I first wrote about Sin Kee chicken rice back in 2006 when it was on the second level of the now-demolished Margaret Drive Hawker Centre. Back then, if you asked any serious chicken rice person where to go in Singapore, Sin Kee would be on the list.
Then Margaret Drive was torn down. I updated my original post with a note about their new location at Commonwealth Avenue, but never quite made it down for a visit.
The story of Sin Kee resurfaced when I visited Mei Ling Street Food Centre and spotted a Sin Kee Chicken Rice stall there. The owner, Benson, told me his story. His mother was the original owner of Sin Kee, the family had retired, and new tenants had taken over the stall but continued using the name. Case closed, I thought. The real Sin Kee was Benson’s.
His brother Niven added more spanners into the works over the years, opening a few chicken rice stalls of his own under the Sin Kee name. And in 2016, Niven sold his family recipe to two buyers for $42,800 each, authorising them to use the Sin Kee name as well. Suddenly, there were Sin Kee stalls all over the island, each with their own claim to the name.
But through all of this, I had always assumed that the other Sin Kee, the one who had relocated to Holland Close, was the imposter.
Then, the plot thickened.
Sin Kee Famous Chicken Rice at Holland Close
I happened to be at Block 6 Holland Close one day and decided to give this Sin Kee a try. The chicken and rice were very good, but it was the tau gay (bean sprouts) that really stood out. I had recently become quite enamoured with eating a whole mound of bean sprouts with white chicken ever since I returned from a makan trip to Ipoh. Being on a low carb diet, bean sprouts make a great replacement for rice. Their tau gay was excellent, which is why I decided to return to write a proper blog post.
This time around, I got to meet Steven, the owner, who told me his side of the story. According to him, the original owner of Sin Kee was a certain Mr Leong Fook Wing, a friend of his. When Mr Leong decided to retire, his sons Benson and Niven were not interested in taking over at the time. So Steven stepped in, took over the stall, and ran it right there at Margaret Drive until the hawker centre closed for demolition. He then moved to Commonwealth Avenue before eventually settling here at Holland Close.
His proof is a photo of his younger self standing in front of the original Sin Kee signboard. The man in the photo and the man standing before me are unmistakably the same person, just separated by a few decades.
Steven also trademarked the Sin Kee name, which is why Benson’s stall at Holland Drive now goes by the name Margaret Drive Sin Kee Chicken Rice.
Having eaten at both stalls, the most distinct difference lies in the drizzling sauce. Benson’s version has a fragrant oil that really dominates the white chicken, while the Sin Kee here at Holland Close relies more on a well-balanced soy and oil dressing that lets the chicken speak for itself.
When you compare Benson’s and Steven’s accounts, the key difference comes down to one thing. Did Steven take over the stall with the blessings of the original owner to continue using the Sin Kee name, or not? That is the crux of the matter, and depending on whose version you believe, the answer changes everything.
But I am not here to make judgments. Both men have told me their stories sincerely, and I am in no position to say who is right. If you happen to know the real story, do leave a comment below. I would love to finally put this to rest.
Let’s talk about chicken rice.
What’s Good about this Chicken Rice
When it comes to chicken rice, the key components are the chicken, the rice, and the chilli. Let’s start with the chicken.
Most hawkers use either a white broiler or a kampung chicken, typically around two kilograms. The bird itself is more or less the same across the good stalls. What separates one from another is the degree of cooking.
Some stalls cook the chicken so that the meat near the bone is still slightly pink. Done right, this gives you the most tender and juicy chicken possible. The trade-off is that the bone marrow runs bright red, which makes some diners nervous.
Those stalls usually debone the chicken before serving to spare their customers the anxiety. On the other end, if a stall cooks the chicken until the marrow turns dark, the bird is almost certainly overcooked. The breast meat will be dry and chalky, and no amount of sauce will save it.
Sin Kee gets it just right. The chicken is cooked to that sweet spot where the bone marrow is just pink in the middle, the breast meat is still moist, and every slice has that satisfying tender bite that good white chicken is supposed to have. The skin has the requisite silky jelly beneath it, though on the day I visited it wasn’t as firm as it should have been.
White broiler chickens are mild-flavoured bird, so most stalls differentate themselves by the sauce that is drizzled over the meat. The soy sauce and oil dressing quite old school. It is a simple light soy sauce dressing which has been tweaked to be quite tasty and well-balanced. Not exceptional, but it is better than many other stalls I have tried. 4.25/5
The rice is well-cooked. Every grain is distinct, with a proper bite and good flavour. The chilli is old school, with a balanced combination of spiciness, tang and a touch of sweetness. They also provide a minced ginger dip on the side, which adds a nice dimension to the plate.
The whole package comes together well. Chicken, rice, chilli, ginger. Each component doing its part. As you would expect of a good chicken rice. 4/5
While most people favour white chicken when it comes to chicken rice, I actually quite enjoy roast chicken. The chicken is marinated before cooking, which means the meat carries more flavour. White chicken, on the other hand, wins on texture. That slippery skin and the jelly underneath are what make it worth ordering.
The roast chicken here is very well executed. The spice mix is fragrant, the meat is tender and still juicy. If I had to choose between the two, I would go for the roast without hesitation. But of course, if you can, order both! 4.25/5
The Tau Gay is the real star
I know I am going to invite controversy by raving about the tau gay. This humble side dish hardly ever gets the spotlight at a chicken rice stall. Not so in Ipoh, where the bean sprouts share the limelight with the chicken as an equal partner on the plate. Over there, you don’t eat chicken rice, you eat ayam taugeh!
Before the trip, I might eat a spoonful or two of taugeh, but since then I have learnt to order a whole plate for myself! Not only is it tasty, crunchy and fresh, it has significantly less carbohydrates than a plate of rice, which is great if you are trying to cut carbs!
The Ipoh bean sprout is nothing short of legendary. Shorter, plumper with satisfying crunch, there is no argument that our bean sprouts here cannot compare. However, I did find that if cooked properly, our locally available sprouts can still be very satisfying! The trick is not to overcook the sprouts, so that it retains its crunch and sweetness and not turn stringy like those that are fried and left to out on display at the economic rice stall!
The tau gay here is poached briefly in chicken stock, just long enough to shed the raw beany taste without going limp, then dressed with oyster sauce and fried shallots. it’s very simple but deeply satisfying. And actually that is how I cook bean sprouts at home nowadays! 4.5/5
Conclusion
So who is the real Sin Kee? Steven has the trademark. Benson has the bloodline and the Michelin Bib Gourmand. Both believe they have a legitimate claim to the name.
But does it really matter now? I think all that matters is whether the chicken rice is good. And both stalls have their own strengths.
For me, if I am hankering for tau gay and roast chicken, this is the Sin Kee I am heading to.
