Father of Singapore Chicken Rice • Uncle Commie Wong Yi Guan 共产鸡饭王义元 • 新加坡鸡饭之父

Today, chicken rice stalls and even restaurants are ubiquitous in Singapore. Most coffee shops have at least one chicken rice stall, and hawker centres often have two or even more.

At Maxwell Food Centre, there are always more than five or six chicken rice stalls.

How did this chicken rice craze start in Singapore?

Wong Yi Guan 王义元 was Singapore's first chicken rice seller. He is the Father of Singapore chicken rice.

王义元 was born in 海南琼海 Qionghai county in Hainan Island in the 1890s.

At that time, China was in very bad shape. The Qing dynasty had finally fallen in 1912 under the weight of famine, rebellion, foreign invasions, and its own corruption and incompetence. The Republic of China was proclaimed but the country fell into an anarchic state of warlordism. The Kuomintang and Communist Party were locked in a fight to the death.

For decades, impoverished men from southern China provinces of Guangdong and Fujian hopped onto boats to Nanyang (British Malaya, Dutch Indies, etc) looking for a better life for themselves (and for people back in the homeland).

Wong Yi Guan arrived in Singapore in the 1930s from Qionghai via the port of Haikou (capital city of Hainan).

Wong Yi Guan and his Hainanese compatriots were very late comers to the party. Some Chinese such as the Teochews had established themselves as gambier planters in Singapore even before Stamford Raffles' arrival in 1819. When Ong Yi Guan arrived, the Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese and Hakka were already well set up and entrenched in the most lucrative trades.

1930s was also not a good time to arrive in Singapore. At that time, jobs were hard to come by for all in Singapore - the world economy was depressed and the drums of war were beating louder and louder. Japan invaded China in 1937. World War II was declared in 1939. Singapore would surrender to Japan in 1942.

For the Hainanese, coveted jobs were cook boys at the homes of colonial officials, wealthy traders (often Peranakan), British military bases and onboard naval and merchant ships.

Of those who couldn't even land such "plump" jobs, some became street hawkers - the bottommost feeders of the food chain.

王义元 Wong Yi Guan was one of them. Street hawkers carried their pantry, kitchen and the sink all in two containers or baskets slung across their shoulders. With these, they plied the streets looking for customers.

What did they sell?

Whatever that might attract customers and make some cash for sustenance and existence. In the Hainanese enclave of Beach Road, Middle Road, Seah Street and Purvis Street, Hainanese comfort dishes stood a better chance.

王义元 chose to sell Hainanese chicken rice, a hometown dish he knew well. It's a dish Hainanese families cook at home in Hainan Island even today.

Wong Yi Guan served the rice in the form of rice balls held together with grease rendered from chicken fat. This was the way it was done in Wong's hometown. The ladies would pack the chicken rice balls for the men working in the fields or hills who carried the chicken and rice balls for lunch.

These rice balls rich with flavour and aroma, have no need for plates, chopsticks or spoons - perfect for Wong's two basket stall.

王义元's chicken rice sold well. When he saved enough money, 王义元 moved into 桃园咖啡店, a Hainanese coffee shop at Purvis Street.

At 桃园咖啡店, 莫履瑞 Moh Lee Twee the founder of the legendary Swee Kee Chicken Rice 瑞记, worked for and learned his craft from 王义元.

That's the story for my next chicken rice article.

Wong Yi Guan got his live chicken supply from nearby Beach Road Market.

When 桃园咖啡店 changed hands in the 1940s, 王义元 moved his chicken rice stall to 琼霖园咖啡店 at 43, Middle Road (site of Boon Sing Building today).

王义元 helped by his wife operated his chicken rice stall at 琼霖园咖啡店 till he was in his sixties (in the 1950s). At that time, Wong Yi Guan's chicken was known for its smooth skin and tender juicy flesh. Wong's chicken rice was also served with a chili sauce.

Commie Chicken Rice

How did the name Commie Chicken Rice 共产鸡饭 come about?

According to 王振春 authour of 昨日海南街 (Yesterday's Hainan Street) who was 王义元's neighbour, Wong was euphoric when the Chinese Communist Party proclaimed the People's Republic of China in 1949. Wong believed that the worst was over for China and to celebrate, he named his chicken rice stall 共产鸡饭 Communist Chicken Rice.

The 共产鸡饭 signboard quickly caught the attention of the authorities and they soon visited 王振春's stall. To avoid any trouble, 王振春 renamed his stall 王供産雞飯 Wong Kongsan Chicken Rice.

According to another version by Fu Yong Liang whose father owned 桃园咖啡店 where Wong had his first stall, Commie Chicken Rice was a name given by customers. Wong Yi Guan was an avid gambler and as gamblers do, sometimes they win but more often, they lose.

Whenever, he won or was on a winning streak, Wong would become obsessed and euphoric. He would concentrate on his bets and closed his stall suddenly by giving away all his unsold chicken. It was this "generosity" that earned him the nickname 共产伯爹 Uncle Commie and his stall Commie Chicken 共产鸡饭.

Uncle Commie had four sons - people called them Elder Commie, Second Commie and so forth.

When Wong retired, none of his four sons carried on his chicken rice business.

王供産雞飯 stall closed but Wong's legacy remained in the hundreds of chicken rice stalls all across Singapore, and his story forever in the food lore of the island.