Hainanese chicken rice. It\u2019s a brilliantly simple dish of poached chicken with seasoned rice and basic sides. It\u2019s not much to look at but it\u2019s a cultural and culinary heavyweight that\u2019s done as much for loose skin as any body positivity movement.<\/p>\n
From humble Hainanese beginnings to Singapore’s national dish, this hawker classic of cooled poached chicken and fragrant steamed rice is one of Southeast Asia’s most beloved dishes. And for those of us indoctrinated into the church of chilled chook, there is no finer quartet: supple, gelatinous bird; a steaming bowl of the gelatine-rich poaching liquor; a schmaltz-smothered mound of pandan-scented rice brimming with fried garlic and ginger; and a palette of chilli, ginger and soy dipping sauces.<\/p>\n
After sampling 27 variations \u2013 virtually every example I could find in Brisbane \u2013 these are the six best.<\/p>\n
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Sunnybank Oriental | Photo: Fergus Hurst<\/p>\n
Sunnybank Oriental \u4e1c\u65b9\u8336\u9910\u5385<\/p>\n
Even after a quarter-century, this chaotic cha chaan teng<\/a> continues to pump out perfectly poached poultry. Tattered drapes of silky skin, stained with the remnants of soy and sesame, barely cover the modesty of the plump, pale flesh underneath.<\/p>\n Each slice is seasoned to its core, enhanced only by radiant chilli sauce or a peerless ginger-spring onion oil, dotted with hoops of sweet spring onion.<\/p>\n New Season Asian<\/p>\n Thai-style khao man gai is practically identical to Hainanese chicken in both flavour and execution, with one key exception \u2013 the sauces, which are amalgamated with tao jeow into a kind of addictively funky mixture.<\/p>\n Ironically, the sauce at New Season is probably my least favourite of all the Thai joints in Brisbane, but the rice is delightfully oily, the soup peppery and the chicken moist. It also comes with the added bonus of a single playing-card-sized slab of congealed blood, perfect for sating any bloodlust that might arise from a morning of meetings that could\u2019ve been emails.<\/p>\n Singapore Fast Wok | Photo: Fergus Hurst<\/p>\n Singapore Fast Wok \u8208\u8208<\/p>\n Even in the Lion City there\u2019s a tendency for the rice to be relegated to the role of supporting actor. Fortunately, Singapore Fast Wok\u2019s Oscar-worthy version is packed with fried garlic and ginger, and so slick with chicken drippings that you’ll find yourself obsessively wrestling every plump, slippery grain off the plate.\u00a0<\/p>\n The fowl plays second fiddle here, but aim for lunch to secure a freshly chilled chicken. When everything comes together, this might be as spiritually close as you\u2019ll get to the legendary hawkers of Singapore, complete with pastel pink plates and a panorama of Marina Bay\u2019s mythical Merlion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Your Personal Chef \u7c73\u996d\u73ed\u716e<\/p>\n You might assume the specialty of a restaurant whose name roughly translates to \u201cRice Boss\u201d would be obvious. But the real draw is the unctuous gilded chook cooked to within a whisker of blushing pink and slumped in a shallow pool of its own delicious juices. It\u2019s texturally sublime and tastes more intensely of itself than anything else.<\/p>\n The real philosophical dilemma you\u2019ll grapple with is this: can the best chicken rice be served without soup? Would Sponge Bob be complete without Patrick? Harry Potter without Ron? Well, if an institution like Singapore\u2019s famous Tian Tian<\/a> can go sans soup, then the answer is emphatically yes. Just make sure to get your order in early, before they inevitably sell out.<\/p>\n Malaya Corner | Photo: Fergus Hurst<\/p>\n Malaya Corner \u65fa\u89d2<\/p>\n It\u2019s fitting this chaotic Sunnybank restaurant sits at the Mad Max-esque intersection of Market Square and McCullough Street, a lawless wasteland where basic road rules do not apply. Malaya Corner feels equally anarchic: for every one-star rant lamenting the pace of service, there are three glowing five-star rebuttals.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t pretend that the Hainanese chicken rice is superior to the glowing orange vat of Malaysian seafood laksa, which is one of the best the city has to offer. But on a good day, when the mustard-yellow chicken and rice are sticky with a salve of schmaltz, and the soup isn\u2019t quite so murky, it competes with the best. Or, to paraphrase Anchorman\u2019s Brian Fantana, 60 per cent of the time, it\u2019s good every time.<\/p>\n The Noodle Club \u9762\u7f18<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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