Go-Ang Pratunam @ JEM

I decided to try this branch of the famous Go-Ang Pratunam Thai chicken rice in JEM, because all the rest of the restaurants were all packed.

I didn’t have a chance to eat at their Cross Street branch when they first forayed into the Singapore chicken rice scene. But it was always packed during lunch time during the initial period. And then the fervour died down, and it was very quiet. Not easy for a newcomer when you have many good chicken rice stalls selling at a fraction of the price.

We started with a soup, as the meal didn’t come with a complimentary chicken stock soup. A harmonious blend of savoury and bitter notes, bitter melon chicken soup was perfect for a comforting start to the meal.

If you cannot decided which version of chicken to order, there are platters to enjoy the best of both world. The steamed and roast chicken platter had a generous portion of the both style of chicken to be shared by the three of us. There’s another choice of deep fried chicken cutlet, which is one of their best seller in Bangkok. The chickens were cooked thoroughly, which was something not familiar with chicken rice lovers in SIngapore. There was not “jelly” between the skin of the steamed chicken, and the roast chicken was soggy from the sauce.

Not exactly foie gras, but I grew up eating chicken livers with my chicken rice. Theirs came with chicken hearts as well. Both were boiled to death, so I would skip this next time.

The boiled chicken gizzard is something I like with my chicken rice as well. The crunch complimented the rest for the food in terms of texture.

Besides the poached chicken, their Thai-style fragrant chicken rice is also a star on its own. Not as oily as the local version, I find the flavour lacks a punch. And the chilli was the Thai-style chilli, which is sweeter and not as garlicky.

For those familiar with their shop in Bangkok, you would know that a couple of things were missing in Singapore. One was the chicken blood jelly, which our EVA still refused import. And then there’s the chicken soup, which was complimentary and packed a lot of flavours from all the poaching of the chicken. Two main reasons I would not go again. The rice was not as fragrant as the ones in Singapore. The chilli sauce was also something that one cannot excuse from the local version.

Go-Ang Pratunam Chicken Rice 紅大哥水门鸡饭 @ JEM #B1-08

Visited Feb 2024

Michelin Bangkok Guide Bib Gourmand 2018-2023

PS: here’s the order from the Michelin store when I was in Bangkok. It was Covid period, and I had to takeaway back to the hotel room. Don’t go to the wrong one, there are so many pretenders around this shop, all wearing the famous pink T-shirts. And then there’s the green T-shirts that is equally popular, which I think they are nicer. But that’s for another day.

I didn’t have saucers to hold the condiments so I just drizzled them across the meat. As I don’t speak Thai, I could not ask for the dark meat. If you like breast meat, then this is good.

This is their famous fried chicken. The crust had lots of flavours from the mix of spices. Thigh cutlet was used and so it was a much better eat. Note the chicken blood jelly that came standard with every order.

One cannot come to Thailand and not order their baby kailan. But somehow it tasted quite “old”. Should have stuck to sautéed morning glory instead.

The chicken rice in Thailand or Khao Man Gai (ข้าวมันไก่) is much less oily than the ones in Singapore and therefore does not pack as much flavours and satisfaction. But also it is much healthier. Just look at how much slimmer most Thai people are.

Go-Ang Chicken Rice Pratunam โกอ่างข้าวมันไก่ประตูน้ำ
962 Phetchaburi Rd, Makkasan, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400, Thailand

Visited Jul 2023