The Chinese chicken that spread its wings
Traditional Hainanese delicacy has established itself as a Southeast Asian staple, thanks to emigrants from China
Boiled chicken, rice cooked with chicken oil and dip make up the simple and delicious Hainanese chicken rice, which has provided lingering nostalgia for overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia.
More than a century ago, large numbers of Hainan people spread across Southeast Asia, taking with them their native dish Hainanese chicken rice.
As time went by, Hainanese chicken rice gradually became a popular dish in Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.
Located in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, the Andrew Wong Hainanese Chicken Rice restaurant is quite popular among the locals.
Andrew Wong Hin Hau, the owner, whose ancestral home is in Qionghai, Hainan province, has been cooking Hainanese chicken rice since 2003.
Wong gets up at around 4 am every day to buy the necessary ingredients at the market, starts to prepare the dish at 5:30 am and gets everything ready around 10:30 am.
