Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice (Maxwell)

Apologies for the lack of pic. I forgot to take one

Objectively speaking, they are one of the best in Singapore. Ckn was the more meaty kind and quite well cooked. Rice was fragrant and texture was good too. Sauce was somewhat thick, and there's a nice sweetness coupled w soy sauce. Ckn soup was light but passable. Chili was good too

But, being one of the best, doesn't necessarily justify the queue given the how many tourists are here. Not to mention the price

On a weekday morning, at 11 or sth, a 20-30min queue is still reasonable enough if you're in the area for some reason. However I would say during peak hours this is definitely a place to avoid, not worth the queue at all when youre alr paying a premium

The former head chef of renowned Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, Wong Liang Tai (Ah Tai) set up his own stall in February 2012.
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Only the poached version is available here, but the chicken meat is fresh, tender and springy, with a thin gelatinous layer beneath the skin. Has lovely sweet savoury flavour, with the gravy lending a savoury salty nutty note.
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The rice is fluffy but has a more firm bite than elsewhere, with grainy savoury flavour. Paired with dark sweet soy sauce for salty sweet notes, and vinegared chili with a tangy sour sweet spicy kick.
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Chicken Rice
Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice
@ Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur Street #01-07
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/07/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-rice.html

Unfortunately Tian Tian fared better. The rice is abit hard, not fluffy and I prefer rice that is more fragrant.

Set comes with some green vegetables and cost $7.50 on Whyq delivery.

Second time doing a Ah Tai vs Tian Tian Chicken Rice comparison and my verdict still remains the same. Ah Tai has more tender chicken and Tian Tian has more fragrant rice. Both are still very delicious chicken rices on their own! ☺️

The tale of two Maxwell chicken rice stalls - Tian Tian and Ah Tai. Both stalls serve chicken rice that’s based on a similar recipe. There’s a back story to how Ah Tai came about but I’ll leave that for another day.

The chicken here is soft, tender and juicy which makes it the highlight of the dish. For either $3.50 or $5, you’ll get a decently sized serving of chicken meat. I actually like the rice here as the texture is rather firm and moist and is rather flavourful.

What about the chilli sauce? it has a strong garlic taste and I wished it could be spicier. Not forgetting the thick, savoury sauce that’s drizzled over the chicken, it’s a perfect complement to the steamed chicken which would taste rather bland on its own.

I usually patronise Ah Tai as the queue is shorter and I find their chicken rice to be excellent. In fact I’d easily rate it as one of my favourite chicken rice places in Singapore.

Decided to get half a chicken (white) from Ah Tai and half a chicken (roasted) from Tian Tian, and the stand-out dish was definitely Ah Tai’s white chicken. It was extremely soft and tender (even the chicken breast) and the chicken pieces were so thick and juicy! Tian Tian’s chicken pales in comparison, although I have to say that Tian Tian’s rice is much more fragrant and flavourful