Unique and spicy green chilli chicken rice near Geylang that’s worth queueing for

“Nice car! Small, just like you,” were the first words from my new Makan Kaki, private hire driver Vincent Lee as he climbed into my car. “Don’t worry, my appetite is very big,” I quipped. I was driving us to try a dish I had seen in pictures he sent me, but that I hadn't tasted before: Green Chilli Chicken Rice at Sims Vista Food Centre.

“You won't regret it,” was Vincent’s promise, as he explained his personal rule for food recommendations. “It must be nice, only then I will take a photo and share.” And share he does, frequently, in various group chats on his phone.

The avid home cook and foodie became a private hire driver when he turned 60 last March, enjoying it as “something to do” in semi-retirement. Vincent’s conversations with passengers usually centre around his favourite subject. “When I pick them up or go to a new place, I always ask ‘where's the good food here?’,” he said.

He also loves driving tourists because it’s an opportunity to steer them away from the usual cliche spots. “The first thing I'll tell them is my favorite food places. I always say go to East Coast Lagoon,” he said.

Vincent has quite the adventurous palate when playing tourist himself. The furthest he has driven for food was from Singapore to Kulai in Johor, Malaysia, to try claypot-braised crocodile paw with his golfing buddies.

Discovering Vincent is a father of six, I joked that with such a full house, driving might be his means of escape. “Oh, I’m always driving to buy food for them,” he laughed, adding: “I have only one wife! People always ask me ‘how many wives?’ when I say I have six children. Five girls, the last one is a boy.” His eldest is 34 and the youngest two (twins), are 24.

The soon-to-be grandfather confirmed that providing the best food for his family is a priority, even if it means making it from scratch at home. Fried Hokkien mee is his children’s favourite and his go-to comfort food is Teochew porridge.

“When you come to my house, you’ll have at least 10 dishes on the table,” Vincent said, rattling off a list that included braised duck, pig trotters and bean sprouts with salted fish, all of which he makes himself.

The confident cook also often whips up fried bee hoon, assam pedas and Hainanese chicken rice for frequent gatherings with friends and family.

“I'm definitely a party guy,” he declared. Indeed, fun is an almost daily affair for Vincent and his friends who gather after work for “happy hour”. He joked, “Actually, my favorite pastime is drinking beer!”

Just like Homer Simpson, I remarked. “But I don't have his tummy!” was Vincent’s quick response.

His trim figure could be attributed to his disciplined routine. Making an average of 16 trips on a busy day, Vincent begins driving at 6am with just a cup of coffee. His first and only meal of the day is usually at 10.30am, when he takes a break, before continuing from 1 to 4pm. After that, happy hour might include light snacks like nuts but “definitely no carbo”.

Sims Vista Food Centre is one of Vincent’s regular mid-morning stops, just a stone’s throw from where he grew up. “Before I got married, I stayed at Geylang Lorong 16 for 25 years,” he said, happy to be back in his old neighbourhood.

Parked and primed for our meal, we met with the “founder of Green Chilli since 1999” Mr Mustajab Ibrahim (Uncle Jab), 74. “My own invention. Others may copy but they are not the same,” he told me proudly.

He used to sell nasi lemak and various types of biryani before creating his signature dish. But on his wife’s advice, he finally decided to focus on green chilli chicken rice. Settling at Sims Vista about 10 years ago, it took a while to gain the interest of customers.

“When I started, nobody knew. They would ask me, ‘Apa? Apa?’ ('what is this' in Malay),” Uncle Jab recounted. Now, the stall sees long queues forming each day, which was what first attracted Vincent to the stall – he joined the line to see what the fuss was about. Since then, he returns at least twice a month for his fix because “the green chili is so beautiful and fragrant”.

Each signature $6 set consists of rice, a whole, bone-in chicken leg slathered in green chilli sambal, fish keropok, two carved cucumber slices, a side dollop of red chilli sambal and soup.

Uncle Jab’s daughter Suriane Mustajab, 44, has mostly taken over the running of the stall now and she told me their two types of sambal make the dish unique. It may be called green chilli chicken rice, but “the red one is extra, to complement the green one and end it off with a fiery kick”.

She was spot-on. The stall’s namesake sambal was a chunky, glistening smash of green chillies cooked down with lots of onion, sweetness balancing the fresh tang of heat. Dotted with seeds, mildly spicy and well-seasoned, it was the brighter, lighter cousin of the red chilli.

Dolloped on the side, dark and rich with umami, Vincent’s inner cook detected dried shrimp lurking in its tongue-igniting depths. He also mentioned: “They charge you 50 cents for extra, so you have to ration!”

Thankfully, the portions were generous enough and both types of chilli paired well with the crunchy fish keropok and chicken leg. According to Uncle Jab, the chicken is boiled, marinated then fried for about three minutes, but the full recipe is known only to his immediate family. “Only for my daughters and my wife,” he insisted.

Attempting to guess, Vincent and I tasted lemongrass, garlic and ginger in the chicken’s down-to-the-bone flavour. Its deep orange hue probably came from turmeric, gently spicing the succulent meat and crispy, beautifully browned skin.

I could’ve happily made a meal out of just chicken and chilli, but the rice also had delicious purpose. Its light creaminess tempered the heat and absorbed all the saucy juices.

“We use biryani rice. Then add coconut milk and carnation milk. A little bit, not too much,” Uncle Jab divulged, careful to emphasise that balance was key. Pandan, garlic, lemongrass and shallots also perfumed the fluffy yet toothsome basmati rice.

The biggest surprise for me came from the clear soup. It looked nondescript, but served a knockout surge of intense chicken flavour, bursting with aromatic herbs and spices. “Garlic, star anise, cardamom and more,” Suriane disclosed.

At the stall’s counter, the self-serve soup sits in a large warming pot for ladling into takeaway bags or disposable bowls. Take note though, there’s an order limit of eight sets per customer and the keropok is for dine-in only.

Despite these restrictions, business has boomed enough for Uncle Jab to open a branch in Batam, with plans for another Singapore location in the works.

“We are popular because our green chilli is unique, made early every morning fresh. We never keep anything overnight. You must give the best for your customers,” Uncle Jab said.

I hinted that perhaps their short opening hours, 10.30am to 1.30pm, could also be the reason for brisk business. “That’s my strategy!” came Uncle Jab’s gleeful reply.

Where Uncle Jab showed a shrewd understanding of economics, Vincent showed an appreciation for their good food and good service.

“Even when they are busy, Suriane is always smiling. Maybe it’s the cash register that’s making her smile,” he said cheekily, rating Green Chilli Chicken Rice 8.5 out of 10. Worthy of his one precious meal for the day. Taking my cue from Vincent’s rule for recommendations, that’s when I sent a photo of our meal to several group chats on my phone.

Green Chilli Chicken Rice is located at Sims Vista Market & Food Centre, 49 Sims Place, #01-09, Singapore 380049. It’s open daily 10.30am to 1.30pm. Catch Makan Kakis with Denise Tan every Thursday from 11am on Mediacorp GOLD 905.