Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice

Tian Tian has been selling Hainanese chicken rice at Maxwell Food Centre since 1987, and it has become the best-known stall in one of Singapore's best-known hawker centres. It holds a Bib Gourmand in the MICHELIN Guide Singapore, and over the years it has drawn food writers, television crews and celebrity chefs, but the stall itself remains a simple counter with a menu board and a long queue.

Hainanese chicken rice is often described as Singapore's national dish, and Tian Tian shows why. The chicken is poached until just cooked, then chilled so the skin turns smooth and the meat stays silky. It is served at room temperature over rice cooked in chicken stock with garlic and ginger, which gives each grain a fragrant, slightly oily richness. Three condiments complete the plate: a sharp chilli sauce, thick dark soy and minced ginger, which you mix and dab to taste. A small bowl of clear chicken soup comes on the side. You can order a single plate, or a whole or half chicken with separate rice for a group.

Queues are part of the experience, especially at lunchtime, when office workers from nearby Tanjong Pagar descend. Mid-morning or mid-afternoon is usually calmer. Find a seat first and mark it with a packet of tissues, as locals do, then join the line. The stall is closed on Mondays and can sell out before closing, so do not leave it too late in the day. Prices are low, as at any hawker stall, and payment is at the counter.

It suits anyone looking for an affordable, authentic introduction to local food, from solo travellers to families. Maxwell Food Centre is open-sided and can be hot at midday, so bring water. Many other well-regarded stalls share the centre, which makes it easy to try several dishes in one visit: look for fish soup, rojak, popiah and sugar cane juice alongside the chicken rice.

Maxwell Food Centre stands at the corner of South Bridge Road and Maxwell Road in Chinatown. Maxwell MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast line is right beside it, and Chinatown station is a few minutes' walk. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple is directly opposite, and Sri Mariamman Temple and the shophouses of Ann Siang Hill and Club Street are all within a short walk, so lunch here fits easily into a morning exploring Chinatown.