Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
If you live on the east side of Singapore and you love chicken rice, Hai Kee Soy Sauce Chicken Rice is the place to go to get your fix of delicious, succulent soy sauce chicken and out-of-this-world yummy chicken rice.
This second-generation family-run hawker stall serves up mouth-watering bowls (yes, I said bowls!) of chicken rice. Once located on Upper Cross Street, Hai Kee first opened back in 1959, headed by the current owner’s grandfather.
Owner Joseph Wong is proud of his family business, saying, “It’s hard work, but we all work hard together as a family“.
Mr Wong currently runs the Changi road stall with his mother, while his brother and father handle the business at the Bedok North outlet.
Note: Hai Kee Chicken Rice’s Changi outlet has closed, and relocated to 20 Lor 7 Toa Payoh, Block 20, Singapore 310020.
What I tried at Hai Kee Soy Sauce Chicken Rice
For those who love their roast meats, try the Char Siew and Roasted Pork (S$5.50, small). The smoky char siew is slathered in a sweet, dark sauce, and has the right balance of fatty to lean meat. Their roast meat is on the lean side as well, and I loved how the crackled skin of the pork belly remained crispy even after sitting out on our table for the duration of our meal.
Of course, our meal wouldn’t be complete without some crunchy greens, so we ordered a plate of Beansprouts with Cuttlefish (S$4.50, small).
The freshly blanched bean sprouts are tossed with soy sauce and springy cuttlefish, just the perfect side dish we needed to balance out the greasiness of the chicken rice.
The rice that came along with the platter we ordered was the highlight of my dining experience at Hai Kee. Served in old-school Chinese ‘Mun Shou’ patterned bowls, the rice was fragrant and had a great bite to it, without being undercooked.
It brought my chicken rice expectations to a whole new level when paired with the succulent chicken and aromatic savoury sauce. Addictively delicious to down to the last grain!
Joseph also explained that to redefine the experience of having chicken rice, the rice is served in bowls instead of the plates that we are familiar with.
We had the Double Happiness Platter (S$13) that came with a portion of soy sauce chicken and two bowls of rice. The chicken was braised to a perfect tenderness, with the breast meat retaining its moisture and soaking up the sweet soy sauce.
Needless to say, the rest of the chicken meat was delightfully supple and made for quality soy sauce chicken to complement the yummy rice.
This portion is definitely more than enough for two hungry people, or even good enough for sharing among three if you have a small appetite.
Final thoughts
Out of all the soy sauce chicken rice that I’ve had in Singapore, Hai Kee Soy Sauce Chicken Rice is a clear winner for me. It’s so good it has kept me going back for more, and it even tasted good after sitting in a takeaway box after I ta pao-ed some for my colleagues.
It is also one of the few soy sauce chicken rice dishes that uses chicken rice instead of plain white rice as its base. With rice bowls starting at $3.50, it is both affordable and delicious to boot.
Hai Kee Soy Sauce Chicken rice is definitely worth travelling all the way to the east for!
Expected damage: $3.50 – $5 per pax
