Mark this stall in Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre for lunch with your colleagues— it's a fantastic alternative to the famed Michelin-starred stall (plus points for a way shorter queue). Order their Signature Half Chicken ($7) that sees a generous portion of moist breast meat soaked in a well-balanced, savoury dark soy sauce. If you're there early enough, don't hesitate to snag the popular homemade Braised Tofu ($1.40 per piece) bathed in the same luxurious sweet-salty sauce.
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Find this gem in Seah Im Food Centre. Order their dcadent Ayam Penyet ($5), where a succulent, deep fried chicken thigh comes buried in an avalanche of crispy batter bits and is served with sour-spicy sambal balado chilli sauce. Pro-tip: Add a dollar for extra chicken — you won't regret it!
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This Bugis stalwart is a hotspot for groups at lunch time, thanks to the variety of dishes that you can have alongside a great plate of chicken rice. The Chicken Rice ($4.40) sees perfectly steamed breast meat and fluffy rice. Share dishes such as the Hainanese Chap Chye ($10) that's full of wok hei, the flavourful Bittergourd With Scrambled Egg ($10), the rich Mutton Soup ($7) and the savoury Eggplant with Salted Fish ($10).
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Entertaining friends or relatives visiting from overseas? Treat them to an upscale experience of the beloved hawker dish in the comfort of Mandarin Orchard. The Mandarin Chicken Rice ($27) features a generous portion of chicken, jasmine rice, chicken soup and an addictive homemade chilli. While you're here splurging on $27 chicken rice, you might as well go all out and pick a nice bottle of wine from their wine list!
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Don't be fazed by the queue snaking out of the basement of Katong Shopping Centre. While the moist chicken is excellent and comes doused in a savoury sauce and topped with fried garlic bits, it is really the unusual complimentary sidekicks that people are queuing for. Each portion of Chicken Rice ($5) comes with free flow achar and a big bowl of soup cooked with love. The soups change from time to time, but standouts include the chicken cabbage carrot soup and the lotus root peanut soup.
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Great for family dinners is this comfortable air-conditioned restaurant in United Square (or check out their other outlet in Marina Square). Not only are both the Steamed and Roasted Chicken ($16 for half, $4.80 for one portion) styles equally good, they also offer a wide range of vegetable, soup, meat and seafood dishes to complete the meal. The rice here is said to be "the best chicken rice rice" by fans, to which we'll say — there aren't many that are better.
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Find this stall in Kim San Leng Coffeeshop right beside Bishan bus interchange. They execute the traditional style of Chicken Rice ($5.50) extra well here — the timing and precision of dunking steamed chicken in ice cold water produces the coveted fine layer of gelatin beneath the skin, making every bite a succulent one.
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This nostalgic spot in Far East Plaza has long been serving satisfying meals to kids, teenagers and adults looking for a satisying meal in town. Their Chicken Rice ($18 for half, $4.50 for one portion) comes with a less-oily, lightly seasoned but still tasty rice. Burppler HungryUnicorn SG also recommends having a bowl of pipping hot Salted Vegetable Duck Soup ($6). Due to the never-ending stream of customers at peak hours, you might have to wait for a table, and eat fast when you get one.
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Pay ABC Brickworks Market and Food Centre a visit for some dang good chicken. While the rice in the Chicken Rice ($3.50) is nothing much to write home about, the chicken more than makes up for it — smooth and slippery meat served in a boneless cut fashion that's easy to eat, made especially addictive with a special secret sauce rumoured to be a product of 12 different ingredients. Find this reliable chicken rice all over the island — Ghim Moh Market & Food Centre, Bukit panjang Hawker Centre & Market, Maxwell Food Centre, and Whompoa Makan Place.
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