I first wrote about Sin Kee chicken rice back in 2006 when it was on the second level of the now-demolished Margaret Drive Hawker Centre. Back then, if you asked any serious chicken rice person where to go in Singapore, Sin Kee would be on the list.

Then Margaret Drive was torn down. I updated my original post with a note about their new location at Commonwealth Avenue, but never quite made it down for a visit.

The story of Sin Kee resurfaced when I visited Mei Ling Street Food Centre and spotted a Sin Kee Chicken Rice stall there. The owner, Benson, told me his story. His mother was the original owner of Sin Kee, the family had retired, and new tenants had taken over the stall but continued using the name. Case closed, I thought. The real Sin Kee was Benson’s.

His brother Niven added more spanners into the works over the years, opening a few chicken rice stalls of his own under the Sin Kee name. And in 2016, Niven sold his family recipe to two buyers for $42,800 each, authorising them to use the Sin Kee name as well. Suddenly, there were Sin Kee stalls all over the island, each with their own claim to the name.

But through all of this, I had always assumed that the other Sin Kee, the one who had relocated to Holland Close, was the imposter.

Then, the plot thickened.

Sin Kee Famous Chicken Rice at Holland Close

I happened to be at Bl...