Sky Sky Chicken Rice is Decent

Post by Chiefeater Luke Soon

You don’t come to Takashimaya’s basement food court on a chicken rice pilgrimage. You come because you’re shopping on Orchard Road, you’re hungry, and you want something familiar. Sky Sky Chicken Rice is the stall that fills that gap, and it seems to be the only chicken rice in the food court. It also has a sister stall at Picnic Food Hall in Far East Plaza, just up the road.

I went for the chicken drumstick rice, steamed, because the traditional poached version is for me the original and the real test of any chicken rice stall. At S$8 it came out properly: boneless slices laid over a mound of rice, with the drumstick itself tucked in at the back, pale smooth skin with a thin layer of jelly underneath, and a mildly sweet soy dressing pooling on the plate. Coriander, spring onion and two batons of cucumber finished it off. The chicken was moist and meaty, if not especially memorable. The rice was glossy and firm, with separate grains. The sauces came in a little two-section dish. The chilli was limey and garlicky with a touch of sweetness, and the grated ginger was on the gentle side. I spooned both straight over the chicken.

The word around town matches my plate: decent, honest, solid on the basics, and soon forgotten once you’ve had a stronger chicken rice elsewhere. Regulars at the Far East branch rate the set meal, which comes with achar, egg and soup, and it’s worth ordering if you want a fuller lunch.

In a city where everyone has their own favourite chicken rice and will argue about it over every kopi, a 6 out of 10 is a real verdict, not a polite pass. There are too many excellent plates in Singapore for a merely decent one to stand out. With poached chicken, there’s nowhere to hide: everything depends on the bird, the poaching and the rice. Sky Sky gets all three right but excels at none of them. At S$8 it’s fair for an Orchard Road food court, but you’re paying for the location and the air-conditioning as much as for the chicken. It’s a perfectly good lunch between shops. But Tiong Bahru Chicken Rice has just opened a full restaurant on the same basement level, so if chicken rice is the point of your visit, Takashimaya now gives you a choice.

Price: S$8 (steamed chicken drumstick rice)
Overall: a strong 6 out of 10

Food Village Business Hours

Open Daily
10:00 am to 09:30 pm (the stall may close a little earlier)