Episode 1 - Mian Ji Fan Chicken Rice
I had no idea where to start this quest for the ultimate chicken rice, so I pitched it to my followers on Instagram and they didn’t disappoint. I was swamped with messages on where to go, and this spot came up a few times so I had to go visit. I thought it would be important to kick-start this series on a spot that was lesser-known to many outsiders of Singapore, and that we go into the heartlands of Singapore to find some variety to understand this dish.
It took me two visits to the location to find it, but I did find it in the end. It turned out that on my first visit, it was closed (even though it said open on google maps) but after speaking to the locals and the followers who recommended it, they said to come a little later, around 9-9:30 am when the chicken was ready.
Full of hope, I returned with my mother around 10 am and my eyes lit up like Christmas when I so a 10-person queue in front of the stall. I was in luck. I could see many chickens were cut already so it looked like we visited at the right time. Chicken rice stalls seem to close VERY early in Singapore as a trend, because they sell out of the chicken, it takes hours to cook, and rest so they make a limited amount each day, hence why I went so early. This is a lot more difficult if you’re working, or not from the area, but chicken rice this good is worth the travel and getting up early for. I mean, that’s what kopi (coffee) is for right?
I ordered a portion of medium* sized steamed chicken which came to $6.50 SGD (around £3.84 GBP/$4.88 USD) and sat down with a large iced tea and dived in. I tried to save some for my mother, but I was so excited that we started so well, I couldn’t stop eating it.
*For this series I will always buy a medium portion, not because I’m greedy (I am), but I want to support these hawkers by ordering not the cheapest version, but to get a better, bigger portion to understand their dish fully. In my opinion, if we are lucky to be able to afford the more expensive option, I will always try. This will also help me compare every hawkers medium portion across the city.
The Chicken: Soft, moist, you could tell it was just cooked and hung a few hours ago. I bet that chicken was so fresh too. It was slightly ever so pink in the dark meat, but the breast meat was just perfectly poached with a touch of texture. SHIOK!
The Rice: This was ok lah, the rice grains were perfectly cooked with fluffiness, and lovely texture. Not too mushy or soft, but I do prefer a little more chicken stock flavour or pandan flavour, or even a bit more garlic - but this is my prefrence. I totally loved it all together with the chicken and rice and soup so I don’t discredit the work and skill here.
The Soup: Really good soup, that was complimentary with the chicken. Lovely chicken broth flavour, that wasn’t overly seasoned or heavy with MSG or stock cube. Lovely master stock. SHIOK!
The Sauces: Oh my, that Chilli sauce was 🔥 I loved the freshness and how firey it was. I’d go back just for that chilli sauce. The soy sauce and ginger were ok, but these don’t seem to vary much in my travels.
The Extras: The dish came with a small portion of free achar (pickled veg) that had a lovely acidity and crunch to the dish. This was perfect to counter the richness of the chicken and I appreciated it wasn’t overly sweet like some achar can be.
Overall verdict:
SHIOK Damn, you better travel out of your way to visit here. It’s very small and local, so as a tourist you may stick out, but it’s well worth the chicken rice if you’re new to the island. If you’re local? Wow you’re lucky there are vendors like this still producing food like this. Say thank you to the family for me yeh?
Watch my reaction on YouTube in my first episode