Uncle Ray's Chicken Rice

Normally I'd say I'm too old to have a crush but I do have one, not on a person but a place, Singapore. I've scoured the world wide web to find some Singaporean restaurants outside of the lovely Urban Hawker in Midtown. Uncle Ray's happened to be one of the few avaulable that caught my eye. Going to this spot in Manhattan, you gotta have your eyes peeled for it kinda blends in with the block and might walk past it if you're not focused on where you're going. It's a small place but it's a cozy one with adequate seating and didn't feel all too crowded even though the place itself looks like it can barely seat 16 people. When I went in I was automatically greeted by the waitress there so making an order was a breeze. S Tier service already on display. I always have respect for a business that shows courtesy for its customers. What I had for lunch is the Trio Combo Chicken rice which consists of Poached & Roasted Chicken and Char Siu Pork w/ Rice, soup and a selection of 3 sauces, Chili sauce, Soy sauce and minced ginger sauce. The meal was absolutely delicious and will fill you proper. My small complaint is that the meat was a bit on the lukewarm side but that would be because of the meat marinating in the juices it was resting on, keeping the meat most and I can settle for that because I'd rather my meat to be tender than dry. The chili or soy sauce put on the rice always delivers and is such a delight taking my time eating it. Normally the meal itself including tax is $23 but I liked it so much I tipped the waitress $7 rolling up the total to $30. The menu itself is limited but there's a good chance you'll enjoy all of it, you can never go wrong when it comes to Chicken w/ Rice. A very relaxing meal I had here.

First time here and absolutely loved it! We ordered both the duo and trio combination plates, the kailan, and braised eggs, and everything was delicious! It's not a big space, but service was quick and food came out quickly. Both the poached and roasted chicken were really good and the char siu was as well. It came with 3 dipping sauces and my favorites were the minced ginger and the dark soya. Will definitely come back!

Poached chicken is an absolute must here. Got the duo, but preferred the Poached over Roasted, since the roasted was a bit dry. Rice is extremely flavorful & the three sauces paired beautifully! Hainanese pork chop is thin & a bit dry, so would def recommend chicken over rice here.

I tried the trio combo and Kailan. The rice was cooked so excellently; you can smell the flavor of the spices, and it wasn’t overcooked to be too moist or dry but was kept in the finest condition. The chicken is fine—there is not too much fat in between the meat, which I would say is a shortcoming. The meat is cooked at the right temperature; it is juicy and not too hard or soft, and the flavor permeated all parts so well. Unfortunately, this high-level food was presented to me in a horrible way: all three kinds of meat were submerged in a watery sauce, and the Kailan was the same. This watery sauce ruined everything; for chicken rice, the sauce should be thicker to be able to coat the meat. What you did firstly made the roast chicken’s skin get soaked, so there was no difference in texture here. Secondly, this chicken tastes not salty at the beginning, but with time going on, it tasted much more salty in the end. Lastly, you provided an extra sauce plate, but it was the same and watery, so it was also unable to coat the meat.

Dare I say, this might just be the best Hainanese chicken rice in NYC, and I say that with good reason. I had the chance to chat with the owner Raymond Kiang when he was still working at Lou Yau Kee. He's been a consultant for the popular Hainan Jones and was formerly the chef at Lou Yau Kee--two of the highly rated hainanese chicken spots in the city. He shared how he helped bring authentic Hainanese chicken to the world (incl Hong Kong!). ＊Trio Combo Chicken Rice $22 It sounds like one dish, but it is a complete meal as the set includes a mix of poached, roasted chicken and char siu, seasoned rice, soup and three dipping sauces. Every single component was well-executed, even the soup was so flavorful. The chicken was incredibly tender, and the char siu was savory with a touch of sweetness. I especially loved the chili sauce and the minced ginger sauce. ＊Coffee Pork Ribs $12 I didn't expect the pork rib to be that tender! It easily fell off the bone, making it effortless to enjoy. The coffee marinade added a subtle bitterness in the aftertaste, coated in a sticky glace of sweet and savory five-spice seasoning. ＊Shredded Chicken Porridge $12 I usually don't like congee, but I genuinely enjoyed the chicken porridge here! That's saying a lot. The shredded chicken was tender, and I loved the subtle aroma of sesame oil. Surprisingly, I'd happily order this again. ＊Kailan (Chinese Broccoli) $10

You have to come here. It’s soooo good! I absolutely loved the food here and I’ve never had proper Singaporean Chicken and Rice-everything was so well seasoned!! It’s so warm and soothing-loved the soup too!! It’s so cute inside and the service and staff are super nice. Def give them a try!!

As a Singaporean, I can say that the chicken rice is delicious and really hits the mark. It is very hard to find such authentic chicken rice in the city and I am so glad to have stumbled upon this. Will definitely be coming back and highly recommend anyone who wants to try what makes Singapore chicken rice so famous. The chef, Raymond, is very hospitable. When he found out I was a Singaporean, he came out and we had a good chat over dinner.

To celebrate my 21 years’ remarkable and ongoing ‘story-in the-making’ immigration journey from Singapore to New York City, here’s THE most amazing feat attained by Uncle Ray’s Hainanese Chicken Rice success unveiled in every bite, gulp and burp! 🤤🍗🇸🇬