KUCHING: Hock King Authentic Chicken Rice will open its flagship outlet at Hock Seng Lee’s (HSL) La Promenade Mall next month.
It will be Hock King’s 13th outlet in Kuching and Bintulu, and its first full restaurant inside a mall.
Founder Nicholas Choo said the La Promenade Mall outlet will occupy a 1,400sqft on the ground floor, and have a kitchen centric interior.
“Authentic Chicken Rice is about quality of ingredients, consistency of taste and authenticity of recipe. Sometimes restaurants hide their kitchens, for La Promenade Mall diners, they’ll find the food preparation process easy to see,” Choo said.
“This outlet will have high ceilings, air conditioning, comfortable tables and chairs; it will be spacious, offer customers good service, but most importantly, the food will be good. It will be Hock King Authentic Chicken Rice standard in a restaurant environment.”
Architect Eric Jong is responsible for the interior design.
“Choo is one of the most forward-thinking entrepreneurs I’ve met. For this new outlet, not only did Choo speak about his values and diners’ comfort, but we made sure to have a properly designed food deliver window. These type of design details really matter, because it will ensure a better business and dining experience,” Jong said.
Choo founded Authentic Chicken Rice in 2006 after returning from Singapore. His aim was to take Singapore’s best practises back to his hometown. Good food, he said, need not be fancy.
“What I wanted for this brand was quality and authenticity. The basics are important — we have our signature steamed chicken, we make sure the rice is tasty and the sauces must be a stand-out. We must be able to deliver food fast. Nowadays, I’m also focussing on accessibility, making sure there is good chicken rice all over Kuching.”
Choo’s first foray outside Kuching is The Spring in Bintulu, and coming up is a new outlet in Miri.
HSL leasing manager Trish Lui said La Promenade Mall’s ground floor will be anchored by Choice Supermarket and a series of eateries, including Taiwanese cuisine, Rice King, and Black Bean & Tea Co.
A fifth floor cafe by Indah House, which presented caters only to HSL staff, will also be open to the public soon.
“If it wasn’t for unforeseen events this year, our mall would have opened by now.
Fortunately, we did not lose any food tenants over the down time. If anything, it’s given us more time to prepare. Our key attractions to tenants include HSL staff, La Promenade’s gated community residents, and commuters of the busy Kuching-Samarahan expressway,” Lui said.
A section of the mall will become HSL’s Corporate Social Responsibility area. “We’ve given special leases to charities,” Lui said. ”With all these, we’re planning for an eventful and community orientated space.”
For more info, call 013 836 5566 or search @lapromenademall on social media. Info also at hsl.com.my and @hslcn. Or visit hkauthenticjifan.com.