In the heart of Singapore’s Chinatown, tucked in a dingy and noisy two-storey food court, the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant draws long queues.

At Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle, tourists and locals wait in the humid, open-air space for up to three hours on weekends to try a plate of soya sauce chicken rice for just S$2 (US1.70).

The food stall stands out from its competitors in Singapore serving similar forms of Hainanese chicken rice, a simple dish featuring poached chicken whose fat is cooked with the rice.

Liao Fan, which announced plans today to open a proper restaurant in November, was one of two hawker stalls to be granted one Michelin star each when the guide announced its inaugural Singapore list in July. The other was Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles.

“If you talk about famous hawkers, Liao Fan’s name wouldn’t have come up,” food blogger Leslie Tay told dpa.

“He’s not been around as long as some who have been here for generations. But credit to him for being so consistent in his dish.”

Liao Fan’s chicken rice dish is a delight of sweet soya sauce drizzled onto juicy chicken and roasted skin with a sliver of fat tucked underneath that slips off the chicken with ease.

The chilli sauce accompanying the dish is tangy and spicy but does not pack too much heat, typical of Cantonese cuisine where moderate spices do not overwhelm the dish’s signature flavours.

Liao Fan is the only eatery in the Chinatown Food Complex that has guides directing patrons to line up in an orderly fashion.

At the stall, three helpers push out more than 180 chickens daily to hungry patrons while the chef, 51-year-old Chan Hong Meng, diligently cuts the meat into bite-sized portions.

The Malaysian-born chef, who dresses in chef overalls unlike the casual wear of most hawker-stall cooks, learnt the soya sauce chicken recipe from a Hong Kong chef in 1989.

“The recipe hasn’t changed - it’s the same as before,” Chan told dpa.

But one thing has changed since the Michelin award.

Chan has been in talks with five companies to expand his business around the world.

However, he laid out three criteria for potential partners, including a US1.4 million cooperation fee and the promise that his chicken rice dish would taste the same in other branches.

“It will become more expensive overseas. One chicken rice plate could go up to S$4 but here (at my Singapore stall), it will still be S$2,” he said.

- dpa