SINGAPORE: On Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s four-day trip to China, he made a stop in Hong Kong and another in Hainan, where he delivered the keynote speech at deliver a keynote speech at the 2026 Bo’ao Forum for Asia, widely perceived as the Asian counterpart to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
He was also scheduled to meet with top Chinese officials during the trip.
In Hainan, however, he sampled Hainanese Wenchang chicken rice, posting a photo on social media just before tucking into the dish. It looks very similar to Hainanese chicken rice, which is not only arguably Singapore’s national dish, but perhaps is also part of the national identity—a meal that many across the city-state eat every day.
Little wonder, then, that the Prime Minister’s post received a lot of attention.
On Facebook, his post has gotten over 900 comments, as well as hundreds of shares.
“Our Hainanese PM Lawrence Wong is smiling from ear to ear, as he gets to eat a healthy and appetising version of the authentic Wenchang Hainanese chicken rice in Hainan, with enough green veg at the bottom, Chinese celery topping, three dips and half a lime!” wrote a commenter.
The post also sparked a lot of curiosity, with another commenter asking, “Dear PM Wong, how is the texture, flavour and taste of the entire Hainanese chicken rice set in Hainan? Is it the same as Singapore’s? I am curious!”
While Mr. Wong has yet to give an answer, others who’ve sampled the dish in Hainan obligingly gave answers.
“海南的更好吃,” one wrote, which translates to “Hainan is better.”
“Not the same taste. I tried before. It’s Kampong chicken, not the Cage chicken in Singapore,” wrote a Facebook user, while another chimed in with, “The chicken meat is entirely different.”
One opined, however, that “Actually, Singapore Hainan chicken rice is more delicious than Hainan Island. I ate it before.”
“The chilli and ginger sauce is a giveaway that this was a Singaporean dish that is adapted by the Chinese host as a diplomatic treat for our PM,” a commenter observed.
On Reddit, users on the platform talked about the origins of the dish in Singapore. One said that his great-grandfather told him that poor port and plantation workers who had come from Hainan shared their chicken with others.
Another wrote, “When Hainanese immigrants arrived in Singapore, they couldn’t find jobs and had to peddle chicken rice on the streets using a balancing pole. They decided to use games, aka gambling, as a marketing gimmick to stand out. Win a game, and get a chicken drumstick.”
Many agreed, however, that Hainanese chicken rice in Singapore is based on Wenchang chicken, although it is served today along with other dishes and is not usually a standalone meal. /TISG
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