Best Of Singapore Hawkers & Casual Dining: Chicken Chop

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Best Of Singapore Hawkers & Casual Dining: Chicken Chop

Chicken Chop
Chicken Chop



Nothing was sponsored, we visited as regular paying customers. Photos in this post were taken between 2000 and 2022 (across 22 years!), as such, the quality of photos varies drastically due to advances in camera technology. Mobile smartphones were in their infancy and had yet to become widespread.


Also Known As:
Chicken Chop, Grilled Chicken


Average Price Per Serving:
SGD $5 - $18








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Description:
The Chicken Chop is a Singaporean English dish that consists of a medium-sized cut of deboned chicken, grilled and served with 2 or 3 side dishes. It has its origins in the traditional British English Roast Chicken & Gravy, given a local interpretation by Chinese Hainanese chefs. Also known as Grilled Chicken, the Chicken Chop dish is usually priced around SGD $5 to $18 per serving. It's a fairly common dish that's especially popular with children, usually eaten during lunch or dinner.

The most common cut of chicken used for the Chicken Chop hawker western food is a skin-on deboned butterflied chicken thigh, and less often, a skin-on deboned butterflied chicken breast. It used to be more common in the past to use a cut of bone-in chicken, though this is nearly non-existent these days. The chicken is seasoned with salt and grilled till cooked, but it should still be tender and juicy in texture with a light chew, with meaty sweet savoury salty flavour. An alternate version has slow roasted rotisserie chicken, carved up and served in slices.

Several side dishes accompany a Chicken Chop dish. Typically, this consists of 1 vegetable type of side dish, and 1 potato type of side dish, and most stalls offer a choice. The range for a vegetable side dish includes coleslaw, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, carrots, cherry tomato, tomato, cucumber, corn, or red onions; having fresh crisp juicy tender texture with mild vegetal sweet flavour. The range for a potato side dish includes mashed potato, French fries or English chips, potato wedges, or sweet potato fries; having soft tender texture with bold starchy sweet salty flavour. Other side dishes may include tender baked beans in tomato sauce with vegetal earthy sweet flavour, crisp buttered toasted white bread with bready sweet smoky flavour, crisp battered onion rings with bready vegetal salty sweet flavour, or gooey macaroni pasta tubes and melted cheddar cheese with robust cheesy salty sweet flavour.

As a Chicken Chop dish is usually just a combination of various ingredients, some stalls offer fairly flexible customisation of side dish pairings, with a good range to choose from. Crucially, a Chicken Chop is always served with a gravy, and most stalls offer at least 1 of 3 options. The choices include thick brown meat gravy with robust meaty savoury salty flavour; creamy mushroom gravy with vegetal earthy salty savoury flavour; or rich black pepper gravy with sharp savoury peppery spice flavour. Other flavours of gravy include lemon lime gravy, barbecue sauce, tomato ketchup gravy, melted mozzarella cheese, or a chili marinade.


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1. Apollo Western Food
@ Hougang Hainanese Village Centre, 105 Hougang Avenue 1 #02-32
Opening Hours: Wed - Sun 12pm – 9pm, Closed Mon - Tue

Taken in 2012


Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Chicken Chop (SGD $6.50) @ Apollo Western Food.

The medium thick boneless chicken chop is nicely grilled, with the skin slightly crisp, and the chicken meat springy and tender.

The gravy really lifts this, bold with meaty salty savoury flavour that makes you want to go back for more.

Accompanied by fresh juicy cucumbers with vegetal sweet notes, warm soft baked beans in tomato sauce bright with vegetal earthy sweet sour flavour, and a fluffy soft warm bread with bready sweet toasty notes that goes so well with creamy butter.

The fluffy potato crinkle chips have addictive starchy salty sweet flavour, shiok.





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2. Astons Specialities
@ 359 Joo Chiat Road
Opening Hours: Daily 11:30am – 10pm

@ The Cathay, 2 Handy Road #04-04
Opening Hours: Daily 11:30am – 10pm

@ SingPost Centre, 10 Eunos Road 8 #01-115
Opening Hours: Daily 11:30am – 10pm

Multiple Other Branches Across Singapore

Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Chicken Chop (SGD $17.90) @ Astons Specialities.

Why get 1 chicken chop when you can have 2? The double-up is great value for money, and makes for a filling meal.

Both pieces of boneless chicken are meaty and tender and juicy, with lovely natural sweet savoury flavour.

I like the tangy zesty sour flavours of the thick lemon lime sauce, which lends a bright contrast to the chicken.

My favourite is the fiery chicken, whose spice rub results in a sharp flaming kick, lingering on the palate. The skin is also more crispy than other options, with the fat rendered away.

The sides of fresh garden salad (crisp lettuce, tender carrots, crunchy purple cabbage, juicy cherry tomatoes) with vegetal sweet flavour, and the fluffy potato wedges with salty sweet savoury starchy flavour, round off this plate nicely.





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3. Five Star Western Food
@ Serangoon Garden Market & Food Centre, 49A Serangoon Garden Way #01-36
Opening Hours: Thu - Tue 11am – 8:30pm, Closed Wed

Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Chicken Chop (SGD $7.50) @ Five Star Western Food.

The fried bun is the star here, slightly oily and crisp outside, fluffy and soft inside, with bready sweet savoury flavour.

The boneless chicken chop is good, with the skin slightly crisp and the chicken meat tender. Together with the thick meat gravy, has nice savoury salty sweet flavour.

The coleslaw and baked beans are rather standard, but at least served in a generous portion. Pretty good cheese fries, crisp with salty savoury cheesy flavour.





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4. iSteaks Diner
@ myVillage, 1 Maju Avenue #02-03
Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 11pm

@ The Star Vista, 1 Vista Exchange Green #01-42
Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 10pm

@ Tampines 1, 10 Tampines Central 1 #04-05
Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 10pm

Multiple Other Branches Across Singapore

Taken in 2015


Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Chicken Chop (SGD $13) @ iSteaks Diner.

A thick juicy slab of boneless chicken thigh, carrying bold smoky sweet savoury salty flavour, is paired with sides and gravy of your choice.

The soft cream spinach has vegetal sweet earthy salty milky flavour, while the crispy battered white onion rings crunch softly with grainy vegetal earthy sweet spice notes.

Choice of black pepper gravy on the side, lending a sharp peppery savoury spice kick.





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5. JWS Grille Factory
@ 265 Bukit Batok East Avenue 4 #01-405
Opening Hours: Daily 10:30am – 10pm

@ 46 Holland Drive #01-359
Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 10pm

@ 524 Hougang Avenue 6 #01-125
Opening Hours: Daily 10:30am – 10pm

Multiple Other Branches Across Singapore

Taken in 2019


Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Chicken Chop (SGD $9.90) @ JWS Grille Factory.

A large, succulent, boneless chicken chop is flame-grilled till tender and juicy, with lovely natural sweet savoury flavour. Paired with a thick mushroom gravy, which lends robust earthy salty savoury peppery spice notes.

Choice of sides; I had soft warm baked beans over fresh lettuce with earthy sweet vegetal notes, crunchy fresh steamed broccoli with vegetal sweet flavour, and soft battered white onion rings with vegetal sweet salty grainy flavour.

Good value for money, portions are large and generous, plus, it feels rather healthy and wholesome.





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6. No.1 Western Food
@ Tanglin Halt Food Centre, 1A Commonwealth Drive #01-13
Opening Hours: Thu - Tue 11am – 4pm, Closed Wed

Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Chicken Chop (SGD $6) @ No.1 Western Food.

Nostalgic as my grandparents used to bring me here as a treat; though sadly I'd only rediscovered it a few years back. The stall has been around for over 50 years, and is slated to close in July 2022.

Their secret sauce is the star, a tomato and barbecue sauce base that is rich with piquant sweet savoury flavour, deliciously addictive.

The medium thick slab of boneless chicken is perfectly grilled, tender with a succulent chew and bold meaty smoky sweet savoury salty flavour.

Sides of juicy cucumbers and tomatoes with vegetal sweet flavour, soft baked beans with sweet savoury notes, fluffy crisp English crinkle chips with savoury salty flavour, complete this.





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7. Western Barbeque
@ Old Airport Road Food Centre, 51 Old Airport Road #01-53
Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 11pm

Taken in 2011


Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Chicken Chop (SGD $6.50) @ Western Barbeque.

What makes this great is the marinade rub on the chicken.

They serve a traditional cut of chicken chop, with bone-in, a rare sight these days. The chicken is thick, tender, and juicy with a light chew, carrying meaty savoury salty sweet smoky flavour.

Completed with a fresh crunchy coleslaw with vegetal sweet notes, crisp crinkle potato chips with starchy salty sweet flavour, and a soft old-school cream bun with bready milky sweet notes.





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8. Wow Wow West
@ ABC Brickworks Food Centre, 6 Jalan Bukit Merah #01-133
Opening Hours: Tue - Sat 10:30am – 2pm, 4:30pm – 8pm, Closed Sun - Mon

Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Chicken Chop (SGD $7) @ Wow Wow West.

Their claim to fame is their massive, generous portion sizes.

The boneless chicken chop here is a large and hefty slab, tender and juicy and succulent with lovely meaty sweet salty savoury flavour.

The thick cut potato fries are well seasoned, fluffy and crisp with starchy salty savoury flavour. The thick gravy can sometimes be overly full-flavoured.

Completed with a mound of chilled crunchy coleslaw with bright vegetal milky sweet sour flavour, and soft warm baked beans with vegetal earthy sweet savoury flavour. Nice.





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9. Yummy Western
@ 409 AMK Market And Food Centre, 409 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 #01-29
Opening Hours: Tue - Sun 12pm – 10pm, Closed Mon

Taken in 2017


Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Chicken Chop (SGD $7) @ Yummy Western.

Flat but large, the boneless chicken chop is tender and succulent juicy, and together with the thick brown gravy, has robust meaty salty savoury sweet flavour.

The potato fries are crisp and fluffy, satisfying with salty starchy sweet flavour.

The crunchy coleslaw with vegetal milky sweet flavour, warm soft baked beans in tomato sauce with vegetal earthy sweet savoury notes, and crisp buttered toasted white bread with bready sweet smoky flavour, complete this yummy dish.





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- Escoffier's Western Food – Permanently Closed
@ 151 Serangoon North Avenue 2

Taken in 2011






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- Ottimo Pasta & Grill – Permanently Closed
@ 2 Lorong Lew Lian #01-09

Taken in 2010






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- Tanglin Halt Western Food – Permanently Closed
@ Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre, 448 Clementi Avenue 3 #01-11

Taken in 2009






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