Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice (Maxwell)

Possibly the most well regarded stall around, they've been disrupted by the recent ban on fresh chickens from Malaysia.
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That said, they still have an edge over other stalls with their rice; fluffy, oily, fragrant with grainy sweet savoury flavour.
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The chicken, at least before the ban, was succulent juicy tender bouncy, with meaty sweet savoury flavour that is refreshing. The poached version is slightly better than the roast version for me, though both have the salty savoury nutty gravy.
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Served with juicy sliced cucumbers with vegetal sweet flavour, and a light chicken broth. Pair with the trinity of dipping sauces; dark sweet soy, chili, crushed ginger.
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Chicken Rice
Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice
@ Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur Street #01-10
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/07/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-rice.html

fragrant rice, grains seperated perfectly. garlic chilli had a spicy kick w a lil sourness; my fam honestly goes to tian tian mainly for the chilli. & that silky chicken lol i hate white chicken but i’d eat this. and paired with that sweet sauce wow yumz👌🏼👌🏼 i cant type properly because i can’t put into words how much i love this

For a Michelin Star hawker stall, it is strange to be the only customer at 5.30pm on a weekday. I soon found out why. The rice tastes greasy and was not as fluffy as before. The chicken, instead of being succulent and tender, was over cooked and maybe even overnight. Definitely there are other chicken rice stalls in Singapore more worthy of the Michelin award.

Not coming back.

To me, they are one of the top chicken rice stalls out there and they have set the benchmark that any chicken rice stalls who wish to get the accolade as one of the best in Singapore will have to at least match Tian Tian’s standards. Anything below that benchmark and you are better off saving your calories for Tian Tian instead, which was what Gordon Ramsay felt when he competed and lost in the cook-off battle. Not only is their rice fragranced with ginger and garlic, they serve one of the most tender and succulent poached chickens that you can find out there. The magic is in the sauce that they will drench generously onto the chicken before serving which gives it a nice savoury touch while the layer of gelatin underneath the skin gives it a silky-smooth texture.
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✨ Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken RIce
📍 1 Kadayanallur Street, Maxwell Food Centre, Unit 01-10/11, Singapore 069184
🍴 [Not Sponsored]

Maxwell Food Centre has seven chicken rice stalls. Which one is your go to chicken rice at Maxwell? Here’s one from Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice (01-10/11), the most famous of them all and features snaking long queues (mainly from tourists and curious locals) during lunch hour in better times. It has received rave reviews from the likes of Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay.

There are two sizes available ($3.50/$5). Go for the $5 one as the $3.50 portion won’t fill up your stomach. So what makes it so special from others? It lies in the rice and the chilli sauce. The flavoured rice is fluffy and fragrant as they use loads of garlic, chicken fat and chicken stock. The rice is good and consistent in texture.

Having eaten Tian Tian for over 20 years, I can boldly say that standards have dropped quite a bit and lost its original shine. It’s not inedible, but it errs towards the side of inconsistency. Perhaps they cook most of the food in a central kitchen now. When I had the chicken rice on my very last visit, it was fairly good probably because I was given the chicken drumstick. The drumstick was soft, juicy and tender which made me reminisce my younger days. But the steamed chicken breast meat is rather tough on most occasions. So opt for dark meat here for a pleasant experience.

Chilli sauce here is rather spicy and tangy. The taste of the ginger, garlic and lime is evidently strong. Don’t have too much in one go if you aren’t good with spice.

So how does this compare with its closest competitor Ah Tai? My vote goes to Ah Tai. Ah Tai’s version reminds me of the old Tian Tian (the owner parted ways some years back) while Tian Tian feels rather commercialised.

Little-known secret, for a foodie, I had never tried this possibly Singapore's most famous food stall. One, I don't need chicken rice to survive, and two, the queues were just unconscionable. So when better than circuit breaker to dabao? There wasn't my preferred leg so this is drumstick. Given the unrealistic hype, I shouldn't say I was disappointed, but it's also not wow. Neither the bird nor the rice stood out. Only the spicy chilli was quite good. Okay on to the next asterisk.