Hainan Chicken Rice Ball – The Only Chicken Rice Balls in Singapore With a Century Old Recipe

Aptly found in the midst of the Little India heritage conservation area at Shin Boon Hwa Food Centre is Hainan Chicken Rice Ball which has a rich history of 104 years. Uncle Ba told us that he took over the business from his mother, who took over from her uncle who used to sell it by the roadside in shoulder years before World War II. After close to four decades of running this stall at Dickson Road, he is still going strong for now but he lamented how age is catching up. He is open to mentoring someone who is willing to endure the rigour of the trade in hopes to keep this brand going even after he retires.

The stall is opened from 10 am to 3 pm daily, but you have to be fast as they are sold out way before 3 pm on a daily basis. You can drop uncle a text to ask him to reserve a packet or two and pick it up later! This might just the only place in Singapore that sells authentic Hainanese Chicken Rice Balls. Do get a taste of them before we’re able to cross the borders to Melaka again!

From the lean menu, we got the Chicken with Double Ball ($4.50) and the Chicken Rice Set ($5). What’s the difference? Well, the addition of pork belly. Nani? Pork belly? Yeah, I’ll get there later.

The Chicken with Double Ball comes with two very well shaped hand-rolled rice balls (got technique one ok, don’t play play), a seemingly small but large portion of boiled chicken and the signature herbal soup. Everything is plated on really small plates and that made the rice balls look way out of proportion.

The huge rice balls don’t have any chicken stuffed in them. However, I find it much more convenient to eat it this way as you can cut up the rice ball in half or just bite it off and have pieces of tender chicken to go along with it. It could be a little too salty for those who prefer 清淡 (bland) stuff. There is a rather substantial amount of salt that went into the making of it, including a special salt that has to be fried before being used.

As the chicken is already drenched in dark soya sauce, all you have to do to make this meal complete is to dip the chicken into the handmade chilli sauce! Even though the chilli might be very watery, it still has a strong spicy kick. The chicken was very tender and easy to chew through. Good news for those of you who don’t like chicken skin – there is barely any on this!

The herbal soup is concocted with many different Chinese herbs, spices, and the chicken soup that came from the pot used to boil the chicken. The soup had a strong herbal taste and a tinge of sourness that came from the cloves added into it. You either love or hate it. There was also tau pok in the soup!

Now, onto the set meal that has the addition of pork belly. When I asked uncle why was pork belly added as well, he said he didn’t know why too, but his mother just added it and he followed suit. Well, it’ll be a mystery forever, but I can live with this mystery.

The tender pork belly was cooked to perfection. The layer of fat melted in my mouth, and the texture of the skin was just right. It was well seasoned as well, and it ought to be so as it was cooked for long hours in braising sauce and only scooped out just before the stall opened. If you love lor bak, go for the set meal.

All in all, this is a real heritage gem. If you would like to have a taste of authentic Hainanese Chicken Rice Balls, be sure to head here early and be prepared to queue alongside his regulars who have been coming for the past few decades!

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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