Is Tian Tian really the best chicken rice (海南鸡饭) in Singapore?
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- Which is better? Tian Tian or an ex-veteran chef of Tian Tian who set up his own chicken rice stall?
Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice (天天海南鸡饭)
#01-10/11 Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur Street, 069184
OPENING HOURS
Tue - Sun: 10:00 - 20:00
Closed: Mon
Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice (阿仔海南鸡饭)
#01-07 Maxwell Road Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur Street, 069184
OPENING HOURS
Mon: 11:00 - 19:30
Wed - Sun: 11:00 - 19:30
Closed: Tue
Music credits: Fast Glass (Blue Wednesday)
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Really love your reviews! They're very... honest, detailed and comprehensive as compared to other more renowned food channels/blogs.
Tian Tian definitely isn't the best. But I'd say it the benchmark for "Singapore Chicken Rice". It sets the standards for flavors, tastes etc. Its the bare bones of chicken rice. "Reference" are taken from Tian Tian, then ppl put in their own style and own techniques. Different chefs has different cooking style and thus, different taste and flavors. To achieve different combinations of tastes.
No not the Best
This video prompted me to subscribe to your channel. Just visited Ah Tai today in October 2018. Totally underrated. A shorter line as promised compared to Tian Tian. Love the clear chicken soup and the fragrant rice. Got a lot of meat with skin. Love this video!!!
both are so so. Go try Heng Ji Chicken rice at Chinatown Hawker center
I ate at Tian Tian last week. Do they serve the best chicken rice? I really can't say. It wasn't good enough I suppose. What struck me more than the food was the abysmally unfriendly service. I was THE first person queued up in line. I waited patiently for the stall to open. I consider myself a pretty good international traveler. I am nothing if not polite. I was shocked therefore with how rudely the woman who was running things treated me. Hey, I know this is a business....a very busy business, still I don't think I am unreasonable NOT tbe scowled at and rudely motioned to take my food get the hell out of her sight!
Contrast this to the woman running the Woong Kee beancurd stall a few meters away. What a pleasant person to connect with early in the morning!
Yeah courtesy is not their strong suit. That’s kind of expected at very popular hawker stalls in singapore!
Sorry to hear abt the unpleasant experience. Hawkers who get good business in Singapore become extremely arrogant and snobbish, it's kinda their culture
Yeah Hawker stalls who are popular tends to behave arrogantly and has a get out of my face attitude. Makes you feel like giving them a slap
I would not patronise any business with this kind of rude attitude, no matter how good their food is.
If you're above 50 and order/speak in dialect, usually the rude hawkers will become extra friendly.
Back when Tian Tian used to serve soup, my mother (late 60s, speaks Hokkien) would bring a Zebra pot to the stall, and they'd fill it to the brim; free of charge! Whenever I tried the same thing with my bad Mandarin, they'd charge me extra and still scowl at me like I sneezed on their steamed chickens.
Very well done review. Unbiased and informative! Hope to see you do more reviews like that, comparing similar dishes from well-known places with an unbiased POV. Maybe you can compare the other Chicken rice that are famous in Singapore too?
I dunno about comparison but I have my eye on filming one or two of my ultimate favourite chicken rice stalls...! Coming soon!
Thank you very much sir! Do you have a recommendation for a recipe of Chicken Rice? Tried almost all of them but dont get it right as at Tian Tian or Ah Tai 😎
I love watching your reviews. You describe the food so well. I can imagine how it tastes.Will be checking out these places when I return to SG.
When I was back in Singapore in February, the queue for Tian Tian was 100+ deep. For the other chicken rice stalls all together, there were perhaps 15 people tops.
I heard that the uncle that started Ah Tai after the daughter of the owner of Tian Tian took over and had a fight with him. Apparently caused quite a scandal in Singapore at the time.
UncleGweilo yes it did. But still the crowd still goes to tian tian. The brand power is strong in this one lol
i suppose also whynot be yourown boss and make more ratherthan a paidmployee hvetolistento boss or his relative
but i m not aware of any scandal! was there one?
Hey Gregory, thank you very much! Just a question. I try to cook Chicken Rice at home in Germany. I make the rice with fried ginger, garlic and onions. Then i cook the Rice in Chicken broth and Lemon Grass. But its never that tasty and flavourfull as in Singapur. So i think maybe they put a sauce over the Rice? Maybe something like Kecap Manis? Or use MSG or chicken powder? Kind regards from the Chicken Rice Maniac: Horst😀
You need a lot of chicken fat to flavour the rice. Also some hawkers put a drizzle of soy and sesame seed oil mix on the chicken to boost the flavour
Your videos are great! I like your presentation and editing. You explain and give info very articulately which is good. Keep these videos coming!
My family preferred Ah Tai chicken rice.i guess we're use to his way of Ah Tai cook his chicken rice.
Good display of comparison between AH TAI vs TIAN TIAN CHICKEN RICE. Now I now which stall to choose from, thanks a lot for your detailed introduction.
Glad you found it useful!
Gregory Leow , Absolutely useful......
There's a chicken rice stall at Redhill hawker centre that serves white chicken with a pristine taste. The rice and chicken taste so clean.
Yes that’s my absolute favourite!
Have you ever tried old See Kee chicken rice? Comparing to ah tai and tian tian, can swee kee beat them?
long ago yes, bcos only one chicken rice store and not everyone selling it, only a handful I suppose
While looking for places to eat in Singapore, where I will visit again in late October. I have found your channel, and very much enjoyed your vlogs so much so I subscribed. Your vlogs help me so much of planning where and what to eat in Singapore. Thank you Gregory. If I see you in SG, I'll say hello 😀
hey thanks for the compliment! am very glad that it helped and hope you liked my recommendations!
Oh yes, I've got quite a few lists of what to eat after watching your vlogs! The lists include chicken rice, of course, and Hup Kee Guan Chang (cant remember the name) but the dish looks amazingly yummy! Bak Chor Mee, Loh Mei, lists go on! Although never heard of these dishes before, surely would love to try 😋😋😋
5 years later, and this video is still relevant. I prefer AT over TT. Love that all elements are in harmony than that big bang chicken flavour.
Greg, i m here today, try the same method you did. $5 each from both stall & ordered tail meat. I think local Singaporean may choose Ah Tai... as the rice n the chilli is better. Chicken meat wise is the same. My choice is Ah Tai as i personal feel that chilli n rice is very important to this dish.
Which rice is drier? I don't like rice which is too wet and soft.
I've only been in sg for a few months and my current favourite is the boneless chicken rice at katong. They serve it with acar and a big bowl of soup. Have you tried it? I want to know what you think!! 😅😅
I did not find the rice and chili amazing but i loved the taste of the white chicken 😋
Yes! It’s a nice chicken rice! The roast chicken is especially good if I recall correctly
There is a lot more chicken rice stalls much better than this one, it taste ordinary, over rated.
I find tian tian it too overated it doesn't even rank among my top 10 of chicken rices in SG & for that shit service attitude i for sure won't even take a grace at that stall again but well everyone taste & expectation is different but i will still say that re still at least more than 10 chicken rices stall ard SG re so much better than tian tian
shill me your top 3 please
wow you sound like you have some personal issue against tian tian
Tried this place out at 10am. Was first in line and they made me come back. So got my coffee and curry sardines. By 10:15, there was a queu and I was 8th in line already. The owner rudely shoo'd us to line against the wall. We did but just laughed it off.Rice was pretty dry, so was the chicken meat. The chili was was nothing special, just blended watery chili mixed in grated ginger. Would've loved it being served separately.The saving grace was in the gelatinous chicken skin. Just the right amount of fats and slipperiness. But not AS MUCH as the umami flavors coming from the clear semi-thick gravy glazing the chicken skin. Made from dried shrimps! GENIUS!Would I come back? NAH! So many other better places to try.
Only non Hainanese even would suggest Tian Tian to be "best Hainanese Chicken Rice". It's not even on top 5 for Hainanese folks.
OMG! That was an amazing review. Instant fan.
Tian tian came into prominence because of Bourdain. Sorry any chicken rice to ang mohs is good. The best chicken rice I've ever tasted, also a favourite of our late PM LKY, was Swee Kee along Middle Road. I said was because they closed like around 1987.
What are you trying to achieve here ?. Saying you tried the best chicken rice and we can never will cause it's no longer available. Please....spare us your comment if it's not helpful
Great taste review! Thank you for the video, Uncle Greg😁
BEST chicken rice review. Looooved the breakdown of the chiclen rice experoence per attribute/component - rice, chicken, sauce, soup, veg... portion size. Thank you for creating helpful and intelligent content!
Thank you for the nice comments! Glad you enjoy the content!
I tried the Ah Tai Vs Tian Tian thing in 2014; Tian Tian were still giving soup then, but it was lacking in flavour compared to AT's. Apart from that, as you mentioned in the video, there wasn't much difference between the two back then. We didn't manage to get to Maxwell at all this time unfortunately, as we spent too much time visiting new stalls and my wife finds it difficult to eat more than three meals a day :o(
haha, reminds me of the time i was in penang with my wife. we were eating one dish an hour! that was back then though, nowadays one meal a day and we're full
Ahh you are being sensitive. The lady who took your money gestured for you to take the tray and go the food collection area. Did not see the rudeness, unless she told you something rude. But superb video as always.
I'll have to admit, not all good food specialists have the service to complete the experience mantra. There are a lot of rude food specialists out there who could not care less.
Love how details you are on comparing their food. Thankyouuu
hey thanks for the compliment! glad that you enjoyed it!
I have watched many food videos, and think you are one of the better ones. In fact I think you have the potential to be tops in SEAsia. I say this because most do not bother with video quality. Your videos are generally informative, balanced and interesting. No eating and slurping exaggerations. Just look at Mark Wiens, really, everything is so great?? You might just want to stabilize the camera at the start of videos when you approach the store. I almost stopped watching few days ago when I discovered you. Gave me a headache. Also watch Manaweblife Malaysia, another very good one. I guess I must have missed lots when I worked in Spore years ago. Happy for you to have a great family. Your little girl is why people want o have kids.. That sleep vs food part can get tons of hits on You Tube. May I ask if your main objective is monetizing?
john friend thanks for the nice compliments! I do what I can for each video. Still a learning journey for me haha! Yes, I’ll look into more stable footage, more careful with my movements these days! Yes these videos are monitised but it’s really just for nice beer money every once in a while...!
I mean Mark Wiens did not compare with Ah Tai and he didn't have chicken rice at singapore before, certainly his first time trying would be a great eye opener and more or less food that he eat on his vlogs are actually legit good, did try some of them, he may seem to over exaggerate most of the times on his facial expression.However , he does differ from the good ones and the really good ones.
Tian Tian definitely saw your camera and that influence their portion of chicken sold to you. When my friend and I ordered the $3.50 portion, we were told off when we requested no breast meat. Said only breast meat for our order unless we upsize. To add insult to injury, was short changed. When I went back and told the stall assistant so, he insisted the change was correct. After I went through our order and change and point to his error, the lady boss told him to give me the correct change.
this was so enjoyable to watch, wtf. haha. your descriptions are so acute that i'm easily able to imagine the tastes and and textures. although you seem a bit intimidating to eat with, i can picture you breaking down the different aspects of the meal hahah
No lah. My brain switches off when I’m not filming lol
Honestly, TT white chicken rice is quite good. Not bad considered I have tasted many CR in 49years
First time i had it was at a hawker food festival organised by the good Dr of ieatishootipost. It was really good cos they use the corm fed chicken. But when i had it again at maxwell.. it was very average.. the chicken meat is so average. .. most hawker stall would have beat it.. than i try the ah tai stall, the rice is so much nicer!!
The title of the song please.
Thanks
Tbh one of my favourite chicken rice is from Mr Chicken Rice, which is started by an ex-Chatterbox chef. Hahaha chicken rice in Singapore seems to have a lot of "rivalry" and ex-chefs quitting to start their own competing stall.
Unfortunately my chicken breast meat has no skin on it! Maybe I should have asked for it. But Tian Tian isn't as bad as many people say it to be, I think it's still considerably good. The rice for me is a winning factor - the seems to be a subtle but inexplicable taste advantage in the stock/amount of seasoning against all the chicken rice I've had so far (including the Golden Mile's $2.50 Boneless).
Michael Chan says tian tian was still better but for me, the broth gives a plus. It sort of complete the dish for me.
I know there are some ordinary chicken rice hawker out there that taste as good if not better and even excel in the broth.
Like people here to recommend
This is the most comprehensive chicken rice taste test so far. Any idea for the garlic chili sauce recipe?
Why should we lower the spice for our local Asian dish just for western tourist?
Great idea to do this comparison. Fair judgement too. Most helpful. I’d cut out the cheesy music.
Great vid the way you did the comparison is really fair and frank. given the waiting time i think i would go for ah tai in future =)
Let me know what you think!
My favourite is Beach Road Food Centre Hainanese Chicken Rice. I am a Hainanese by the way.
That stall is incredibly cheap! The $2.50 option is generous!
Omg... it is my favourite chicken rice stall Too!..... tian tian is TOO overrated!!!!! (My house nearby kopitiam taste better yo)
I remember the last time I ate at Beach Road Hawker Centre is rather oily.
thank you for the review sir , im working in seranggon and sure I will go for my lunch one day
That was a rather in-depth chicken rice review and comparison between both stalls. I never knew those adjectives could be used to describe chicken rice. I tried Tian Tian many years ago and was not impressed. I will need to try Ah Tai next time. Out of curiosity, how do you compare them to Boon Tong Kee chicken rice?
Still prefer chicken rice at Tiong bahru market ,rice is fragrant , meat tender and free soup cost $3.00 only after so many year
I’ll try the stall again. When I tried it years ago, I wasn’t impressed but it was only one time
Very useful video for tourists to Singapore, particualrly since you highlight the price and the soup difference. Thanks for the Bourdain mention.
Also great intro timelapse
Hi, i will be in Singapore next week and would like to visit the Maxwell Food center, what time of day would you recommend me to visit Tian Tian stall to avoid the massive line up? Thank you in advance.
Hi Jason, try early in the morning. 10am or so. there will be a queue but it's short and you'll get your food in 10 minutes or less
Try the chicken rice at tampines mart there are 2
,the aircon kopitiams chicken rice is very good
I was at Maxwell last week. I was expecting that Ah Tian would taste better, and was expecting that Tian Tian was mostly media hype. But I was surprised, that I genuinely found that Tian Tian was better! The rice was just more flavorfull.
As they say, one man’s meat...!
Very detailed explanation. Are u a Food connoisseur?
Not really, just someone who loves to eat :)
@@GregoryLeow Keep it up. Loved your Food Vlogs
Thanks Greg. It’s gonna be Ah tai for me
Tian Tian has evolved itself to suit tourists' taste and has lost its original singaporean pull as a hawker staple. Being unable to simply ask for white chicken breast, and to be simply given a ticket and to collect it 2 steps away just breaks the whole hawker feel. You dont have to queue up 30 mins for a plate of chicken rice imo
Chicken rice is good. Wan tan mee is also nice in some place here.
I enjoy this type of vlogs. They are really very interesting and well prepared presentation on how the food tastes.
Hey thank you for the compliment!
I don't think you did Ah Zai justice for this review because you're comparing apples to oranges here. Yes you ordered the default meal but you should've specified the parts for a better taste comparison. I find the quality of the chicken to be same for both and as such I vastly prefer Ah Zai because no need to queue.
yeah, i didnt know at that time that the default $3.50 plate was going to be so different!
I went there last week. Tian tian chicken rice now SGD5 /plate.
At. Chinatown people park. Food. Centre. Chicken rice. Delicious
nah i went down to TT to ask for Breast meat. Couldnt even reflect it in the ticket i was given to collect my plate. Ended up getting chicken wing that had very little to no meat on it.
TT has lost the human touch of being a hawker and has went into a money making machine pandering to tourists and people who want to see whats all the fuss is about.
How do you have the patience to eat chicken rice 1 spoon at a time?I myself will just gulp everything down as quick as i can!
Eat a meal before reviewing haha
wahh video like casey neistat. good work
So my question for everyone is where is the broth for tian tian? I hate to say it but I do judge on soup, chicken, rice and chilli.
It sucks that they phased it out, I feel cheated in some sense. I know someone is going to say soup unhealthy. My answer to you is if unhealthy you shouldn’t be eating this.
I tried both too. Obviously ah tai takes the cake! Like what u said! Just provide the damn soup!
I tired tian tian already, it was ok but there’s a lot of chicken rice in Singapore that you would like also.
Hi Gregory,
In the Yuhua village there is a best chicken rice is at 254 Jurong east Street 24
Zhi Yu Cheong yes! Xin Yun chicken rice! I love it!!!
Jurong West Block 505 hawker centre has at least 5 stalls that sell chicken rice. I like 3 out of the 5.
Going to Singapore in two weeks and been looking around for food guides. This is the best channel I've found so far. Subbed! Thank you for your hard work, the quality of your work is outstanding!
Thank you! Glad you find it useful!
Delicious
Tian tian chicken rice is one of my favourite chicken rice lol .
I never like Tian Tian after my first try, the rice has flavour but too soggy n stick together. For chicken rice, the rice is the most important component of all, so Tian Tian failed to impress me. I also never like Boon Tong Kee cos their chicken lost the sweetness after being soaked in iced water, looks shiny for the skin but lost its chicken sweetness. I do like Tiong Bahru :) Oh ya, I like eating with ginger sauce, it's a great plus point to me. Your review is very detailed. Thanks!
Try the Redhill one! That’s my current favourite!
Tian Tian hainanese chicken rice does not served the free soup as most hsinanese chicken rice does plus the chilli is watery and vinegar was added and not spicy.
Also since their Head Chef Tai left Tian Tian.
The rice, chicken are more for tourist taste rather then for Singapore locals.
Nothing like a cup of milo in the morning
She still loves it up TIL today :)
Bro.....Toa Payoh Chicken rice is better......especially the deep fried chicken
Are you talking about the one at lor 7 hawker? The same hawker with the original fishball Mee pok?
The well-worn army singlet completes this video hahahaha perfect!
😂😂😂
Where is the ginger sauce
Ah tai has ginger sauce but I didn’t take it! Tian tian don’t have lol
Surprisingly, you as a Chinese can pronounced Tian Tian as Dian Dian.
Even though I spent 10 days in Singapore I still did not manage to try either of these two hawker stalls. I blame Chinese New Year, and my own jetlag. I did manage to try the Tian Tian outlet at Clementi Mall, and your description of "delicious mush" is not far off my own experience. Plus, I think I paid about $5 for a fairly small amount of chicken rice, albeit with a drumstick and some soup, so not the best value-for-money deal considering that it was some distance away from the downtown area, with not many tourists around.
I also tried one of the Hainanese chicken rice stalls at Yuhua Village Food Centre (the Thai one - the other one was closed). The rice was less prominent there, which meant that you could actually taste the chicken meat. Also, the meal came with a side dish (you can choose between 6 different ones, such as vegetables, chicken feet or wu xiang) and soup, so at $3.90 I felt that was a bargain. Still, you have to go to Yuhua Village to get it...
The main tian tian outlet is better but not by too much. At the other outlets like in Clementi, I’d say you’re getting about 80% of the taste...? I’ve also bought from the Clementi outlet, it can be a little inconsistent
Good
try the "boon tong kee" outlet at river valley road
Boon tong Kee rice is the best! Lots of chicken fat lol
therice oso very frsgrant and the raw fis/preserved veggie with pork belly just as yummy although parking is a bit problematic but there is the catholio church next side road can hve free parking except on sundays i suppose hen the church members congregate there for their church service
thks greg for your vids greg happy makaning!
Jew Kit Chicken Rice is also one of the best too
I go to the bukit Timah branch off and on. It's pretty ok, I'm not complaining!
Great video. When you guys are in Malaysia try the chicken over there. Most of them are just as good and definitely better prices.
Malaysian chicken is awesome. Kampong chicken lah
No offence to any chicken rice Vendors here , there is no such things as best chicken rice or duck rice, whereby in any Hawker centre where chicken are pre-cooked ala order , it's like fast foods, only difference is the chicken are cooked at least 60-65% cooked , left hung on display rack till meats are tenderised hence the result are obvious moist, tender & brushed over with savoury oil. The killer punch are the Chilli sauce mix draped over with the chicken rice stocks with the secret mixed or garlic, ginger and vinegar mixes. Of course the chicken must be at certain weight value enhancement
Any upcoming delicious food videos
🙆🙆🙆
if I'd watched this before, I would also have tried both. I tried only Tian Tian and seriously, I didn't like it at all :/ You're such a serious eater from all you explain in this vid :D
tian tian pour a bit sesame oil on the chicken
Maybe tian tian is the best rice chicken, but then maybe I love my own homemade chicken rice, though their chicken is so juicy, light and jelly-ish skin texture which is good, but for me it is a bit bland.
I like tian tian chicken but prefer ah tai rice. Normally i will order chicken from tian tian and rice from ah tai.
No just no. 7-11's Chicken Rice in Singapore is actually better than Tian Tian. I hate that i was curious about the long line and tried it. My gosh!
Bro........ Thanks for your recommendation ...... Tian Tian is very ordinary.....
Yummy
Magaret Drive chicken rice is the best in SG
make me hungry in the middle of the night!!!hahaha
I'm. Stay Chinatown try. Before
Amazing
Standard drop though. Try golden mile.
Review coming up! :)
The last time I ate tian tian was about 3 years ago. I dont like it. I find that it is too salty. Maybe they sprayed too much sauce on it
It’s the chicken Essence stock which they pour onto every plate. Some people like it some hate it
Gregory Leow 👍
Gregory Leow Chicken 'essence' stock ? What's that ? Made with chicken powder or cubes ? Maggi?
At. Bedok fengshan
Obviously tiantian gave better parts due to the camera. Breast meat will always lose a lot of points in a comparison.