Special thanks to Marcellus Famous Chicken Rice for extending this food review invitation.
Update: This business has ceased its operations.
Sungai Ara Food Court (新港饮食中心) is a moderate size hawker center in Sungai Ara. The 30-plus stalls here cover a wide range of local hawker food. During lunch time, the eatery is frequented by office workers from the nearby industrial zone. Meanwhile in the evening, the food court caters to local residents who live in the immediate vicinity.
One of the evening stalls is Marcellus Famous Chicken Rice (麦思乐著名传统烧腊饭). The stall’s recipe is based on the popular chicken rice stall at Pusat Makanan Dan Minuman Super Tanker, Taman Lip Sin. Marcellus’ recipe is further developed after several months of fine-tuning.
Although chicken rice is its main theme, Marcellus also serves duck and pork. Fresh meats are sourced from the adjacent wet market every morning. After being marinated for several hours, the meats are roasted and served in the same evening. Marcellus does not cut corners when it comes to food preparation. For instance, fragrant rice for chicken rice is cooked using 6 more ingredients.
Single-item rice dishes are Chicken Rice (鸡饭, RM4.50), Duck Rice (鸭肉饭, RM5.00), Roasted Pork Rice (烧肉饭, RM5.00), Barbecued Pork Rice (叉烧饭, RM5.00) and Chinese Sausage Rice (腊肠饭, RM5.00).
Adding more meat items is pretty straightforward. A rice dish with 2 and 3 items costs RM6.00 and RM7.00 respectively regardless of actual choices. Groups of 2 or 3 persons can go for combo meals for RM14.00 and RM21.00 respectively. In lieu of rice, customers can also opt for handmade egg noodle (手工全蛋面).
The stall’s Lor Bak (卤肉, RM2.20) is specially sourced from a home-based supplier. Seasoned with five-spice powder (五香粉), the roll’s sweet-savory taste is particularly appetizing.
Meanwhile, Chicken Feet (凤爪, RM3.00) are available for people who fancy such a delicacy. The feet are stewed in sweet soy sauce and are served with juicy shiitake mushrooms.
Each plate of rice comes with a bowl of Chai Boey (菜尾). This sour-spicy soup was traditionally intended to utilize leftover meats and vegetables. Today’s Chai Boey is stewed from chicken feet and Chinese mustard (芥菜).
Marcellus Famous Chicken Rice operates in the evening because there is already another chicken rice stall during lunchtime – except on Mondays when the former fills in. The proprietor also operates a hawker center in Bukit Mertajam called Restaurant House Of Food (好口福美食中心). The same chicken rice dishes are available there.
Name: Marcellus Famous Chicken Rice (麦思乐著名传统烧腊饭)
Address: Sungai Ara Food Court, Tingkat Kenari, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 012-408-1866
Business hours: 4:00pm-10:30pm (Tuesday-Sunday), 11:00am-10:30pm (Monday)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/marcellusfamouschickenrice
Coordinates: 5.31734 N, 100.26620 E
Directions: Sungai Ara Food Court is located at the intersection of Tingkat Kenari and Solok Kenari in Sungai Ara. Marcellus Famous Chicken Rice is one of the stalls inside this hawker center. There are roadside parking spaces along Tingkat Kenari and Solok Kenari.
