Since our arrival in Singapore — actually, since even before that — Vernie had been promoting this mythical Singaporean food item: chicken rice. Is it chicken? Is it rice? Neither? Both? What is it?

On our last evening in Singapore, we went with Vernie and her friend Ivan to one of their favorite chicken rice places to sample the dish. We had previously discussed chicken rice with Vernie and her dad. Check out the video.

At dinner, we were ready to evaluate the chicken rice on each of Tony’s criteria: the flavor of the rice, the tenderness of the chicken and the quality of the chili. We were each given our own plate of rice, which tasted delicious from moment one (check); the chicken was so moist it was falling out of its skin (check); and the chili sauce was delicious, especially with the garlic sauce that accompanied it (check).

Vernie and Ivan also ordered us a spicy vegetable side dish and sweet and sour pork. I asked Vernie before the pork arrived how it compared to the same item in Chinese restaurants in America, and though she said it was pretty different, it seemed very similar to me. It had the same gooey sweet sauce and slightly radioactive orange tint to it.

I thought it was very interesting that chicken rice (more generally known as Hainanese chicken rice) had become so ubiquitous in Singaporean culture. After all, delicious though it is, it’s just chicken and rice (and sauce) — significantly simpler than so many of the other dishes that are popular in Singapore, like chili crab and katong laksa. Perhaps it’s exactly this simplicity that makes it such a source of pride in Singapore. It’s about taking a few ingredients and combining them in just the right way.