BEST Singapore Chicken Rice, Maxwell Hawker Center Food Tour!

Hey guys, this is Mike Chen. You know, ever since I started doing this channel, I've been getting comments from people telling me that I need to go to Singapore. Then these comments started getting more and more descriptive with words like chili crab and laksa and hawker centers and Hainanese chicken and it got to the point where whenever someone would mention Singapore to me, I just start salivating. And finally, after years, I am here. I am in Singapore and I'm standing in the middle of one of the best hawker centers in Singapore, Maxwell Food Center. And I think it's true. I think I've died in God's food heaven. And this is my first day. I literally just dropped off all my luggage at the hotel and came right here because oh my God, the anticipation. I mean, there's just so much food. We can't be wasting time. We've got to just start eating. And the first dish I want to try is something I've been dying to try, Hainanese chicken. Of course, Hainanese chicken came from, well, Hainan, which is in China. But they do it so well here in Singapore, it has pretty much become a national dish. And a lot of people tell me here is where they do it best. Tiantian Hainanese chicken. So let's just get started with that. It's 3 o'clock in the afternoon, kind of an awkward time. There's still a line here. I am so excited about this. Ah, this guy's been here. And according to him, chicken rice is so fragrant and delicious, it can be eaten on its own. You better be right, man. Here it is, Hainanese chicken from Singapore. One thing I already know is that there's really no bones in here. So this dish is going to be pretty convenient to eat. And the key thing is the rice is cooked in chicken stock. So just eating it on its own should have a lot of flavor. But check this out, guys. Look how tender this thing is. I'm slightly moving it about and it's just breaking apart. You see that? It's just tender and juicy. You know what? I think I kind of ruined this with all the buildup. I just, I've been waiting for this bite for oh so long. I just want a bite of chicken and rice, no sauce. You guys know that movie from Russia, With Love? This is from Singapore, With Love. With a lot of love. No anticipation, no buildup could have prepared me for that just glorious bite of chicken and rice. I mean, I'm still in chicken and rice euphoria right now. I haven't snapped out of it yet. You know when you see someone, like a random stranger, and they're just so unbelievably slap me stupid beautiful? That's like that, except for it's chicken and rice. It was so good. I think I just don't even realize what I tasted. Hang on a second, let me have another bite of this. To say that chicken is tender is a complete understatement. I mean, that chicken literally just spent a day at the spa. That's how tender it is. And this rice, that rice deserves to be on the Rice Hall of Fame. Is there a Rice Hall of Fame? If, you know what? If not, we should create one and induct this rice. First ballot, Hall of Famer, right here. Every single grain, which is like infused, infused, completely cashed over with delicious chicken flavors. And it's so juicy. I mean, you guys see how juicy this rice is? Oh my God, is this guy ever right? You could definitely eat this on its own. I mean, the rice, some hot oil. I'm set, I'm set. That's all I need. And we got the dipping sauce. All right, since they gave it to me, I've got to try it. It should be a mix of ginger and garlic. Let's go ahead and dip the chicken in this. Oh, oh, I'm so sorry. I'm just really messing this up. Wow. I mean, this chicken and rice was already spectacular. You can give it some ginger, garlic, and spice. Elevated is an understatement. It's not even comparable to the Hainanese chicken I had back in Queens. It's like a diamond versus a pebble. Super Saiyan Goku versus a Krillin. And I don't know if this is a really common side dish to Hainanese chicken. This is sprouts with squid. Then some chili peppers. Just gonna give this a little mix. I love the spice. These guys have been blessed with a gift of food magic. Nay, food wizardry. Sprouts are crunchy. Still has that really nice, fresh sprout flavor. I think this is a good compliment because of the crunch factor. But I also feel like there's a lot of chicken broth here. That's what gives it this nice flavor. I think I'm gonna go back and order another serving of this. I could just sit here and eat this all day. If this is the only thing I have in Singapore, I know I would be missing out, but I would be happy. I had to do it. You know what they say, one good dish deserves another. Do they say that? I say that. I'm just gonna go ahead and make this even better. There we go. Like I said, I'll eat this all day long, but there are other food here. So I'm gonna finish this up, and let's just keep on eating. This is Aunty Hong. She's the only person in Singapore cooking these oyster pancakes. Her mom created this many years ago. And this is a loyal customer who swears by it. This is another popular Singapore street food item. And the first thing I think of when people mention oyster pancake is Taiwan. And that pancake is usually cooked on a teppan. This one is deep fried. I'm not usually a fan of oyster pancakes. I'm really not. Especially the ones in Taiwan. I'm sorry. Is this a little too gooey for me? Oh, but this, this is excellent. Super crunchy on the outside. Pretty sure this is rice batter. And on the inside, it's not just the oysters. Ground pork. Also, I taste a little bit of shrimp. And the vegetables, Chinese celery. I mean, there's so many layers of flavor. This might be the first time in my life I'm really enjoying an oyster pancake. That pancake was so good. I came back and just gonna make this one fresh. If you are ever in Singapore, you really should try this. I don't know if fried bananas are indigenous Singaporean food, but it's like a big egg roll. This is excellent. Look at this yellow custard on the inside. I mean, I don't know if this is a regular banana. I think it's a banana injected with some kind of yellow custard. And it tastes so creamy and nice. That's delicious. God, this is good. I'm really surprised this is that good. Hang on, I gotta ask him what this yellow custard is. Bananas. This is only a banana? Yeah. Just deep fried banana? Yeah. This is Colin. He made this banana. He told me this is just like a regular banana. I feel like this is way sweeter. Yeah, it's very sweet. I thought it was some kind of yellow custard you put in there. This is awesome, man. Thank you so much. Thank you. King of bananas. Is there a queen of bananas? Is that the plantain? Is the plantain the queen of bananas? I mean, well-deserving of his title, king of bananas, fantastic. Wish I had some ice cream. Let's go. These couple of dishes I got, these are local favorites. This is a rojak and this is a popiah. The rojak is kind of like a mixed salad. It could be fruits, vegetables, almost anything goes here. And it does look pretty intimidating to me. It's got some sort of sauce and peanuts all over it. Let's just try it. I've got a couple of mystery items here. For the life of me, I can't tell you what I just put in my mouth, but I know there's fermented shrimp or fish sauce in here. Let me try a piece with a cucumber. I'll tell you what. This thing is spicy, it's nutty, it's sweet. And honestly, this is not my thing. I think the fermented sauce for me, it's just a little too much. The popiah just kind of looks like a little roll. I can already see sprouts, eggs, some nuts in here. This is not bad. Nice crunchy sprouts. I like the egg. I like the super thin crepe. I mean, it's not the best thing I had today, but it is intriguing. And this nice little medley of veggies and eggs. I dig that. Not the top thing on my list, but not too bad. Okay, the last few food items weren't exactly my favorite, but overall, still a positive food day. And if you guys do get a chance to come here, I would 100% recommend the Hainanese chicken, the oyster pancakes, and oh my God, those fried bananas. All right, I gotta go back to the hotel and get some sleep. But tonight is gonna be a good sleep because I didn't sleep much on the plane and I'm about to enter a food coma. So that is my first food day in Singapore. And just wanna say, what a delicious start. And I cannot wait to eat whatever else Singapore has to offer. As always, guys, the location for this place is in my description box. And until we eat again, I'll see you later.