Crying Fowl: Does Singapore Chicken Rice Live Up to the Hype?

“If you’re going to begin a show in Singapore, it should be in a Hawker Center—in fact, in my opinion, it should be in this [Maxwell Food Centre] hawker center—and you should probably begin with the most beloved dish in Singapore, chicken rice.” – Anthony Bourdain

“If you’re going to begin a show in Singapore, it should be in a Hawker Center—in fact, in my opinion, it should be in this [Maxwell Food Centre] hawker center—and you should probably begin with the most beloved dish in Singapore, chicken rice.”

Anthony Bourdain

Here’s a fun game: ask any Singaporean what food they miss the most whenever they go abroad and rush to eat when they first return home. Without skipping a beat and without fail, their eyes will get misty as their lips curl up into a smile and they earnestly respond as though intoning a magic spell, “chicken rice”.

As someone who has never tasted the dish, the nation’s ardent infatuation with chicken rice is perplexing to say the least. At its core, the dish is little more than some chopped boiled chicken laid atop a bed of rice. With the diversity on display in Singapore and the amazingly flavorful dining scene that goes along with it—bowls of fiery laksa, decadent south Indian thali spreads where spices are layered upon one another, tender sticks of nutty satay—why would this basic dish top the list? I get that simple food doesn’t necessarily mean boring or bland food but did I really travel half way around the world for boiled chicken with rice? Seriously?!?

Needless to say, I was extremely dubious about just how good this dish could actually be. I tried to explain away why even international foodie extraordinaire Anthony Bourdain seemed to be drinking what was sure to be insipidly-flavored kool-aid (Maybe he was jet-lagged? Or had a head cold? Or the flu? I could see how if you couldn’t really taste anything anyway or didn’t want a challenging meal, chicken rice could potentially be appealing…), but in the end I knew this wasn’t a dish I could intellectually understand. I was simply going to have to step up to the uninspiring plate and try it for myself.

Chicken + Rice = A Match Made in Heaven?

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If I was going to do this, I was determined to do it right, so we headed to our trusty Maxwell Food Centre. Though hawker stands serving up iconic chicken rice are a dime a dozen in Singapore, there is one in particular that has gained accolades that outshine the rest: Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice. In fact, if one can pinpoint the nexus of Maxwell’s fame, it does not lie simply in a blanket statement of approval for the center as a whole, but rather in this one particular stand. Believe me, the irony of this is not lost upon me.

I had read that Tian Tian rolls down its shutter on Mondays, but then promptly forgot this critical point of trivia, so of course I wound up planning Operation: Eat Chicken Rice for the one day of the week when the stall is locked up tight.

Not willing to concede defeat so easily and having psyched myself up for this quintessential Singapore eating experience, I found a neighboring stall also offering the dish. While some might think it foolish to set up a competing stall in the shadow of a giant, this is a common tactic in Asia where everything from tour companies, to hotels, to even humble chicken rice stands try to piggyback off other successful brands and poach a few of their customers. If a business flagrantly tries to fool you by adopting a similar (or even identical!) name to the original, this often signals bad news as it tries to coast by on name recognition alone. But in other cases, in an attempt to compete, these overlooked business offer an identical or superior product at a fraction of the price.

The stall I chose, Ah Tai, seemed to be doing a respectable amount of business, so I sidled up to the counter and placed my order. The owner turned from me and expertly hacked up a section of chicken and laid it on a plate piled high with a serving of sautéed greens embellished with a sprinkling of crispy shallots. Although chicken rice is generally just eaten as is—the name does, after all, make it pretty clear what the two key components to the dish are and for most Singaporeans anything in addition to that is considered superfluous—I like to get my veggies when I can. A perfect scoop of rice graced a second plate, not a grain out of place.

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As I walked back to our table, I had to admit to myself that the food actually looked good. Like, really good. The pieces of chicken were plump and glistening; they certainly looked like they would be tasty.

Although chicken rice comes served with several different condiments (most notably a fiery chili sauce that you can mix with soy sauce infused with fresh ginger), I wanted my first taste of the dish to be completely pure.

My first mouthful of chicken rice was a bit of a shock. You see, although the rice gets served up piping hot, for whatever reason, the chicken is served at room temperature. If there is anything worse than plain boiled chicken, surely it is lukewarm boiled chicken! And I say this as someone who happily eats pizza for breakfast straight out of the fridge.

That said, once I got over the disquieting sensation of a mouthful of tepid poultry and was able to focus on the taste of the dish, things improved immensely: each bite was succulent, rich, and 100% chicken. The flavor of the chicken was far more concentrated and pronounced than I had anticipated, and was even better when doctored up with the potent one-two knockout punch of soy and chili. The only thing that I wasn’t really impressed with was the rice, which I found to pretty much taste like your average plate of rice, despite being cooked in renderings from the poached chicken. Chicken rice definitely seems to be a dish that is all about subtlety of flavors, so it’s possible that my palate just simply isn’t sufficiently refined to appreciate all the delicate yet complex aspects of the rice

Giving Tian Tian a Try

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Against all odds, my first experience with chicken rice was more success than failure! Though I couldn’t imagine myself waxing rhapsodic about the dish, it was sufficiently appetizing that I decided I needed to come back and try Tian Tian and see if it was markedly better than the first iteration I had tried. Plus, it’s not like we weren’t always visiting Maxwell to stuff ourselves stupid anyway, so this decision was really no hardship and required no extra effort on my part.

Our return for Tian Tian took place on a Sunday after having wandered the streets for an hour only to find that many restaurants and stores were closed. Lucky for us, however, Maxwell does booming business every day of the week.

Before we even made it inside, we saw a long line snaking out of the building… sure enough, this was the line for Tian Tian. Apparently it’s a common practice for Singaporeans visiting hawker centers at which they don’t already have their own personal favorite stalls to simply find whichever one has the longest line and join it. I’m all for eating at places that seem popular, but given that the line for Tian Tian was at least 30 people deep, if I hadn’t already heard that it was the holy grail of chicken rice, I don’t know that I would have bothered waiting in such a long line when there were at least 100 other stalls on offer. Nevertheless, we joined the queue.

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This line goes around the corner…

We wound up waiting for about half an hour to reach the counter, which seemed fast all things considered. Of course there were a few annoying people who, despite having been in line for 30 minutes, managed to have no idea what they wanted to eat when it came time to place their orders, but once the orders were in, the speed at which plates of food were delivered was pretty astounding. Unlike the stall we had visited earlier, a one-man show, Tian Tian was like the clown car of hawker stalls with five people crammed into its tiny confines: one person to take the orders, one person to take the money, one person on chicken duty, one person on rice, one person for the dipping sauces and various other accouterments. Working with the precision of a well-oiled machine, in less than a minute after placing our order, our plate of world-famous chicken rice (accompanied with a bowl of complementary broth) was in our hands.

I’ll cut to the chase: this was a good plate of food. That’s not to say it was the best thing I have ever eaten, but the chicken was tender & moist, though I wouldn’t say it was appreciably better than the first plate of chicken we had tried. And yes, the meat was still served slightly cool to the touch. The one way in which I think Tian Tian might have outshone the previous offering was with the rice—it was light and fluffy and the faint aroma of chicken infused into every bite was much more apparent. They’ll probably kick me out of Asia for saying so, but rice doesn’t exactly make my pulse race—not even when it’s cooked in chicken stock—so while I did think this rice was a stronger showing, I cannot say that I was in ecstasies over it. This version cost slightly more than the Ah Tai plate (minus the greens), but whether slightly better rice is worth an extra 80 cents and a much longer wait is really a matter of personal preference, I suppose. I later discovered that Ah Tai is run by a former disgruntled Tian-Tian chef, so perhaps that explains why the two plates of chicken rice we tried were so closely matched.

Final Verdict

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Having tried what is purportedly the best iteration of Singapore’s most beloved dish as well as one of its competitors, here’s what I ultimately thought about chicken rice: it’s completely and totally fine. It didn’t offend me and it wasn’t as bland or tasteless as I had feared, especially when you throw the condiments into the mix.

But if I’m being completely honest, I still stand by my initially gut reaction that Singapore has so many exciting flavor-packed dishes on offer, and in comparison, chicken rice is definitely on the boring end of the spectrum. Would I like it more if the chicken were served warm (or even hot!) instead of cold? Undoubtedly, but I still think I’d find the dish somewhat uninspiring.

I have often heard that it is the simplest dishes that are the most difficult to make, which is why in most western kitchens they test out applicants by having them do a basic egg dish or maybe a soup of some kind because they don’t give chefs any places to hide weak skills. Maybe chicken rice is the Singapore equivalent of an omelet and is actually deceptively tricky to pull off. This I cannot say. All I know is that even at its very best, even appreciating the skill behind it, it wasn’t a dish I loved, nor could I ever see myself craving it unless I was sick and wanted a plate of food just marginally more adventurous than dry toast or Saltine crackers. Perhaps if I had grown up eating chicken rice I would have a nostalgic fondness for it; I can very much see how this is a perfect example of comfort food: it is undemanding, it soothes, it nourishes. However, as a late in life adopter, there are far too many other culinary home runs in Singapore for me to devote too much stomach space to what feels like the food equivalent of a bunt.

I doubt my failure to fall in love with chicken rice will ruffle too many feathers. Singaporeans are proud of their food, and rightly so, but at the end of the day, this just means there will be one fewer person in line at Tian Tian and more chicken rice for them.

Tell us: Have you ever tried Singapore chicken rice? If so, what did you think? If not, do you think this is the kind of dish you would enjoy?


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20 comments Leave a comment

  1. Uhm hell yes and I freakin love it. I ate it everyday when I was in Singapore. There is similar Thai dish (no idea what it’s called), also trés delicious!

    Oct. 28 2013 @ 4:32 pm
    1. Angela author

      You know, we didn’t really love chicken rice while we were in Singapore but we have had it a few other times in other places and I guess it has a bit of a nostalgic allure to it for us now because whenever we do order it, it makes us smile. I don’t think I could handle it every day though!

      Nov. 17 2013 @ 6:36 am
  2. I guess it’s kind of like how Americans miss burgers when they travel. Singaporeans miss chicken rice. We, too, tried it. I think I’m speaking for myself, but I could take it or leave it. There were plenty of other foods I thought were great in Singapore. We did a two-part write-up for the hawker food court as well. But, chicken rice, sure why not….maybe… But there is one thing I miss that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to have (or at least I can’t find it): haggis.

    Oct. 28 2013 @ 4:41 pm
    1. Nicole | The Wondernuts author

      Based on our Chewing the Fat series, I’d wager that Mexican food might give burgers a run for their money when it comes to the stuff Americans seem to crave the most when traveling, but I take your point. I guess one of the things that surprises me most about Singaporean’s ardent love of chicken rice is that it seems like a pretty portable dish, one that you could get—or at least, make—anywhere on the planet, but I guess there’s nothing like the food from home!

      I’ve still never tried haggis. I was too chicken when I was last in Scotland, but the next time, I’ll definitely give it a shot!

      Nov. 17 2013 @ 6:41 am
  3. This is the first I’ve heard of this ‘chicken rice’…it does sound like something that would be good and comforting if you’re sick, but not for much else 🙂

    Oct. 28 2013 @ 6:15 pm
    1. Rika | Cubicle Throwdown author

      Because we love watching food-related travel shows (like the episode of No Reservations that I quoted above) I had definitely heard of chicken rice before arriving in Singapore, but I was always dubious about it. I just didn’t see how two such boring ingredients—rice & chicken—could turn into something genius. I can’t say that I was ever entirely convinced as to its magical properties but there have been a few days since we’ve left when I’ve been feeling sick and finicky when I think a plate would have been just right!

      Nov. 17 2013 @ 6:43 am
  4. I totally agree, man. I think I ate chicken rice like a total of three times the whole time I lived there. It’s really just chicken. and rice. Come on.

    Oct. 29 2013 @ 2:30 am
    1. Edna author

      And this is why you were our perfect eating partner in crime. It really is just chicken and rice… where’s the surprise (or the fun) in that?

      Nov. 17 2013 @ 6:47 am
  5. mmmm chicken and rice

    Oct. 29 2013 @ 5:46 pm
    1. Hogga author

      Glad to hear the combination sounds good to you!

      Nov. 17 2013 @ 6:48 am
  6. I wasn’t blown away by the dish either when I went to Singapore. Like you said it was perfectly fine, but without all the extra sauces and chili I wouldn’t have liked it as much actually.

    Oct. 30 2013 @ 1:54 am
    1. TammyOnTheMove author

      Yeah, the chili dipping sauce definitely perks the dish up, but there are plenty of dishes in Singapore that are positively bursting with flavor so I would just go ahead and order those instead… no doctoring required! 😉

      Nov. 17 2013 @ 6:50 am
  7. As a Singaporean, I think this dish just speaks of home – there’s nothing elsewhere quite like it! You can put chicken and rice together on a plate, but it’s just not the same…

    I love my chicken rice – you’re right when you say it’s seemingly simple, but not many places get it perfect. Everyone has their different favourite chicken rice store depending on how they do the rice and the chicken – I personally prefer the roasted over the steam version, and my favourite is an old stalwart called Pow Sing located in the residential areas 🙂

    Great bunch of SG posts!

    Oct. 30 2013 @ 9:26 pm
    1. Jac author

      I think chicken rice really must be Singapore’s national dish because you Singaporeans are really the ones who appreciate it in a way that I just don’t think anyone else can. I’m no expert on the dish so I’m sure much of the nuance and subtleties to it are lost on me. I didn’t realize that it was acceptable for the chicken to be roasted instead of poached, but I would probably find that more to my liking!

      Nov. 17 2013 @ 7:03 am
  8. I gotta say I skipped the chicken rice when I was in Singapore. There was so much other food I wanted to eat first. Being my last stop in Asia my first priority was stuffing myself with noodly things and tropical fruit. The Indian food was amazing too!

    Oct. 30 2013 @ 9:55 pm
    1. Colleen author

      I can’t blame you for skipping the chicken rice—with limited stomach space and a finite amount of time in Singapore, tough choices have to be made. I’m really glad that we were able to spend a full two weeks in Singapore as it meant we really got to sample a wide assortment of foods. Having other eating partners in crime definitely helps as well as it allowed us to order lots of things but just have little bites… our own impromptu Asian tapas, if you will!

      Nov. 17 2013 @ 7:20 am
  9. Is this anything like khao man gai? Because we have a cart in Portland that serves it and while it’s the simplest thing in the world, the flavor is unexpectedly good. I haven’t tried to find it here in Bangkok yet. There’s too much food to try! But it sounds about the same. I’m not sure if I could do lukewarm chicken…well, I would try it, but crave it?

    Nov. 5 2013 @ 10:35 pm
    1. Carmel author

      I’d have to check our photos to be sure but I do think we dug into a plate or two of the Thai version of chicken rice while in Thailand. It was pretty much the same as what we tried in Singapore; I’m not sure if it has such a cult following in Thailand as in Singapore, but I’d imagine that the only way most Thais would like it would be if they doused it liberally with chillies! 😉

      Nov. 17 2013 @ 7:22 am
  10. Ooh I do love me some chicken rice! We swooned over an upscale version at the Raffles café and have been hooked ever since. The second best version I’ve had was in Hong Kong, which isn’t surprising considering how great the food is there in general.

    Nov. 8 2013 @ 12:18 pm
    1. Heather author

      I’d be curious to know what the upscale version of chicken rice entails, though knowing Raffles prices, I probably couldn’t afford to find out on my own…

      I’m pretty sure I inadvertently/unknowingly had a plate of chicken rice in HK, too. And as you said, it’s pretty hard to get a bad meal there, so although it wasn’t my favorite meal during our time there, it undoubtedly was pretty tasty!

      Nov. 17 2013 @ 7:25 am

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