Heng Ji Chicken Rice - Poached Chicken, Broken Rice Method

Tucked within the rows of Chinatown Complex Food Centre, Heng Ji Chicken Rice has built its reputation on a single offering: Hainanese-style chicken rice. The stall poaches its chicken and cooks its rice using methods passed down across generations, a focus that has kept the queue forming since it first set up along Smith Street decades ago. What follows is a closer look at the dish that has anchored this stall through the years.

Heng Ji has operated in the Chinatown area for several decades, with ownership passed down within the family. The stall was previously located along Smith Street before the area’s hawkers were relocated to Chinatown Complex Food Centre. Through the move and the years since, the stall has kept its original recipe and method largely unchanged, a consistency that has earned it a loyal base of repeat customers, including multiple generations of the same families.

The chicken at Heng Ji is poached rather than roasted, a method that keeps the meat moist and allows the natural flavour of the bird to come through without the char or glaze associated with soy-sauce versions. The poaching process is done gently, drawing out flavour from the bird without overcooking the flesh.

Once cooked, the chicken is plunged into ice water, a step that firms up the skin into a smooth, slightly taut finish while keeping the meat beneath tender and succulent. Diners can choose between breast or thigh cuts, with the option of a whole or half portion, and the meat is chopped into generous pieces rather than thin slices, giving each portion a heartier bite.

The rice itself is cooked in chicken stock infused with garlic and ginger, and carries a distinctly broken-grain texture, a result of how the grains are processed before steaming. Rather than the light, fluffy grains found at most other stalls, the rice here has a denser, almost porridge-like consistency that clings together, soaking up the stock’s flavour more fully with each spoonful.

The meal is rounded out with a side of clear chicken soup, and diners can add on vegetables, chicken liver, gizzard, or a braised egg.

Three condiments accompany the chicken rice at Heng Ji: a chili sauce, a minced ginger paste, and a dark soy sauce. The chili sauce stands out for its tangy, sweet profile, closer in character to a sweet Thai-style chili than the sharper, garlic-forward sauces typically paired with chicken rice elsewhere. All three condiments are prepared fresh at the stall daily, and diners are encouraged to mix them according to taste rather than rely on just one.

For those seeking a straightforward, no-frills take on a national dish, Heng Ji Chicken Rice offers a version rooted in technique and consistency rather than trend. Its long-standing presence in Chinatown Complex makes it a worthwhile stop for anyone tracing the history of chicken rice in Singapore.

Address: 335 Smith Street, #02-131, Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, Singapore 050335
Opening Hours: Tue–Sun, 11.30am to 6pm. Closed Mondays.