Chicken rice is a well-known national food of Singapore. Although you’ll find it everywhere on the island, and a lot of it tastes good, people who live in Singapore also have their own favorite chicken rice places. In that spirit, I too have my own list of favorite places to enjoy chicken rice in the city.
Loy Kee Best Chicken Rice is one of my favorites. The restaurant is located on Balestier Road, which is well known for its amazing local food. I always recommend this place to my friends when they visit Singapore. If you order the “Loy Kee Special Set“, you can enjoy not only the signature chicken but also some nice local side dishes. Even if you add some further side dishes, it will still only cost around SGD10 or so!
This is the full course of chicken rice.
First off, the chicken here is great – soft, juicy, and simply very tasty. They say they prepare fresh daily, with no use of artificial additives, flavorings, or preservatives. It comes with white cabbage soup and Hainanese fragrant rice. Both of these are made from the chicken extract and are full of the umami of chicken. The set is served with crisp Chinese spinach on top, which is scalded and has oyster sauce poured over it. My top recommendation for an additional side dish is marinated eggs, which you can see in the picture below. It’s just so good.
One of the keys to a fantastic chicken rice place is the sauce. Actually, there seems to be a certain connoisseur’s way of mixing and tasting local sauces. Even though I’ve lived in Singapore for 7.5 years, my local friends still tell me how to use the sauces, so I guess I haven’t mastered it yet. Anyway, at this restaurant, you’ll be served with three sauces, dark soy sauce, ginger sauce, and garlic chili sauce. The dark soy sauce goes well with the chicken and rice. You can add ginger source or ginger sauce, depending on your preference mixing with dark soy sauce.
As you will know, there are two types of chicken rice, steamed or roasted. Although it’s the steamed variety that is typically mentioned in guidebooks, both are equally popular among residents in Singapore. I order the steamed version most of the time, while my husband prefers the roasted one.
Some of the side dishes you might want to try
With the chicken rice set and the marinated eggs, you will probably feel full! But just in case you don’t, you may want to try some other side dishes. Fried wanton would be a good thing to have with beer. If you like innards, I’d recommend trying the chicken gizzard.
After you have fully enjoyed their fantastic food, you can explore more on Balestier Road. As I mentioned in the opening, the road is full of restaurants serving great local food. Or, If you just want to chill with a fresh beer, take the 10-min walk to Starker.
Loy Kee Best Chicken Rice: 342 Balestier Rd, Singapore 329774
Getting there: There is no MRT station nearby. If you’re a visitor, it’s recommended to take a taxi. All drivers know the place. It’s a 10-min drive from Orchard or a 15-20 min drive from other central areas.