Xin Xin Cafe – Their Special Chicken with Rice Is Worth Travelling To Expo For

Originally located in Jalan Basar, Xin Xin Cafe has since moved to Changi Business Park to give the businessmen there a taste of home cooking.

Sparked by a desire to offer more authentic tasting Malaysian-style dishes while indulging in local favourites and Western delights, Xin Xin Cafe has since then become a popular go-to hang out and dining spot, so much so that regulars from before are more than willing to make the extra trip down to the East for their food.

The interior decorations boast a funky mix of retro and comic-geek, with both Marvel and Disney-inspired decorations hung up on the wall, with quirky quotes pasted up around the shop too. There’s even a couching Spiderman watching everyone from up above as you dine.

With so many different options to choose from, we were spoilt for choices. In the end, we decided to order the Ham and Cheese Chicken Chop with Sides (S$8.50) and Xin Xin’s Special Chicken with Rice (S$5.50)

Seemingly lacklustre in its appearance at first glance, the smell of the sauce alone was enough to change our minds. The enticing fragrance of the chicken was lightly spicy, but a mouthful of sauce-soaked rice and a morsel of chicken proved to be much more than that. The sauce the chicken was cooked in was the owner’s very own special concoction, which he laughed about and refused to let us know what any of the ingredients were.

Surprisingly, we felt like the sayur lemak served alongside the dish was perhaps the best-tasting part of it. The vegetables had soaked through all of the savoury sauce thoroughly infused with the curry-like flavour and were a wholly decadent bite despite being just vegetables.

Served alongside a generous helping of fries and salad, the thick cut of chicken—topped with a slice of baked ham and melted cheese—was pretty much begging to be devoured. Turns out the reddish-brown appearance of the chicken was due to what tasted like a cajun spice rub — fiery, spicy and overall can only be described as shiok, then served with a ladle of black pepper sauce, this chicken hits in all the right spots.

The fries were also freshly fried, with the thick cut strips of potato having the right balance of crispy outsides and fluffy insides. However, it could definitely go a little lighter on the salt.

For such affordable prices and such delicious food, those working around Expo’s MRT are definitely blessed. From more traditional favourites such as maggi goreng to fish bee hoon, to even more experimental dishes such as tom yum spaghetti, you’ll never have to feel hungry or stranded at Changi Business Park again.

Xin Xin Cafe
1 Changi Business Park Crescent, #01-09
Singapore 486025
(Closed on Saturdays and Sundays)
Mon to Fri: 8am – 8pm
Nearest Station: Expo