After visiting Griffith Observatory, I found myself hungry and near Heng Heng Chicken Rice – so that’s where I ended up. Located in East Hollywood, Heng Heng Chicken Rice is a Thai Restaurant known for its chicken rice! There is a small shared parking lot with the hotel – just ask the restaurant staff and they will give you a pass to hang on your car.
There were a lot of people ordering takeout, so we were a bit confused on whether we were supposed to order from our table or at the counter. The same questions popped up when we were ready for the check too. We ended up walking to the counter to tell them we were ready to order, and the staff told us they’ll come to us.
We wanted to try as much as we could, so we did two rice dishes plus one a la carte. They also served us a very peppery chicken soup! I liked the soup but definitely had to drink water after each sip (the water tasted good, by the way). Utensils (forks and spoons) are in a small box on the table.
Rice Dishes
Hainan Chicken Rice (dark meat) – We ordered the Hainan Chicken Rice with garlic rice. I liked the texture of the chicken, but the flavor was a bit bland without any sauce. There’s sauce on the table for you to dip your chicken in, but I would have preferred the chicken to have some more flavor without having to add sauce. The garlic rice was really good!
Zaab Crispy Over Rice – choice of Crispy Chicken or Crispy Pork Belly or Bubble Tofu with cilantro, red onions, long coriander, crispy roasted rice powder, mixed in lime juice dressing and chili. We got the Bubble Tofu with garlic rice, mild. This dish was so spicy! I was pretty shocked at how spicy it was, especially for mild. I’m usually able to handle spicy, but this spiciness was on another level. This was also a bit tangy, so overall the dish was pretty interesting. The tofu was spongey on the inside, similar to the ones you might eat during hot pot. I wonder if I would have liked it more if the tofu was a soft tofu under the crispy skin.
A La Carte
Half & Half – choose 2 choice of Poached Chicken, Crispy Chicken, or Crispy Pork Belly. Since we had already gotten the Hainan Chicken, we decided to try the Crispy Chicken and Crispy Pork Belly. The Crispy Pork Belly was the best item of the meal! These crispy items come with their own sauce. I thought the Crispy Pork Belly would look different though – the photo on the menu showed thicker slices and didn’t look as crispy on all sides. The Crispy Chicken was good, but the Crispy Pork Belly was great. I’d definitely get the Crispy Pork Belly again.
My favorite was the Crispy Pork Belly. I’m curious if I would like the Zaab Crispy more if I got it with the Crispy Pork Belly too. The menu also offers noodles, and the dry noodles sound pretty good. Overall, I’m glad I got to try this restaurant. Although it’s known for their chicken rice, if I’m craving some crispy pork belly, I’d come here!