RestaurantsList

10 Best Chicken Rice in Singapore

Discover 10 well-known chicken rice in Singapore, from Maxwell hawker stalls to sit-down restaurants, spanning poached, roasted and boneless styles.

By: Amir Wahab
Edited by: Amir Wahab
Published: 25 Sep 2026
Reading time: 4 min read

A plate of Hainanese chicken rice with chilli and dark soy at a Singapore eatery

Chicken rice in Singapore ranges from decades-old hawker stalls plating poached Hainanese chicken to sit-down restaurants serving roasted birds with zi char alongside. This guide rounds up ten real, currently-operating stalls and restaurants, each checked against its own website or a well-documented listing. It is a practical starting point for finding good chicken rice in Singapore, whether you prefer a Maxwell queue or an air-conditioned table.

1. Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice

Tian Tian is a hawker stall at Maxwell Food Centre and one of the most queued-for chicken rice stalls in the city, serving classic Hainanese poached white chicken with smooth skin over fragrant chicken-fat rice. Its punchy garlic, ginger and chilli sauce is a big part of the draw. The stall dates its founding to the mid-1980s by its own account.

Maxwell
Visit website ↗View on map ↗

2. Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice

Ah Tai sits just a few units from Tian Tian in Maxwell Food Centre and was opened by a former Tian Tian chef, making it the other half of Maxwell's well-known chicken rice rivalry. It serves the same Hainanese style of tender poached chicken with fragrant rice and a house chilli dip, usually with a shorter queue. It is a hawker stall rather than a sit-down restaurant.

Maxwell
View on map ↗

3. Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice

Wee Nam Kee is a sit-down restaurant best known for its Novena flagship on Thomson Road, serving Hainanese steamed and roasted chicken alongside a broader zi char menu. It runs several outlets and, by its own account, has franchised the brand overseas. The air-conditioned, table-service format makes it a comfortable alternative to hawker-centre queues.

Novena
Visit website ↗View on map ↗

4. Boon Tong Kee

Boon Tong Kee is a long-running restaurant group known for Cantonese-style chicken, blanched to a silky, smooth-skinned finish and served with fragrant rice and zi char dishes. It operates multiple outlets and offers islandwide delivery through its own site. By its own account the first restaurant opened on Balestier Road in the 1980s.

Visit website ↗Email

5. Loy Kee Best Chicken Rice

Loy Kee is a restaurant on Balestier Road offering both steamed and roasted chicken with chicken-fat rice, plus sides and delivery through its own site. The brand dates its origins to the 1950s by its own account, making it one of the older chicken rice names in Singapore. It sits at the casual, neighbourhood-restaurant end rather than the hawker-stall end.

Balestier
Visit website ↗View on map ↗

6. Five Star Hainanese Chicken Rice

Five Star is a coffee-shop-style restaurant chain that brands its birds as kampung, or free-range, chicken and offers both steamed and roasted versions with fragrant rice. It runs many outlets across the island, so it is one of the easier names on this list to find near you. The format is casual sit-down dining rather than a single heritage stall.

Visit website ↗Email

7. Chatterbox

Chatterbox is an upscale restaurant inside Hilton Singapore Orchard on Orchard Road, serving a plated, sit-down version of Hainanese chicken rice in an air-conditioned hotel setting. It presents the dish as a polished, premium take rather than a hawker plate. It is a full-service restaurant, so expect table service and restaurant pricing.

Orchard
Visit website ↗View on map ↗

8. Katong Mei Wei Boneless Chicken Rice

Katong Mei Wei is a long-standing hawker stall in the basement of Katong Shopping Centre, known for deboned chicken served over rice so you can eat it without working around bones. Alongside the poached chicken it also offers char siew and roast pork. The stall describes itself as serving free soup and achar with its plates.

Katong
View on map ↗

9. Ming Kee Chicken Rice

Ming Kee is a hawker stall at Kim San Leng Food Centre in Bishan known for its ice-chilled white chicken, a technique that firms up the meat and gives the skin a cool, jelly-like texture. It serves the chilled poached chicken with fragrant rice and chilli in the Hainanese style. It is a hawker stall run across generations rather than a restaurant.

Bishan
View on map ↗

10. Sing Swee Kee Chicken Rice

Sing Swee Kee is an old-school chicken rice restaurant on Seah Street near City Hall, serving Hainanese steamed and roasted chicken with rice and a range of zi char sides. The sit-down, air-conditioned setting and central location make it a convenient city-centre option. It lists its outlets and history on its own website.

City Hall
Visit website ↗View on map ↗

How to choose

Decide between poached and roasted chicken first: poached (white or steamed) chicken is the classic Hainanese style with smooth skin, while roasted gives crispier, caramelised skin. Many places serve both, so order a mix if you cannot choose.
Judge the rice, not just the chicken. Good chicken rice depends on fragrant grains cooked with chicken fat, ginger and pandan, and a plate can live or die on the rice alone.
Taste the chilli sauce. The garlic, ginger and chilli dip varies a lot from stall to stall and is central to the dish; some lean tangy, others fiery.
Match the format to the occasion. Hawker stalls at centres like Maxwell are cheapest and most atmospheric but come with queues, while sit-down restaurants add air-conditioning, comfort and zi char sides.
Check opening days and go off-peak. Many stalls close one day a week and can sell out by mid-afternoon, so confirm hours and avoid the lunch rush at the busiest spots.

Update history

Published 25 Sep 2026. No changes recorded since.

About the author

Amir Wahab

Founder and Editor

Amir Wahab is the founder and editor of LocalRank, an independent Singapore rankings and local guides publication.

Report an error on this page