Pin Sheng Chicken Rice Review: Long-Queue Chicken Rice By Ex-Boon Tong Kee Chef

Pin Sheng Chicken Rice is run by an ex-Boon Tong Kee chef at Bukit Merah

Thanks to plenty of media buzz, a recommendation from Member of Parliament Melvin Yong, and never-ending long queues, Pin Sheng Chicken Rice quickly became one of the mainstays of Bukit Merah Central Food Centre since its opening in December 2022. What we’ve heard is that the chicken rice here tastes quite similar to the one at Boon Tong Kee—and that’s probably not a coincidence, as the stall is run by a former head chef of the restaurant in question.

While some chicken rice elitists don’t look favourably upon Boon Tong Kee these days, I’m of the opinion that some of the franchise’s chains still serve good chicken rice. So I had to go and see whether Pin Sheng’s rendition comes close to, or even surpasses, those at Boon Tong Kee.

Food at Pin Sheng Chicken Rice

We began with the Chicken Drumstick Rice ($5.50), which arrived as a plate of chopped-up steamed chicken drumstick, a separate plate of rice, and some cabbage soup.

The chicken was the first thing we evaluated, and boy was it good. It was wonderfully tender and juicy, with some sweet-savoury courtesy of the soy sauce that drenched the meat. Notice the gelatinous layer below the chicken’s skin, which proves that it was dunked into an ice bath to give the meat its smooth, silky texture.

I was impressed by how close this chicken came to the best Boon Tong Kee outlets. My only complaint was that, even as far as drumsticks go, the one here felt a tad too small.

While I wouldn’t call the rice here the tastiest around, it was still savoury and fragrant in its own right. I also appreciated that the rice was fluffy, moist, and the opposite of clumpy. Of course, you can add some chilli or dark soy sauce to lift the flavours.

Speaking of chilli, Pin Sheng’s version has a good spicy kick, but I thought it could’ve been tangier or more flavourful.

We also wanted to try the Char Siew Rice (from $4), which uses the same flavoured rice that was present in our previous dish.

Since we’ve already evaluated the rice, I will be focusing on the char siew itself. While the meat wasn’t particularly succulent, it had an addictive sweet glaze and smoky aroma that left me wanting more. While I wouldn’t choose the char siew rice over the chicken rice here, ordering a platter of Char Siew (from $6) would be a good addition to your meal.

We also decided to try one of the stall’s vegetable dishes, the Lettuce with Oyster Sauce (from $3). As much as I encourage having more greens in your meal, this side dish was quite subpar. Strangely, the oyster sauce was bland, and the tough lettuce was rather unappetising.

Ambience at Pin Sheng Chicken Rice

As mentioned earlier, Pin Sheng Chicken Rice is found in Bukit Merah Central Food Centre, which is one of the more well-furnished hawker centres around at the moment. It gets very crowded during peak hours, though, so do go early so you don’t have to wait too long for your food and a table.

Bukit Merah Central Food Centre is a 15-minute walk from Redhill MRT Station.

The verdict

Pin Sheng Chicken Rice serves really good plates of chicken rice that are comparable to those at Boon Tong Kee. If you’re on the hunt for a chicken rice place to try, make Pin Sheng Chicken Rice a priority.

For a look at the best chicken rice eateries in Singapore, read our best chicken rice guide. For the story of how chicken rice became Singapore’s unofficial national dish, read our chicken rice history feature.

Address: 163 Bukit Merah Central, #02-51, Bukit Merah Central Food Centre, Singapore 150163
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 11am to 4pm
Website
Pin Sheng Chicken Rice is not a halal-certified eatery.

Photos taken by Raelynn Ng.
This was an independent review by Eatbook.sg.