It’s a common misnomer in Malaysia to refer to any non-roasted chicken as ‘steamed’ chicken, even though a majority of them are actually poached. While steaming involves cooking through indirect heat using steam, poaching sees the chicken being submerged in a hot water or liquid, which gently cooks the meat, retaining its juicy moistness.

Prosperity Bowl Chicken Rice Restaurant in Petaling Jaya serves up decent poached chicken rice, alongside homely dishes like blanched beansprouts, stir-fried vegetables, and noodle soups. The restaurant gets quite crowded on weekends, so if you’re headed here be sure to go early.

I visited on a weekday at an odd hour, so the place was empty and I could sit for awhile with a book and soak in the old-school atmosphere. I love the classic decor of the restaurant, from the marble-top tables and heavy wooden stools, to the blue and white floor tiles you often see in old kopitiams.

The restaurant was one of the sets for Louis Koo’s latest movie, Behind the Shadows.

While it’s nice to have variety, I find a small menu more appealing because it shows that the restaurant focuses on presenting their signature dishes well. In Prosperity Bowl’s case, this means the aforementioned poached chicken, which is served in single, double, half, or whole portions. You can opt to pair your protein with rice or noodles. Their other mains include BBQ pork (charsiew) and curry chicken, and they serve some snacks/sides like steamed beancurd and sotong porkballs.

First things first, get a cold glass of cham (tea + coffee) to cool down from the sweltering hot weather.

I ordered their chicken rice (RM13 – single portion) and a side of sotong porkballs (RM6 – 5 pieces). The rice is infused with chicken fat, giving it a yellowish sheen. The version here is not overdone, with just the right amount of fragrance and flavour without being oily.

The star of the show is, of course, the chicken. The meat is tender and very juicy, and the blend of soy sauce and sesame oil is done perfectly, accentuating the meat’s natural flavours. I do not usually enjoy poached chicken skin as it has a gelatinous consistency, but the one here is so well done that it adds texture when eaten together with the meat. The portion is quite hefty as well.

The sotong porkballs are sizable and taste okay, but it has a slightly bitter aftertaste (I presume it’s from the dried cuttlefish bits embedded within the meat). It’s still decent, but not my favourite.

Shops selling poached chicken are a dime a dozen in the Klang Valley, but finding one that serves a good version is a lot harder. I think Prosperity Bowl offers that at wallet-friendly prices in a nostalgic ambience.

PROSPERITY BOWL CHICKEN RICE RESTAURANT

19, Jalan SS 2/30, SS 2, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Opening hours: 7.30am – 8pm (daily)

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PS2:  All food expenses are out of my own pocket unless otherwise stated. Views here are my own and are based on my personal experience. They are not meant to endorse or disparage businesses in any way.