of kiam chai to give it the salty sourish flavours that go perfectly with the rice.