Jalan Besar’s Victor Famous Fried Chicken Wing Rice fills you with comfort and nostalgia
Everyone loves fried chicken — be it the ultra saucy Korean-style, the hearty Western style, or even spicy Sichuan la zi ji.
While these are all on-trend at the moment, we often overlook local-style fried chicken, which just has a comforting, nostalgic factor to it.
Victor Famous Fried Chicken Wing Rice is probably the best place to get your fix, if you’re one of those yearning for a taste of the good ol’ days.
Located at Jalan Besar’s Yi He Eating House — a coffee shop that also houses popular pork liver soup and porridge stalls — there is a lot of heritage here.
The name may have changed over the years, but Victor Famous Fried Chicken Wing Rice still uses its decades-old recipe.
Some would be familiar with its flavour, reminiscent of Carona Fried Chicken, a now-defunct old-school brand that was founded in 1982.
As the story goes, owner Victor was actually behind the Carona brand and opened the stall at Victoria Street Food Centre, but had sold it to another party at some point.
Carona Fried Chicken then went on to open multiple outlets and has long ceased to exist, but many from the older generation still remember it fondly.
So if you’re looking to relive these long-lost flavours, Victor’s Famous Fried Chicken Wing Rice is the place to go!
For nostalgic purposes
While the fried chicken wing rice (S$5) is Victor’s Fried Chicken’s most iconic offering, there are three other items available there: Lemon chicken rice (S$5.50), sweet and sour chicken rice (S$5.50) and steamed chicken rice (from S$4.50).
Do note that the two fried chicken-rice items — lemon chicken rice and sweet and sour chicken rice — use fried chicken cutlets instead of wings, and are sold in limited quantities.
When we visited around 2pm on a Friday afternoon, these were already sold out.
Fortunately, the fried chicken wing rice, which we specially came for, was still available!
So how does this legendary fried chicken fare?
If there’s one thing you should know about Victor Famous Fried Chicken Wing Rice, it is that the fried chicken wings (S$2 a la carte) sport a thinner, paler batter.
It’s not the raucous crackle that fast-food fried chicken has conditioned us to expect — but rather, a lighter, gentler crisp.
The flesh itself is decently juicy, but not outstandingly tender.
That said, what keeps us coming back to Victor Famous Fried Chicken Wing Rice is its taste.
The seasoning on the chicken is not intense or distinct, but the most articulate way we can put it is this: It tastes veritably old-school — like something you’d find in a coffee shop in the early 1990s or 2000s.
This was a more balanced — but still fragrant and lightly sweet — profile that provides plenty of comfort.
Besides the protein, the rice is something that Victor Famous Fried Chicken Wing Rice does very well, too.
It achieves that delectable aroma of chicken rice, without being greasy and keeps its fluffiness.
There’s also something about it that reminds us of our younger days when we pigged out on the Golden Rooster franchise, which was ubiquitous in neighbourhood kopitiams back then.
Finally, the chilli — this is as good as any top Hainanese chicken rice stall.
The Victor Famous Fried Chicken Wing Rice chilli concoction packs a good bit of heat, but also carries a trailing splash of citrus acidity, and immaculately complements the fried chicken’s flavours.
For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on 10 restaurants to spend your CDC vouchers at and the Spanish restaurants in Singapore to go for a hearty tapas and paella-filled night!
Wed 11.30am - 6pm
Thurs 11.30am - 6pm
Fri 11.30am - 6pm
Sat 11.30am - 6pm
Sun 11.30am - 6pm
- Jalan Besar
Evan started off writing about food on Instagram, before joining outlets such as Buro and Confirm Good to pursue his passion. His best work usually comes after his first whisky shot in the morning.
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