Poached or roasted chicken over rice cooked in chicken stock with ginger and garlic, served with chilli sauce and a light soup. Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown has served it since the 1930s.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 2 cities.
Hainanese chicken rice came to the Malay Peninsula with migrants from Hainan Island, who found work as cooks in colonial households, coffee shops and ships and adapted the Wenchang chicken of home. The chicken is poached gently and plunged into cold water to set the skin, and the rice is fried in chicken fat with garlic and ginger before being cooked in the poaching stock. Kuala Lumpur serves it with a sharp chilli and ginger sauce and a bowl of soup, often with a choice of roasted chicken as well. Nam Heong on Jalan Sultan in Chinatown has sold it since 1938 and now holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
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Common allergens: Soy, Sesame
Tip from the editors. The ice bath is what gives the skin its firm, jelly-like texture; without it the skin goes loose and grey.
Nam Heong Chicken Rice has served Hainanese chicken rice on Jalan Sultan in Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur, since 1938 and now holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
OrderOrder the Hainanese chicken rice, sliced village chicken over rice cooked in its stock.
TipThe chicken is village chicken, served with a thick chilli and garlic dip; add the assam fish as a side dish.
Singapore's most internationally recognised hawker stall, operating from Maxwell Food Centre since 1986 with Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition. A small portion of chicken rice with the signature pale-yellow rice, poached chicken and ginger-chilli dipping sauce costs S$5 to S$7, making this one of the city's most famous meals at a tourist-accessible price point.
TipOpens at 10am; regularly sells out before 3pm. Queue forms before 10am on weekends. The stall is closed on some Mondays.
Once the world's cheapest Michelin-starred meal: a plate of soya sauce chicken rice with fragrant rice and braised sauce for around S$3. Chef Chan Hon Meng's Chinatown Complex stall was awarded one Michelin star in 2016, an event that sent queues spiralling. The bird is braised in a centuries-old recipe sauce that yields glossy, deeply flavoured results.
OrderSoya sauce chicken rice, Noodle with soya sauce chicken
TipOpens around 10.30am and sells out by early afternoon. Arrive before noon on weekdays. The Michelin star was subsequently dropped but the food has not changed.
The Balestier Road flagship of Singapore's most acclaimed chicken rice chain, Michelin Bib Gourmand recognised. The bird is silky-poached and served at room temperature with three dipping sauces; the zi char side menu of steamed fish and vegetables is equally strong. Open since 1983 and the standard to which other chicken rice is compared.
OrderHainanese chicken rice, Steamed fish with ginger, Kai lan with oyster sauce
TipThe lunch hour between 12pm and 1.30pm gets very busy on weekdays. Order a large whole chicken for groups. Bib Gourmand recognised since 2025.
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