Do you know how many shapes chicken rice can take in Malaysia? As far as I know there are three with the most common one served in a semi-spherical or bowl shaped. We can all agree there’s nothing fancy about this. In Melaka, their chicken rice is available in the shape of a ping pong sized ball, which is something quite special for Northern Malaysians. Then in East Malaysia specifically Sabah in the town of Kota Kinabalu, the Hainan Chicken Rice at Wiya Coffee Restoran is served in a pyramid shape!

pyramid-rice

But before I claim pyramid shaped chicken rice is only available in KK, luckily I did some research first and found that it is also available in Singapore’s Boon Tong Kee. Phew, I saved myself from embarrassment there lol.
When KampungBoyCityGal and us went to KK, Wiya’s chicken rice was on our must-try list just because of the pyramid shaped rice alone. I honestly didn’t know it existed until we researched for the food in KK. When it comes to uniqueness, this pyramid shaped rice takes the cake. But the shape aside, the rice was nothing special really.


steamed-chicken

A single portion of Wiya’s Hainan Chicken Rice does not come cheap even for KL standards as each plate (small) costs RM5.30! I wonder why it is so expensive. Four of us shared the meal which totaled in RM21 inclusive of four drinks with the chicken rice alone costing RM11. The only reason I could think of is because of its rarity. While we were there, we hardly saw any steamed chicken rice stalls.

wiya-steamed-chicken

With expectations somewhat low (let’s face it, KK isn’t really famous for chicken rice), I found Wiya’s steamed chicken surprisingly good and quite fragrant with a bath of sesame oil. Although not as tender and succulent as those in West Malaysia, I ain’t complaining because at least the meat was fully cooked with no bloody marrows.

air-con-extra-50-cents

Oh, if you opt to have your chicken rice at the first floor, which is air-conditioned, you need to pay extra 50 cents per pax lol. When we were there the weather was scorching hot and we were sweating like mad. So we gladly forked out the 50 cents for the comfort.

air-con-seats

For me, the 50 cents paid was OK lah for the cooling environment. Plus, it was cleaner and less noisy too. This being said, I still feel the management could’ve done away with the extra charge.

wiya-chicken-rice

By the way, I just realized Wiya is spelled on the signboard but Viya on the stall lol. Anyway, Wiya is worth trying if you want to try something new but not for the purpose of tasting good and cheap chicken rice.

Wiya Coffee Restoran (味雅茶餐室)
Block F, Lot 4, Segama Complex,
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
Tel: 214378

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