The History of Hainanese Chicken Rice is the Story of Singapore

Updated: ✍13 May 2020. The humble Hainanese chicken rice is arguably Singapore's unofficial national dish, much more so than the more glamorous chili crab. Chicken rice stalls are everywhere in Singapore and standards are so high, you need to be really unlucky to hit a bad one.



Chicken rice is so deep in the Singaporean psyche that it even spawned a full length movie "Chicken Rice War" in 2000. Fifteen Twenty three years on, "Chicken Rice War" is still one of Singapore's best productions, in my humble opinion.



Singaporeans are so attached to chicken rice that we will be up in arms should any foreign country attempt to claim it 😡

Singapore chicken rice is usually referred to as Hainanese chicken rice as the Hainanese were the first people to popularise this dish here. (But, the dish has evolved much from the original Wenchang chicken of Hainan 👈 click  )

Image credit: Wikipedia

Hainan is a tropical island off China's southern coast. Most Hainanese immigrants arrived in Singapore from around the 1890s to 1920s. The majority were from Wenchang 文昌 district in the northeastern corner of Hainan island (pink colour in the map above). Today, there are about 220,000 Hainanese in Singapore.

View of North Bridge Road looking from Purvis Street in 1910. Seah Street is the side street on the left. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Most early arrivals from Hainan island settled in the Hainanese enclave around Middle Road, Purvis Street and Seah Street. Older Singaporeans refer to them as Hainan First Street, Hainan Second Street and Hainan Third Street respectively. Middle Road was also known as Haikou Road after the capital city of Hainan island.



The Hainanese brought to Singapore a hometown delicacy known as Wenchang chicken rice 文昌雞飯. Wenchang chicken rice remained in Singapore Hainanese homes as a dish for special occasions until around the 1940s. After the Second World War ended in 1945, economic hardship forced many people to become street hawkers.

Street Hawkers in 1930s Singapore. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

The first chicken rice vendor was Mr Wong Yi Guan 王义元 who in the 1940s peddled his Hainanese chicken in the Hainanese enclave with two baskets slung on a bamboo pole across his shoulders (mainly along Middle Road). He later moved into a coffee shop along Purvis Street thus starting Singapore's first Hainanese chicken rice stall.

Mr Wong's stall was known as "Commie Chicken 共產雞" and he had the nickname "Uncle Commie 共產叔". But, Mr Wong was no communist - he got this reputation because he would generously give away any unsold chicken rice to his neighbours. Uncle Commie was also a gambler, and if he had a lucky hand on that day, he would close his stall early and gave away his chicken.

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Chicken offering at temple altar in 1980s Singapore. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Chicken was a luxury then and most people ate it only during major festivals like Chinese New Year. (Even in the 1970s, I ate chicken just once or twice a year and only because it is a food offering during major festivals.)

Swee Kee in 1950. This is such a precious photo for chicken rice lovers. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Mr Wong's apprentice Moh Lee Twee (alias Mok Fu Swee / Moh Lei Swee) 莫履瑞 opened Swee Kee Chicken Rice 瑞記 at Middle Road in 1949. Swee Kee kept live chicken in cages behind the restaurant. Their chicken were always fresh and beautifully done. Swee Kee was the most famous Hainanese chicken rice restaurant of the early years and responsible for popularising the dish in Singapore. 

Swee Kee in 1990. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Swee Kee of Singapore closed for renovation in 1997 but never re-opened. It was a sad event in Singapore food history.

Click photo for Swee Kee story ^

Swee Kee's former workers reopened Swee Kee in Senai, Johor where it still operates today (Oct 2015 May 2020 13 May 2023 21 Oct 2024). The shop in Senai still use the Swee Kee brand name with the previous owner's permission. 

(There are more than a few unrelated chicken rice restaurants and stalls operating in Singapore using Swee Kee's good name.)

There were plans by Mok Fu Swee 莫履瑞's son Moh Tai Tong 莫泰錩 to bring back their Malaysian cousin from Senai to restart Swee Kee in 2016 but it never come to fruition.

Click photo for Yet Con story ^

Yet Con Restaurant 逸群鸡饭 along Purvis Street also founded in the 1940s (like Swee Kee) was once the oldest surviving pioneer chicken rice shop in Singapore but it closed in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Yet Con and Swee Kee (in Senai, Johor) are probably as close to the original Swee Kee style of chicken rice as one can get in Singapore or Johor today.

Chicken with more bite New Nation, 17 March 1978, Page 10 / 11

Not all chicken rice lovers today will automatically like the chicken served at Yet Con and Swee Kee (in Senai). Many felt that their chicken is not tender enough and not juicy enough. Most Singaporeans would also not like Wen Chang chicken in Hainan Island as the bird would be fibrous and chewy compared to Singapore style chicken rice.

Singapore is also home to other Chinese clans such as the Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew and Hakka. Around the 1960s, the Cantonese also started selling chicken rice in Singapore.

The Cantonese use two techniques that result in more juicy and tender chicken. The chicken is poached in 90°C (sub-100°C) chicken stock (or water), so the chicken meat is more tender. The poached chicken is also immediately dunked in a tub of ice and water which results in smooth, slightly springy skin and a layer of congealed fat between the skin and flesh.

The chicken is served at room (ambient) temperature to retain its textures, juices and flavours at their best.



I like chicken that relies on its natural flavours for taste. Several chicken rice stall owners told me that they use chicken of at least 2 kilo per bird for their better flavour.

The chicken meat texture must be tender but cooked through i.e. no rare crimson blood. The juicy pieces of chicken should feel slippery smooth in the mouth (爽滑 as the Cantonese say).

Over the years, the chicken rice in Singapore gradually evolved from the original Wenchang chicken rice to a unique Singapore style of chicken rice. Singapore chicken rice popularised by the Hainanese is now influenced by Cantonese techniques. It also uses local ingredients such as extra spicy hot chili padi (which are not used in the original Wenchang chicken rice in Hainan). The rice in Singapore is flavoured with lemongrass and pandan leaves among other aromatics such as fried shallots and ginger.



Whether served deboned or with bone in, chopping skill 刀功 is crucial for good chicken rice. I like my chicken chopped in bold large chunks as most of the juices remain in the flesh (and not leaked away when sliced into skinny slivers).

In Singapore, stalls often serve their chicken deboned or at least offer this option. Wenchang chicken in Hainan is always served with bone. I also prefer my chicken with bone for extra flavour.

 SGT Kiang

Serving boneless chicken with chicken rice was the innovation of the team at Chatterbox cafe in Mandarin Hotel Singapore. In 1971, the team of Executive Chef Gunter Peter Gehrmann (from Germany) was instructed to introduce hawker dishes into the cafe. SGT Kiang proposed Hainanese chicken rice which chef Gehrmann accepted.

Knowing that Western and Japanese guests which were then the Mandarin's main clientele weren't used to eating chicken with bone, SGT Kiang served the chicken boneless. The chicken rice at Mandarin Hotel had the reputation of being the most expensive chicken rice in Singapore, but it was a roaring success and responsible for putting Singapore's Hainanese chicken on the world map in the 1970s. To this day, the chicken rice at Chatterbox is still on the bucket list of tourists.



Whereas Wenchang chicken is never bathed with dressing sauce, Hainanese chicken in Singapore is bathed with a dressing sauce just before serving. The sauce is made with a blend of light soy sauce, sesame oil, fried shallot oil and a dash of Chinese cooking wine 花雕酒. Of course, there are many variations such as adding oyster sauce and every stall have their own special secret blend.

For example, at Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, arguably the most famous chicken rice stall in the world, the best thing in their dish today, in my opinion is their full bodied special sauce with layers of robust savoury flavours.

How did Tian Tian become the most famous Hainanese chicken rice stall in the world? For that you have to read about the history of Maxwell Food Centre, the headquarters of chicken rice in Singapore 👈 click

Besides the chicken, the rice is of course the other key element in Singapore chicken rice. Good chicken rice is aromatic with chicken flavour and subtle spice aromas. The tender fluffy rice which separate easily into individual grains are coated with a thin film of chicken fat which gives it a yellowish sheen and delightful savoury taste.

In Wenchang (Hainan), the chicken is eaten with a flavourful rice. It is made by frying garlic and ginger with chicken oil to release their flavours. Raw rice grains are then fried in this aromatic oil blend and then cooked with chicken stock.

In Singapore, they upped the game with aromatic lemongrass and pandan leaf (screw pine) which are abundant in Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore chicken rice is made with Thai fragrant rice whereas in Wenchang it is make with starchy local rice.



Singapore chicken rice cooked with chicken fat, chicken stock and spiced with pandan leaves, ginger, lemongrass, shallots, garlic and salt is so wonderfully rich in flavours and aromas that Anthony Bourdain said (in 2008) that the rice can be eaten and enjoyed on its own, all by itself.



When Singapore's first chicken rice seller "Uncle Commie" (Mr Wong Yi Guan) sold chicken rice slung across his shoulders, the rice was in the form of hand kneaded balls. Now in 2020, no chicken rice stalls in Singapore serve chicken rice balls anymore.

The last two traditional stalls in Singapore that sold chicken rice balls, were "Hainan Chicken Rice Ball" in Jalan Besar and "Good Year Local Chicken Rice Ball" in Toa Payoh. Both have closed recently.

(Today, a handful of restaurants serve chicken rice ball as an option along with rice on plate with fork and spoon which is the main way of eating chicken rice nowadays.) 

The chili dip is another crucial part of good chicken rice. Good chili dip has a layered kind from spiciness with a sharp sting from chili padi, a gentler kick from red chili peppers and mild spicy notes from ginger and garlic. A little fresh lime juice and white vinegar add citrusy tanginess for refreshing perkiness. The chicken stock and chicken oil balance and complete the rather complex sauce. (I personally prefer my chili dip without vinegar.)



Chicken rice is also eaten with roughly grated ginger and spring onion dressed with rendered chicken oil known as 姜茸 (薑蓉) in Cantonese.

A savoury sweet syrupy dark soy sauce is often drizzled over the rice. I like to do that 😄



Traditionally, a small bowl of chicken soup is part of a serving of chicken rice. The best chicken soup are made by boiling old hens, chicken feet, offal and cabbage (for sweetness). Nowadays, more and more chicken rice stalls dispense with the soup which I personally feel is missing something.

After decades of evolution and even though today's Singapore chicken rice is different from the original in Wenchang (Hainan), the dish is still referred to as Hainanese chicken rice.



This video sums up the history of Singapore through the story of Good Year Local Chicken Rice Ball 庆豐年海南鸡饭团.

On a separate note, in Kuala Lumpur around 1938, Nam Heong coffee shop ran by three Hainanese pals introduced Hainanese chicken rice in their menu. Nam Heong chicken rice is still around today, acquired by the Esquire Kitchen group of restaurants in 2012. Here is my experience at Nam Heong in 2018 👈 click

Click photo to view my favourite chicken rice ^

Some of the chicken rice stalls that I like best in Singapore and Johor (Malaysia).

Click photo for full Singapore listing ^

My full listing of Singapore chicken rice.

Click photo for full Johor listing ^

My full listing of chicken rice stalls in Johor (Malaysia).

Click photo for Thai chicken rice ^

Hainanese chicken rice in Thailand.

Do bookmark this page as I will update this post on Singapore's top food icon regularly with new good chicken rice finds.

What is the difference between Hainanese chicken rice in Singapore and in Hainan? 👈 click

I spent 10 days in the Chang village in Wenchang to understand Wenchang chicken rice 👈 click

Please share with us your favourite chicken rice stall and chicken rice memories in the comments below 😄

Date: 24 Oct 2015
Updated: 13 May 2020

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