Chicken rice - the favorite of local Singapore cuisine. We hit up the famous Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice at Maxwell hawker market to sample this staple dish. There are tons of places that serve this up in Singapore in various ways. We chose this based on a food blog, and yes - Anthony Bourdain's show Layover.
The line was hefty, but the aroma arising from the stall was enough to make you wait. The chicken is cooked trough and sliced yet remains succulent, tender, with a crisp on the skin and that gelatinous bit just under the skin to make it the perfect blend of textures and savoryness. With that soya sauce and ginger and drizzled chilli, it is served over this aromatic and soft fluffy rice that is almost like basmati rice - fluffy and aromatic but just slightly more sticky. It itself is so good you wanna chow it all down with chilli sauce after the chicken is done! My expectations were met, and knowing they had a picture of Anthony Bourdain on their store front as if he is giving his stamp of approval makes us feel that much more secure - haha!
In addition to the chicken rice, we slurped down on some tasty fish soup - or bee hon soup. A whitish soup of fish and noodles made with simple ingredients of fish and ginger and broth infused together and condiments thrown in at the end making a super flavorful yet light soup. It is without that intense overly fishy taste you might expect, but instead is fresh, light and full of that SE Asia flavor.
We ended the meal with my favorite - a yummy soft red bean cake. Soft guey rice cake filled with sweet pasty red bean. Love it! The egg tart (a local favorite) was also pretty darn good.
Needless to say our trip to Maxwell Hawker market was a success.
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