Reban in Aman Suria brings the farm-to-table approach to PJ with air-dried, antibiotic-free ‘kulit naga’ roast chicken rice

PETALING JAYA, June 14 — Remember when farm-to-table first burst onto the scene in restaurants throughout the Klang Valley? It’s okay, me neither. 

But then it got a rebrand: now, these restaurants have “seasonal” menus; the produce is “locally sourced” and “sustainable”; and each chef somehow has a personal connection with the farm even though they’re all using the same few suppliers.

Alright, that last remark was a little unfair. You’ll encounter this mostly in fine dining restaurants, occasionally in non-fine dining, but still modern, upscale concepts, and for the most part, I think it’s a good thing. 

Malaysia is blessed with the land and weather to produce great ingredients, and it should be highlighted more. 

Up until recently, it had mostly been a niche thing, restricted to that type of restaurant and that kind of price point.

Enter Reban, a newcomer to Aman Suria, which opened in early May. The name is the Malay word for “coop”, and the restaurant has partnered with Sinisana, a chicken farm based in Ijok, Kuala Selangor, to sell — you guessed it — locally sourced chicken. 

Reban’s signature offering is its Nasi Ayam Kulit Naga (RM13.90), which features a whole chicken leg, air-dried for up to a day, then roasted to order and served with rice and chilli sauce. 

You can see the legs being hung out to dry at the front of the shop, with every bit of moisture pulled off from the tight, stretched skin.

I’ll level with you: it doesn’t really taste like the conventional chicken rice we’re used to. And that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. 

For one, this is a proper roast chicken, not a chicken showered in scalding oil. 

It sports a shatteringly crisp skin, bronzed, scaly and living up to the “dragon skin” moniker. 

The air-drying yields taut, firm flesh that remains moist while having a satisfying meaty pull. 

And perhaps the best thing that can be said about this chicken is that it truly and readily tastes like chicken, although the rice leaves much to be desired. 

Most chicken today is a texture delivery vehicle for whatever sauce or seasoning you put on it. 

The flavour has been bred and farmed out of it, optimised for fast growth and high yield. 

This has a deeper, almost gamey intensity without too much fat. If you like high-quality birds and you like your roast chicken with crispy skin and firm flesh, this ticks all the boxes.

Reban’s other offerings include Claypot Chicken Rice (RM15.90), which comes topped with chicken lap cheong, mushrooms and salted fish. 

It is a decent approximation of the dish, with a good enough balance of saltiness and sweetness to flavour the entire claypot, and although it never really develops a full layer of crispy rice, some bits did end up becoming crispy.

My main contention is that this preparation doesn’t fully show off the quality of the chicken. 

Nice chunky bits of thigh are used, but I can’t tell them apart from any other type of chicken. 

The best thing about Reban is, without a doubt, the chicken, and if you want proof, the Nasi Ayam Kulit Naga is where you’ll find it. 

Sometimes, the best argument for local sourcing doesn’t have to be a tasting menu. It can just be a chicken leg that actually tastes like one.

Reban by Sinisana Chicken Farm

C-G, 1, Jalan PJU 1/45, 

Aman Suria, Petaling Jaya.

Open daily, 11am-9pm

Tel: 014-879 1775

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

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* Follow Ethan Lau on Instagram @eatenlau for more musings on food and occasionally self-deprecating humour.