Green Zone in San Gabriel

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love chicken rice. When I was a kid, my mom predicted that I would marry a chicken rice hawker. The last time I was in Singapore, I had chicken rice 7 times in 6 days. I've scoured the Southland--from L.A. to Riverside--for a good chicken rice place. Unfortunately, I've been disappointed every single time. Naturally, I was skeptical when my friend Michelle told me about an organic chicken rice restaurant in San Gabriel. However, after testing Chubby Hubby's recipe a dozen times, I've realized that fresh, free-range chicken makes the best Hainanese chicken. The Green Zone sounded like it's on the right track, and Yelp gave it a pretty high rating.

The fried tofu skin-wrapped prawn was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. It had great texture but overall a pretty ordinary dish.

I was concerned when I first read the menu, which described it as lemongrass rice with chicken. Last time I checked, there's no lemongrass in authentic chicken rice. But I was pleased when I request dark meat, and the waiter replied that they only serve dark meat. The verdict? It was actually pretty decent. The chicken was tender, and the rice was not gummy. Plus they served it with the sweet dark soy sauce, a rarity in the U.S. The bad: The chili sauce was a total miss, and there's no gelatinous chicken skin in sight. I'm not sure if it's worth the long trek out here, but I might be back someday.

Green Zone

534 E Valley Blvd

Ste 4 & 5

San Gabriel, CA 91776

(626) 288-9300

www.greenzonerestaurant.com