May 15, 2026
Where Singapore’s Most Famous Dish Was Born
Why Bugis, Not Maxwell: Maxwell’s Tian Tian is a good stall, and its fame is not entirely undeserved. But the Bugis chicken rice story is a different kind of argument: not the celebrity endorsement, but the weight of the neighbourhood itself. The streets where chicken rice was first sold, the clan association building where the Hainanese community still gathers, the restaurant that has been on the same block since 1934 — here are our favourite places in Bugis.
47 Beach Road (Kheng Chiu Building / Hainan Heritage Centre), Singapore 189683
The name, Lao Ba Cha 老爸茶, “old dad tea”, refers not to a drink but to a Hainanese cultural tradition: the unhurried pleasure of gathering at a coffee shop with tea, food, and conversation. Lao Ba Cha sits inside Kheng Chiu Building on Beach Road, home to the Singapore Hainan Hwee Kuan, the Hainanese clan association that has anchored the community here for generations. Marble-top tables, wooden stools, and mosaic tiles give the space a genuinely old-school kopitiam feel.
Must-Try: Hainanese Chicken Rice — poached chicken with fragrant rice cooked in stock, fresh chilli-ginger, and dark soy. Straightforward and without theatrics, this is how chicken rice tasted before it became famous.
Must-Try: Singapore Laksa — rich, coconut-forward, built on a spiced prawn broth, the laksa draws its own steady following and is one of the better bowls in the area. A plate of chicken rice and a bowl of laksa, eaten where the Hainanese clan still meets, is a good way to spend a morning.
Tip: Go in the morning for the quietest experience and the full menu.
37 Beach Road, #01-01, Singapore 189678
Two blocks from Raffles Hotel, YY Kafei Dian holds its ground on a stretch of Beach Road that has been relentlessly gentrified around it. The kopitiam carries a permanent crowd, an old-school sock-filter kopi setup, and a griddle in continuous use since the shop opened.
YY is a proper Hainanese kopitiam and its chicken rice is the proof: steamed chicken that is tender and silky, fragrant rice cooked in stock, with chilli, ginger, and dark soy alongside. For breakfast, order the set — kopi, the thick house-made kaya butter bun, and two half-boiled eggs with white pepper and soy. Later in the day, look out for the sugar donuts, made fresh in-house, pillowy soft with a delicate chew. Not available at breakfast; they arrive around midday and sell out by 4pm.
Tip: The kaya bun queue and the bee hoon queue are separate, order your bun first. Chicken rice is best at lunch when it is freshest.
19 Purvis Street, Singapore 188598
Chin Chin has stood on Purvis Street, Hainan Second Street, since 1934, predating chicken rice as a street food by more than a decade. It is now one of the oldest surviving Hainanese restaurants in Singapore and among the last places where the dish is still made on the street where it was born. Anthony Bourdain ate here. JJ Lin once arrived to find the chicken sold out and stayed on anyway.
The row of plump golden-brown birds in the window and a dining room almost entirely full tell you everything before you sit down. The chicken rice, roasted or poached, is cooked with the quiet confidence of ninety years on the same block. Fragrant rice, fresh chilli, and all three sauces are mandatory.
Must-Try: Hainanese Chicken Rice (Roasted or Poached) — order both styles if you can. Roasted gives caramelised skin and deeper flavour; poached is silkier and cleaner.
Must-Try: Hainanese Pork Chop — breadcrumb-coated, golden-fried, with potato wedges and a lightly sweet tomato gravy. A fitting companion to the chicken rice.
Must-Try: Hae Cho (Prawn Roll) & Sambal Kang Kong — the crispy prawn rolls are a classic Hainanese starter. The wok-fried water spinach is a necessary green alongside the proteins.
Tip: Arrive before 6pm on weekdays, the room fills quickly and the roasted chicken sells out early on weekends. Cash only.
The Hainanese Enclave
The Hainanese were latecomers to Singapore. Arriving in numbers after the 1880s, they found the other Chinese clans already settled west of the Singapore River and ended up in the “no man’s land” between the European quarter and the Arab Campong — the three streets of Middle Road, Purvis Street, and Seah Street, which the community called Hainan First, Second, and Third Street. Raffles Hotel sat at the edge of this enclave; it was a Hainanese bartender, Ngiam Tong Boon, who created the Singapore Sling there in 1915.
Locked out of established professions, many Hainanese became domestic cooks in the homes of British officers and Peranakan families. After the Second World War, some began selling chicken rice on the street, a dish adapted from the Hainanese homeland specialty of Wenchang chicken. The first known hawker, Wong Yi Guan, carried his rice through the enclave in two baskets on a bamboo pole in the 1940s. Yet Con and Swee Kee followed, becoming the most famous names in the dish. Both are now closed, but Chin Chin Eating House, founded in 1934, still stands on Purvis Street, and the Hainanese clan association still occupies Kheng Chiu Building on Beach Road.
Most searches for Singapore’s best chicken rice end up at Tian Tian in Maxwell Food Centre, made famous by Bourdain and Ramsay and now trailed by tourist queues. It is a fine plate. But the enclave that gave birth to the dish tells a better story, and the chicken rice here is at least as good.
Beyond chicken rice, Bugis has some of our favourite spots in the area. Here is what we keep coming back for.
23 Bali Lane, Singapore 189859
The story of Pergh!Chicks begins in the 1990s at pasar malams across Singapore, where owner Afiq Irwan’s mother Sabidah ran what locals regarded as the original ayam percik stall, bringing a Malaccan recipe to Singapore before anyone else had. After a decade-long hiatus, Afiq revived it with a name that says everything: ‘pergh’, Malay slang for ‘awesome’. The bright orange shopfront on Bali Lane is hard to miss.
Why We Love It: The chickens are steam-marinated for at least five hours before they go near the grill, so the spice penetrates all the way through. The coconut chilli glaze is applied again and again during cooking, building up in layers. All dishes are completely peanut-free.
Must-Try: Percik Wings — six whole wings on satay skewers, glazed repeatedly over the grill. Made fresh daily in limited quantities. Bold coconut-chilli flavour, sticky fingers guaranteed.
Must-Try: Nasi Kukus Volcano with Chicken Cutlet — the showstopper. Rice, curry, and fried chicken packed into a metal cylinder that the server lifts tableside, releasing a cascade of rich coconut curry. Savoury rather than sweet, with a genuinely fiery sambal on the side.
Tip: The Percik Wings sell out regularly, go early or call ahead. The Nasi Kukus sambal is no joke on spice; ask for it on the side if you are unsure.
1 Liang Seah Street, #01-05/06 Liang Seah Place, Singapore 189022
When Chong Qing Grilled Fish opened at Liang Seah Street in 2010, the first in Singapore to introduce Sichuan charcoal-grilled fish, it changed what the street was known for. Fifteen years on, it remains one of the street’s anchor restaurants and the first name out of a local’s mouth when Liang Seah is mentioned.
Why We Love It: The ritual is straightforward: choose your fish, broth, spice level, and side ingredients. The Spicy Numbing mala broth is the classic, aromatic and tingly with characteristic Sichuan numbing heat.
Must Try: Mala Grilled Patin Fish — charcoal-grilled patin in a tray of sizzling mala broth, still cooking at the table. Tender fish, genuinely numbing broth. Lotus root and frozen tofu are the recommended sides, both absorb the broth beautifully.
Tip: Walk-in only, no reservations. Arrive by 6:30pm to avoid a queue. The second floor is less crowded and cooler.
1 Liang Seah Street, #01-10/11 Liang Seah Place, Singapore 189022
Why We Love It: Ah Chew Desserts has occupied the same corner of Liang Seah Street since 2003, earning a loyalty among locals that no trend has managed to displace. The founder’s passion for traditional Chinese ceramics shapes the space: authentic bowls, decorative pieces from China, and a warmth that feels genuinely old-school.
Must-Try: Durian Pomelo Mango Sago — real mango chunks, frozen durian flesh, sago pearls, and pomelo in a creamy mango base. For those who pass on durian, the Mango Sago is an equally fine bowl.
Must-Try: Ginger and Egg Custard Pudding — silky, wobbly, warmed through. Steamed egg custard set in fresh ginger juice, served in a ceramic bowl.
23 Purvis Street, #01-01, Singapore 188600
Treasure Toast sits directly opposite YY Kafei Dian on Purvis Street, making this stretch one of Singapore’s most concentrated pockets of kopitiam culture. It is the city-centre offshoot of Bao Er Cafe in Balestier Plaza, a cult-status stall that built a devoted following for its homemade kaya. Regulars who once trekked across the island for a toast set can now have the same thing a few steps from Chin Chin.
Why We Love It: The kaya is the reason to visit. Made fresh daily using real coconut milk, it is custardy, pandan-fragrant, and generously applied onto lightly charred toast with a consistently thick slab of cold butter. The Hokkien Mee, cooked by owner Jeremy himself, has genuine wok hei, a rich prawn stock, and a house-made sambal belachan that cuts through the richness cleanly.
Must-Try: Homemade Kaya Butter Toast Set — four slices with a kopi or teh and two soft-boiled eggs. The kaya is the real thing: coconut-rich, pandan-fragrant, custardy. The toast is properly charred, not merely browned.
Must-Try: Signature Fried Hokkien Mee — wok hei present and correct: prawn stock, thick bee hoon, yellow noodles, with a house-made sambal belachan that adds a spicy, tangy kick.
Must-Try: Fried Bee Hoon — slightly saucy and fragrant, paired with your choice of toppings: tau kee, fishcake, luncheon meat, fried egg, spring roll. Not everything is available every day, ask the staff.
Tip: Order at the counter and watch for your number on the digital board. On
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