Singapore 2016: Chinatown Complex

When I first started planning on my trip everyone I spoke to who travelled to Singapore in the past would rave about the hawker style food that this country’s come to be known for.  On a tip by one of my dragonboat teammates, I needed to check out Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle hawker food stall as it was awarded a Michelin star earlier this year.  So naturally, I went straight there and to my surprise, a long line of people snaked across the food court floor all waiting to place their order and get their hands on this Michelin star meal.  If this was Toronto, I probably wouldn’t have waited but there I was patiently waiting in line for an hour and eventually got my hands on the famous Hong Kong soya sauce chicken rice.  Trying to dissect why such a simple dish would be granted a Michelin star, I narrowed it down to 2 things:  the sauce they serve on the rice (which is probably the same sauce that the whole chicken is marinated in) and the sweet, thick, reduced soya sauce that you can dip the chicken into – I couldn’t get enough of that stuff!  Oh, and did I mention the cheap price?  $2 for the meal, what a steal!  A bit of warning, if you plan on visiting, go early as they shortly sold out after we got there.  Other worthwhile notables were the leek and pork dumplings ($5 for 10 dumplings) from Zhong Guo La Mian and the many juice stalls offering freshly blended tropical fruit juices (for $1.20) – its incredible how cheap it is to get such fresh fast food!  My total meal which I shared cost $8.20 (or $4.10 per person).