Hainanese chicken rice is a dish adapted from early Chinese immigrants originally from
Hainan province in southern China. It is considered one of the national dishes of Singapore. Hainanese chicken rice is most commonly associated with
Singaporean,
Malaysian and
Hainanese cuisines, although it is also popular in
Thailand and
Vietnam. It is based on a well-known
Hainanese dish called
Wenchang chicken (文昌雞), due to its adoption by the
Hainanese overseas Chinese population in the
Nanyang area (present-day
Southeast Asia). Catherine Ling of
CNN describes Hainanese chicken rice as one of the "40 Singapore foods we can't live without". It also listed at number 45 on
World's 50 most delicious foods complied by
CNN Go in 2011. In Malaysia, as in Singapore, chicken rice is available in many Chinese coffee shops, restaurants and street hawker stalls, and also in chain restaurants such as
The Chicken Rice Shop and
OldTown White Coffee.