We decided to head out to Maxwell Food Centre in Chinatown Singapore in order to try out the Tian Tian chicken rice made famous by chefs Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay.
As expected, there was a line at the stall possibly including other tourists who have also heard about the dish.
However, our prior research indicated that Tian Tian's former chef (who was behind the now famous dish) opened his own stall a few meters away and called it Ah Tai. We also checked out the former chef's stall and decided to try his chicken rice too.
There was a news article posted on Ah Tai's store that reported the following information. The 53-year old chef Wong Liang Tai was fired from his 20 year old job at Tian Tian when he decided to open his own chicken rice stall.
Our verdict. At least during the time of our visit, we liked the chicken rice meal served by Ah Tai better than Tian Tian's. We found the Ah Tai chicken rice more flavorful and complete.
This is the Ah Tai meal served with vegetables and soup.
This is the Tian Tian chicken rice. It seemed a bit drier than the Ah Tai version.
All told, Singapore is really known for its chicken rice and there are many good choices, not just at Maxwell Food Centre. When we visited Vivo City, we also tried a chicken rice meal that tasted just as wonderful (and also received some recognition). Noteworthy was the rice itself that was long grain and full of chicken flavor.
Much of the interest in Tian Tian and Ah Tai seems connected to the media's overall interest that has caused good publicity. Tian Tian and Ah Tai are worth trying but foodies need not go all the way to Chinatown in order to savor excellent chicken rice.
Chinatown Singapore is worth a visit...
