I’d not tried Sing Ho myself. But generally, standard of Hainanese chicken rice in Singapore is pretty high, and definitely a class above those you’d fnd anywhere else in the world, so you can’t go far wrong wherever you have it in Singapore.
My top 5 favourite places for Hainanese chicken rice (strictly my personal choice as Singaporeans, even in my own family, have their own faves) in order of preference are:
-
Boon Tong Kee. It’s got 8 outlets all over the island - my regular spot is at 399-403 Balestier Road, Singapore 329801.
-
Wee Nam Kee. Tastewise, it’s not as fragrant or pronounced as Boon Tong Kee’s, but I practically “grew up” on it - being the regular lunch-spot when I started work at the Singapore Broadcasting Corp, fresh out of university back in the 80s. Its main branch is now located at United Square (from Novena Ville previously). Now has a branch at Marina Square as well.
-
Yet Con - the old dependable on Purvis Street. Yet Con is as traditional as it gets, founded in 1940 and located right smack in the middle of Singapore’s Hainanese enclave - Purvis Street was formerly known as Hainan Street 2, whereas the other two roads parallel to it, Middle Road and Seah Street, are known as Hainan Street 1 and Hainan Street 3 respectively. Seah Street, of course, borders upon the historic Raffles Hotel, and a Hainanese bartender at the hotel, Ngiam Tong Boon, invented the Singapore Sling in 1915.
The Hainanese traditionally dominates the hotel and restaurant food & beverage scene in Singapore during the British colonial era.
Yet Con’s rice is the most fragrant and tasty of all Hainanese chicken rice spots in Singapore, IMO. But its poached chicken are pretty dry-ish and more robust/chewy - closer to the type of texture one finds on Hainan Island, China. Singaporeans much prefer the silky-smooth, finer-textured birds served in most other Hainanese chicken rice restaurants in Singapore.
Yet Con used to offer other traditional Hainanese a la carte dishes as well: stir-fried “tung hoon” (glass noodles) with dried cuttlefish & dark soysauce; stir-fried Chinese white cabbage with seafood, pork & eggs, etc. All very good. I used to dine there with Hainanese office colleagues and hear them banter with the staff in their Hainanese dialect, very different from my own Hokkien & Teochew dialects. The Hainanese call soup “tor” and bill “kit-teo”, something which I picked up and could use when I visit Hainanese eateries even in Bangkok, e.g. Eiah-Sae ([Bangkok] Eiah-Sae (เอี๊ยะแซ), the 89-year-old traditional Hainanese coffeeshop) and Ek Teng Phu-ki ([Bangkok] Traditional coffee at Ek Teng Phu Ki (เอ็กเต็งผู่กี่)), both 80-something-year-old traditional Hainanese coffeeshops down in Samphaeng (Bangkok’s Chinatown district).
-
Nam Kee on Upper Thomson Road is another old favourite of mine. It was one of the Hainanese chicken rice spots located closest to my family home in Singapore, so maybe our palate is attuned to its flavours. Most Singaporeans have their own favourite chicken rice spots close to their respective home/suburb, e.g, those in Tanglin/Queenstown/Commonwealth area would know the famous Margaret Drive chicken rice spot, whereas those living in East Coast Rd/Katong/Joo Chiat would go to Five Star. Sometimes, familiarity resulted in one’s taste preferences.
-
Tiong Bahru Boneless Chicken Rice on Seng Poh Rd. This one is one of my “newer” discoveries, as a good friend introduced that to me just back in 1992. Tiong Bahru, at the time, was known to me for its “chwee kway” (steamed rice cakes topped with salted radish) and its crazily-famous steamed bao stall. Both are still there and doing roaring business, but I also get my Hainanese chicken rice from there as well these days, sometimes buying 8-10 packets to bring home.
-
Pow Sing chicken rice at Serangoon Gardens. One of the best-known in Singapore (to locals, of course, since foreigners prefer Tian Tian at Maxwell Rd Food Centre) and one of my go-to places since the 80s. Pow Sing also offers Nyonya dishes to go with the Hainanese chicken rice, something which I quite like.
Try these Hainanese chicken rice places if you happen to be in the vicinity of any of them.
