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Because I grew up in Queenstown, driving centre to be exact, the Margaret Drive food centre (Tah Chung departmental store) is very familiar to me and also the stalls in the hawker centre. When the food centre was torn down Sin Kee Famous Chicken Rice was split into two or rather 3 where a son Niven opened a stall at Alexandra Village known as Uncle Chicken Rice. Father, Mr Leong with another son Benson started a new stall at Meiling Market, then there is the 3rd, a renegade group which is formed by some of their workers opened an aircon shop at the old Commonwealth Avenue round roof market -
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I should not call this renegade group "not original" because come on they we are from that original group with the owner Mr. Leong right? Its just that they used the same name and passed off as the owner thats all. I visited this joint a few times I have to say the taste of the rice is a little different, less fragrant. During my visits I did ask them where is Mr. Leong they simply said they don't know so I suspected something is going on. When I found father and son team opened at Meiling I started going there and stopped visiting the one at Commonwealth Avenue market. I also asked Benson what's with the Commonwealth branch he simply said they are not related.
So father and son were running the Meiling market stall for a while. It was also while there the Senior Leong passed away. Benson was running the show then.
One day, abruptly this Meiling stall closed. Yes no one know why, it simply closed without any sign or notice, it simply closed. I asked my friend owner of the famous fishball noodle also from Margaret Drive he told me everyone in the market also puzzled no one know what happened. After sometime I forgot how long maybe a year or more there was news that Benson had teamed up with brother Niven opening a stall somewhere in the east I believe Changi road. I did not visit.
Now let's talk about the renegade group by the workers. While Meiling stall was suddenly closed, the government took the Commonwealth Market back and and so the renegade group moved to 44 Holland Drive market, by the way this stall is still there now, it sells wanton noodle too. Also at the same time you started to see Sin Kee in many places even in Suntec/Millenia.
As sudden as Sin Kee in Meiling close one day Benson was found in Block 40 Holland Drive and he has been there till now.
As for the rest all I can say is they are not from the Leong family.
By the way the stall abandon by Benson had recently opened by the renegade group again calling themselves Sin Kee occupying the original 2 side by side stalls but this time one stall is selling chicken rice while another stall is selling fried chicken wings and fried beehoon and now they are passing off themselves as the 16 storey (十六楼) famolud fried chicken wings, seems like they are off to no good.
spot on, i was an old friend of the senior Mr Leong,
they always use big and fat chickens so that there is lots of 'jelly' when the chickens are properly cooked....
nowadays the sons could not replicate the father's skill 100% not because they are not capable, its because, chickens are slaughtered in slaughter houses and chilled for at least half a day before being sent to the hawkers.....
40 years back, the chickens are freshly slaughtered in the wet markets and reach the hawkers within a few hours...thats why
btw, there was a very nice char kway tiaw stall with lots of cockles on the ground floor of margaret drive, any idea where is it now?
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