Uncle Louis Famous Chicken Rice: 29 years and still under the radar!

A New Chicken Rice Stall To Check Out!

During our recent visit to a fine dining restaurant, the maître d’hôtel enthusiastically shared with us his latest chicken rice discovery. Indeed, after enjoying a multicourse degustation meal, we found ourselves engaged in a conversation about chicken rice! He expressed his deep passion for this dish, recounting his knowledge of the best chicken rice stalls on the island. According to him, he recently encountered the best chicken rice at Maxwell Road Food Centre, and it wasn’t the famous Tian Tian Chicken Rice.

Still Under The Radar!

The stall in question is Uncle Louis Chicken Rice which was founded by a former Hilton Chef. Lately, there has been a trend of ex-hotel chefs transitioning into the hawker scene. Naturally, I assumed that Chef Louis had spent decades in the hotel industry and had recently ventured into opening a hawker stall. Surprisingly, it turned out that this happened 29 years ago when the phenomenon of hotel chefs turning hawkers was not yet a trend!

Ironically, Uncle Louis’s so-called “Famous” chicken rice isn’t as renowned as one might expect. Despite my quest for Singapore’s best chicken rice since 2006, this was the first time I came across this stall! Although he currently operates three stalls, they are all situated in heartland hawker centers, which is why they are still under the radar.

Just a few months ago, he took a bold step by opening another stall at Maxwell Food Centre, directly across from Tian Tian Chicken Rice. This decision is quite bold, considering there are already several other stalls along the same stretch competing for a share of the chicken rice market. However, Louis Tan, 57, is confident that he can give Tian Tian a run for their money!

Let’s get down to the chicken rice!

The Chicken

The white chicken is very nicely cooked. The skin is slippery and has that layer of jelly under it albeit a little thin. It comes with a sauce that is very nicely seasoned and the breast meat is not overcooked such that it is tender and still moist.

Their roast chicken is very good as well. The meat is tender and the five-spice seasoning is flavourful without being too salty. It’s a difficult toss-up between the two, and I’d probably just order both the next time I visit.

The rice is perfectly cooked such that the grains are plump tender and still intact. Uncle Louis tells me that they make a special effort to render extra chicken fat to give the rice that special fragrance. I like that they offer minced ginger on top of the mandatory chili and dark soy sauce, although I felt the ginger didn’t quite have that spicy kick. 4.25/5

Lisa Adds:
The chilli is just run-of-the-mill good. Something you can find at most chicken rice stalls.

Conclusion

Though not perfect, Uncle Louis serves up a very good chicken rice that is well worth the calories. It’s a very good alternative to Tian Tian Chicken Rice if you don’t feel like spending time in the queue.

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