Bad Bird!

Hotplate Black Pepper Chicken @ Kopitiam (Rivervale Plaza)

dining-145.jpgLing needed to look for nearly a dozen water pistols for a lesson on the new week. She insisted adamantly that the pistols would be used for a “science experiment” in school, but exactly how those toy guns will fit into that exercise I’ve yet to find out. In any case, there was a toy and stationary shop at Rivervale Plaza, so that was where we hit on Friday evening last week and also for a quick dinner.

Between the two foodcourts on the second level that eye-ball each other at the Plaza, we’re pretty certain that the Kopitiam one offers noticeably cheaper fare. Which one sells better food we haven’t figured out yet though; the stuff in both are pretty mediocre so far. Still, the both of us checked out the same stall; Ling had shrimp dumpling noodles, and myself a black pepper chicken hotplate with rice. Ling’s noodles weren’t really any good, even though the asking price was a very low of $2.50. Mine was $3, and for that I got a bowl of rice, a hotplate with a sizable portion of bean sprouts and chicken meat. Great value for money; elsewhere for these portions, the set’s asking would had been at least $4.

The taste was quite a different story however. The black pepper flavour was minimal, and the chicken cooked in too watery a sauce that the pepper flavour got pretty diluted. I’m reminded of similar fare at Sembawang Hill hawker centre; and for a slightly higher asking price, you get a much better rendition of this dish.

  • Food: 5 / 10
  • Value: 4 / 5
  • Overall: 3 / 5. It’s edible stuff, just not very delicious. I had to cut it some slack though, given its very low price.