After seeing a review on Urbanspoon about the chicken rice at this seemingly unknown place (to me at least), I decided to pull the folks to venture out into this little Chinese restaurant found in Bedford (silly me didn’t even know that this suburb existed!). Some distance after Mt Lawley, this place could be missed if you’re not really looking out for it since it is nestled along a row of shops. The way to look out for it is to spot the IGA Bedford, and park at the carpark just outside IGA… and take about a 20s walk to the restaurant.
Unassuming, this place is not too big, and one should note that they open for lunch only on Saturday and Sunday.
Needless to say, we were here to try their chicken rice, and try the chicken rice we did! We wanted to try a little variety so on this occasion we tried:
- Chicken Rice (one steamed, one roasted)
- Hokkien Noodles
When we turned to the dessert page, we were amazed to see that there was a very much missed Malaysian/Singaporean dessert that we haven’t seen served in shops before… Bubur Chacha! With a base of coconut milk, and cooked with sweet potato, tapioca and taro (yam) typically, this can be served hot or cold. At Hoi Bo, they do theirs cold.
So for dessert, we had…
- Bubur Chacha
Before the mains came, we were served a big bowl of soup, which had salted vegetables, tomatoes and pieces of meat. It had been a while since I went to a restaurant where they served complimentary soup, so this was certainly a lovely surprise.
The soup was so tasty it was addictive! I didn’t have too much because I didn’t want to ruin the appetite for that chicken rice.
The chicken rice soon arrived with the hokkien noodles and we started digging in.
The hokkien noodles were nice and wet (the way it should be for that particular style they were trying to achieve). It had a good taste to it, not too salty but sufficiently tasty to make you want more. I wouldn’t mind ordering it again at some point…
And that point would be when I can get over the habit of ordering their steamed chicken rice everytime I go there now. With a generous serve of rice each time, and the same tasty chicken goodness, it is hard not to break that habit. The rice is by far the best tasting chicken rice I have had around Perth, beating the popular haunts such as Tak Chee and Ten Ten in my book. The chicken, is tender, tastes authentic, but would have to put up a good fight with the other aforementioned contenders.
The roasted chicken is nice and tasty but I’m personally not a fan of it, though the father certainly is.
Dessert was a sheer delight. Not having seen bubur chacha in Perth so far, we were excited to try this, and were happy with the outcome. Having a more diluted base than what we’re used to back in our hometown, this was still a good way to bring back the good ol’ memories. I would have liked the pieces of sweet potato and taro (yam) to be bigger so that you can bite into it, but this was certainly an acceptable way to end the meal.
Service here is swift and adequately friendly.
Hoi Bo is the new Chicken Rice haven for me.
Rating: 3.7 out of 5 stars
Rating by: S.T. a.k.a Miss Egg
Hoi Bo Chinese Restaurant
Telephone: (08) 9371 2525
Address: 180a Grand Promenade, Bedford
Nice. What is their chilli like for the chicken rice? Do they have garlic/ginger chilli to go with it??
Most places don’t have the typical chilli they have with chicken rice like they do in Singapore.
If they do I will be there in a jiffy
Hello there :)
I forgot to talk about the chilli!
The chilli is not quite like the ones we get in Singapore where they have the ginger and black soy to go with, but it is acceptable. I think it beats the chilli sauce of Ten Ten and is almost on par with that of Tak Chee.
To get the chilli just like how they serve in Singapore, then Old Cathay would be the place to go, though I think the rice at Hoi Bo (assuming you like soft textured rice) is still the winner.
hope that helps!
Miss Egg