Way back when Darwin Foodies was first launched in April this year I reviewed Roast and Noodles in Anthony Plaza Arcade, The Mall. These guys do the best Chinese roast pork belly in all the Top End if you ask me. 99.99% of the time I’ll get the roast pork when getting my lunch fix from there as it is always so porkin’ hard to resist. On the weekend was the other 0.01% – I thought it was about time I tried the steamed chicken and rice for the sake of foodie journalism.

With the combo meal deal you get either a steamed breast or thigh, bok choy, plain rice with soy sauce dressing, chicken and sweet corn soup plus a can of soft drink for 12 bucks something. Decent value.

The tender and juicy steamed chicken you can eat with a healthy conscience (minus the skin) and there is enough rice on the plate to meet your carbohydrate quota for the week. I do believe you get a lot more rice when dining in as opposed to take-away, which is probably why the tables are all filled every lunch time.

Whilst the chicken is delicious, the soup is nothing special. It's more like corn flour water with a few bits of creamed corn and its sole purpose is to wash down all that chicken and rice. It's practically a freebie anyway so I won't complain too much.

This dish is not the same as the one from Rendezvouz Café but I think they're similar enough to warrant a comparison. I'd have to say that the chicken here is not as good as the one from Rendezvous, who poach their chicken resulting in super juiciness and extra flavour, but value wise Roast and Noodles is a little bit better. They've also got super fast service going for them too, the guy behind the counter wielding the giant meat cleaver is an absolute machine.

The other place where I've had nice chicken rice is K-Tong in Casuarina, I'll have to stop by for a Darwin Foodies report the next time I'm there to see if it can compare to the two offerings already mentioned. I should also use this opportunity to mention the roast duck at Roast and Noodles, which my partner and I agree is reeeeally good. Full of flavour, tender and doesn't have any of that duck smell. We sometimes buy a whole one and take it to her parents house later on for dinner and claim some brownie points at the same time.

Friday is not far away and I'm out of ham and cheese supplies for lunch, maybe I'll treat myself and stop by for some roast pork – I'm salivating already.