This is another hidden gem and great find for Hainan chicken rice for me! I was in search for a Malaysian restaurant to try out and come across this restaurant, and it was a pleasant surprise. First of all, I didn’t know it was actually difficult to find good Malaysian or Singaporean restaurant in oc, so I have to look a bit further and found this place in rowland height. It is a fairly small store, but yet it is quite packed for its location and size. Tip: don’t come 30 min to 45 min before closing time, because most likely they will sold out their signature chicken dishes, and it is quite sad when I got turn away the first attempt to come. For food, I ordered one of their signature dish, special chicken with red scallion in wood pot, with«chicken broth cooked» rice, a stirred fried veggie, a fish porridge and their coconut jelly for dessert. The special chicken is quite a big portion(half chicken), enough to shared for 2. The chicken was soft and smooth soaked in their special sauce(a light soy sauce like base), it was really good! My mouth is savoring again as I am writing this review, literally. Make sure you ask for their ginger paste and the red chilli sauce as well. It usually don’t come with this dish, and honestly the flavoring of the chicken is tasty enough, but since I didn’t get the Hainan chicken rice and I love the ginger paste, I just asked for it on the side. I like how their dishes are light and not greasy, it just tasted like dishes from home. So it was comforting. The coconut jelly was also surprisingly good, it tasted just like the coconut meat from a fresh coconut! Not too sweet and refreshing! Something very simple but good. I like their menu that gives you enough variety to go with a chicken rice dish, where a lot of other chicken rice places are lacking. Will definitely be back for more soon!
Natalie T.
Rating des Ortes: 4 West Covina, CA
The restaurant is really small with limit seating. We ordered the Hainan Chicken(dark meat) and bitter melon pork chop. The chicken was moist, tasty and did not have the gamey taste. Comes with soup and a little bit of pickles cabbage. The rice was fluffy and the sauces were decent. Bitter melon pork chop was decent, nothing special. The service was good! I will definitely come back for their Hainan Chicken and try more food.
Steve T.
Rating des Ortes: 4 West Covina, CA
I haven’t had a lot of Hainan chicken in my life, and I will also admit I’m not really a fan of the dish in general. This place, however, changes that slightly. In addition to the Hainan chicken, I’ve also had the filet mignon, and the salt and pepper chicken wings. Though the filet mignon is good and worth trying, I can’t say I’d ever order the wings again. However, the star of this place is unequivocally the Hainan chicken. It is easily the best I’ve had and the only place where I would actually drive out of my way to get it. The rice is good, but the chicken and the sauces are excellent. I’ve tried the places in Alhambra that are more known for this dish, but to me, they just don’t compare. The service is pretty good too when you factor in what you would get at comparable establishments. I hope this places stays under the radar(sorry for the seflishness, Mr./Mrs. Business Owner), so I don’t have to wait an hour to get seated like other places I know.
Alex L.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Chino, CA
The food taste is very great. The environment is kind of noisy but it does not matter your stomach since whoever goes there is hungry enough. I usually have it as my company lunch.
Andreas R.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Fullerton, CA
Went over to this place as recommended by a close friend of mine and decided to go as a group of 8. We all ordered the Hainan chicken rice mixed meat, which means it comes with white and black meat. This comes with a chicken broth soup, which is very good and flavorful. The Hainan chicken rice is very good and flavorful and it comes with a finely chopped ginger and a chili sauce. Great service as the lady is very attentive and always adds the chopped ginger and the chili, making sure we never run out of it. Super awesome meal overall and definitely a place to go in the area if Savoy is just too crowded
James A.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Rowland Heights, CA
I love this restaurant it’s kind of hidden it’s at the end of the plaza with video 94 and bread fish café across the street from a bar called good times. I would highly recommend hainam chicken with dark meat if you like, and if you aren’t feeling for chicken you could go with the fillet mignon the beef side either way both dishes are really good just depending on what you’re craving you can’t go wrong with either one of the dishes I’m recommending. Also if you do get hainam chicken you can change the rice to red rice and for the fillet mignon you can ask for hainam rice just depends on your preference. I would highly recommend this restaurant for lunch and dinner. Warning sometimes it’s kind of cold they be blasting the ac making it super chilly!
Lyone K.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Westminster, CA
Pleasantly surprised with this place. Looking at the 3 star I was hesitant to try it but you never know. We ordered the Hainan chicken and the filet cubes with red rice. Also got salt and pepper wings and lemon ice tea. Small little place with limited seating. Once we got seated we got served with complimentary soup. The lemon ice tea taste decent. It’s what you would expect from any Hong Kong style café. Now to the main dishes… Hainan chicken with rice. The chicken was moist and a mixture of white and dark meat. Tasty! Comes with a little bit of pickles cabbage. The rice was average. Sauces are normal. Filet cubes with red rice. The meat had a little char flavor to it but the seasoning was a little sweet for me. Prob should have asked for some lime and pepper on the side to dip it with. Red rice was lacking in flavor. Just rice some eggs and food coloring. Salt and pepper chicken wings was disappointing. Flavors were there but the wings were kinds soggy. Not crispy. I would come back. They were nice and service was good.
Inhwa K.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Rowland Heights, CA
Unilocal review is good and I wanted to try Their hainan chicken. It’s not the best I have had but good enough for me to come back. I’ll try their other specialty dishes next time.
Roxy R.
Rating des Ortes: 4 West Covina, CA
I came across this page and the«hainan chicken» caught my eye. It’s hard to find a decent place that sells Hainan Chicken around this area. I would have to drive to Savoy in Alhambra if i was craving it. Me and my boyfriend dropped by to give it a try. And boy let me tell you, it does the job! It’s a little small, hidden place in the same plaza as Dolphin bay(across from Goodtimes). We were seated right when we walked in. Our server was really sweet and asked for our drinks right away. We sat down and ordered our food. Both me and my boyfriend ordered the half chicken each. Wish i knew how much chicken they actually give you because I didnt even touch half of it! The portion is huge. Half a chicken can feed 2 people. I would say this place has the best Hainan Chicken in town. I would def recommend this place to someone if they ever crave for it. I’ll be coming back here soon!
Emily C.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Chino, CA
This place has one of the best hainan chicken around the area. The chicken paired with the sauce is to die for. They even offer dark meat only for their hainan chicken! NOM. I crave this place all the time. Not only is their chicken good, their other dishes are pretty delicious too. The only down side is that the restaurant is very small. So if you come during lunch or dinner time there may be a wait.
Ming T.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Walnut, CA
I mainly come here for the hainan chicken. You get two types of ginger sauces. One is ginger and scallion, which is salty and savory. The other is a red ginger sauce, which is sweet and a bit spicy. I dare to say this dish is comparable to Savoy in Alhambra. Although the rice is not as consistent and there are days when the rice tasted bland. Another tasty dish here is the black pepper filet mignon with red rice. The meat quality varies, but that black pepper and onion sauce with the red rice is always tasty. If I order both the chicken and beef, I actually love the chicken with the red rice together. It just works for me. The other dishes I’ve had here were good as well, but I always order at least the hainan chicken or the filet mignon. And I’ve found no difference in taste if I order to-go vs dine in. So I prefer to order takeout since the restaurant isn’t very big and is kind of dark and drab. Efficient service and they take plastic.
Vanessa C.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Irvine, CA
This place is close to home, which makes it super quick to grab hainan chicken to go. It’s very good — comparable with savoy, except savoy is farther and longer wait. If it’s just hainan chicken, give this a try! The red sauce is sooooo flavorful to complement the chicken.
Christopher W.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Walnut, CA
Tonight was my 2nd time here and I’m going to say that I enjoy the Hainan chicken rice here more that Savoy(fighting words? Maybe? Maybe not?) I ordered the Hainan chicken rice(dark meat) and it came with a bowl of the rice cooked in the chicken stock, some pickled vegetables and a decent portion of boneless skin-on dark meat served with a ginger scallion sauce and a sweet and sour chili sauce. The chicken rice was perfectly cooked, not overly greasy and you can taste each grain of rice was flavored with the chicken fat and chicken broth, the pickled vegetables(Napa and carrots) were sweet and tangy but the star if this dish has to be the chicken. The chicken came out nice and warm and it was so tender, the skin was just slightly starting to separated from the meat of the chicken which tells you that once the chicken had been boiled it was taken out and chilled and then left to rest as the little bit of fat in the skin congealed a little. The chicken was thoroughly seasoned throughout the meat and skin and the meat was so perfectly tender because it’s dark meat and for me, that’s the only way to go. Honestly, the chicken and rice are so good on its own, I didn’t even need the sauces. Also the chicken tasted fresh, just by the bite and the chicken juices. I also tried their filet mignon cubes with red rice(bo luc lac) and the cubes of beef was really tender and well seasoned, and their red rice is basically ketchup fried rice with some bits of scrambled egg in(I’m a ketchup fried rice fanatic). My only complaint is that I wish they were as generous with the beef cubes as their chicken. The lady who served me was really nice and smiles throughout the meal, offered to refill my lemon ice tea without me asking, offered me extra soup AND she even tried to speak to me in English(none of the other servers at a Chinese restaurants I go to in the SGV go out of their way to do that!) On top of the 1) quality food and 2) good service I came in about an hour before closing and 3) I didn’t have to wait, 4) this place is close only about 5 minutes from my house, 5) they have a private parking lot instead of hustling for street parking and 6) they accept credit card! So these are MY6 reasons why Man Chan Cuisine is better than Savoy. Don’t take my word for it, give it a try for yourself and have your own Hainan Chicken Rice Wars. *Disclaimer* this Man Chan Cuisine has no affiliation with the Man Chan Cuisine in San Gabriel and are owned by 2 different owners, but originally it started with the same owner.
Rebekah C.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Pasadena, CA
I am always on a hunt for good Asian food. My parents owned a restaurant, so I’m very particular about how food(especially chicken) is cooked. Love their Hainan chicken! My new favorite place for it in all of LA county. Owner is a sweet and friendly lady. Tried their coconut for the first time today. Is gelatinous, not liquid. Thought it strange, but still tasted good. Would make for a good dessert, but not as a drink to pair with your food.
Jennifer A.
Rating des Ortes: 4 La Puente, CA
Craving some Hainan chicken I came across Man Chan during my Unilocal search. Located in a small strip mall, we had dinner here and the place was crowded ! Service was fast and kind of aggressive. Becareful when ordering as they offer items that are extra charge but do not mention it. We ordered the following: — Half order of Hainan Chicken(dark meat is extra $) — French Style Filet Mignon w/red rice — Walnut Shrimp — #5 Red Scallion Chicken in Wood Pot. Both Hainan Chicken & # 5 came w/a bowl of rice. The flavor of the Hainan was delicious and chicken was mpoist and juicy, however, the dish was brought out within 5 minutes of ordering and was not warm at all. Just room temp. Boo ! The two sauces were delicious ! One ginger and the other sour /spicy. Also came with pickeled veggies. French Style Filet was tender and tasty. Very delicious. I’d say up to par with Newport Seafood’s dish. Portion is perfect too. A lot of onions and didn’t mind since I like onions. Walnut Shrimp was nothing really special. Shrimp was larger than typical restaurants though. The # 5 red scallion dish WASOUTOFTHISWORLD ! Blew my Hainan away ! Nice and warm, tender, juicy, chicken. Super tasty and absolutely delicious. The sauce tasted like a mixture of sweet & salty. So good I was sipping it by the spoon full. We took our left overs to go and though I asked for the Hainan sauces to be packed they weren’t. My mistake for not opening the tightly knotted plastic bag and checking. Come for the Hainan but stay for the # Red Scallion dish. You won;t regret it !
Gary W.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Brea, CA
This place is not to be confuse with the Man Chan in San Gabriel. They’re now under different ownership. The original owner is now at San Gabriel only. Although their menu is the same, but the quality of their food are totally different. It’s kind of funny that the new owner of this Man Chan actually make better food than the original owner. This review is only for Man Chan at Rowland Heights. Food: This is place is famous for their Hainan chicken rice. Make sure you order the dark meat version, the meat will be more tender. Sometimes they will offer more Hainan chicken rice, if they see me finished the rice first without any extra charge. I also love their filet mignon with red rice and their coconut pudding is amazing. It’s the best coconut pudding I’ve ever had. I tried quite a few places, but nothing come close to the coconut pudding here. It’s a must try! Location: Its locate at a small plaza, and their sign is pretty small. It’s very easy to miss if you come for the first time. The interior of the restaurant is also very small, and it gets packed pretty quickly during weekend peak hours. Although the plaza is small, I’ve never have trouble finding a parking spot. Service: The service is great, and the boss lady is always there to make sure of it. Servers and the boss lady are very attentive and friendly. The boss lady is always smiling. If there’s something you don’t like about the food, she’ll make it right for you. Price: Very affordable. The price is similar to those HK cafes, but their quality of food is much better. I’ll definitely recommend this place to all my friends.
Chrystal S.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Rowland Heights, CA
From all the great reviews on Unilocal I went and tried this place a few months back, got the Hainan chicken, and seafood chow fun Thai style. 1. Hainan Chicken — 3⁄5 this is their specialty, but I would just say it’s just ok a solid 3 star, chicken was tender but I didn’t care for dark meat, maybe I should have asked for white meat only. the rice was ok not bad, I feel that it would be really hard to fail this dish as long as you made sure the chicken is tender and juicy and the rice is cooked correctly with the chicken fat/juice, the sauce is really just onion ginger and oil. I had higher expectations of this dish being their specialty. 2. Seafood Chow Fun Thai Style– 2⁄5 this was definitely the wrong dish to get, it was sweet and sour which to me was weird with the Chow Fun and the seafood, it didn’t taste very Thai nor did it taste Chinese, it was just odd, and we definitely will not order this one again. I still think this place is worth me to visit again, since we had ordered the wrong items from the menu(was not the taste we normally would lean towards) I do see many other items on the menu and also mentioned in the Unilocal review that is worth trying. and Yes I might just go get the Coconut Jelly later to try, that one does sound yummy . For a very literal«Hole in the Wall«place, I think I’d prefer to go next time around, I was not very comfortable last time when I had to wait for a table since there was no where to stand in the restaurant, and the table we got was very awkwardly placed at the end of the walk way next to the cash register it was very cramped and it was really in the way of every person that is trying to get to the back of the restaurant or to use the restroom. Service was friendly, but they will not check on you since its such a small place and very busy at the time we went, they are too busy just serving and taking orders, but they will not forget what you need if you wave them down, and they will bring it to you with a smile.
Juliet Rachel C.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Diamond Bar, CA
Yes, come here for the French style filet mignon and the Hainan chicken & rice, but stay for their infamous chilled young coconut dessert! I actually don’t eat here that often; I come to get to-go orders of those young coconuts desserts! The place is quite small, so there’s limited seating and little privacy, but service is always, always great & at least they have a bathroom! The owner/boss lady is extremely sweet and welcoming. I have my dear friend & fellow Unilocaler, Angel C. to thank for introducing me to this place!
Samantha C.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Orange County, CA
First time having hainan chicken that’s NOT at Savoy and well, let’s just say Savoy is still better. This restaurant’s tucked away in a small plaza, so it might be hard to find. Hainan Chicken(7.35) — The chicken was a bit red so I wasn’t sure if it was cooked all the way or not, but I guess the method of cooking hainan chicken leads to different results. While the other plate had a cucumber and cabbage salad, mine didn’t. Inconsistent plating from the chef is always sloppy in my opinion. Lemon Ice Tea Check in for a free lemon ice tea! Although we only checked in for one, they gave us two! I don’t know if the second one was complimentary or an accident but I’ll take anything free! Overall, the food isn’t bad and I would come back to try other food.
Tiffany C.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Temple City, CA
Man Chan is popular for their Hainan chicken, but what made me confused was that it is located really close to another popular Hainan Chicken restaurant. However, my dad and I opted to go to Man Chan because he had been to its other location in the SGV. I do think it was worth a trip out to Rowland Heights! The restaurant itself is very small and more of an L-shaped sitting area. There are a few tables in the front section, and a few more located along a more narrow corridor in the side. The tables and walls are decorated with pretty interesting designs, and the lighting is a little dim. My dad ordered their Hainan Chicken rice while I tried their Tom Yum chicken noodle soup. The dishes come with a free bowl of soup. I really liked everything that I ate — the Hainan Chicken was better than Savoy, in my opinion. Very good tasting rice that had flavor and wasn’t too soft nor too hard. The chicken was succulent and tasty, and the sauces gave it a little extra kick. My Tom Yum chicken noodle soup was really good as well. The soup was not too spicy — but did have a kick as well as a tanginess to it. I really liked the thick rice noodles. The chicken wasn’t as great as my dad’s Hainan chicken because it was just big chunks of meat that weren’t as flavorful. But the overall taste of the soup helped give the chicken more of the soup’s flavor, which was good. Prices were decent and the service was good. I would return if I was in the area.
Tiffany C.
Three words for ya: EELOVERRICE. The rice was soooo flavorful I just couldn’t get enough. You would think that there’s nothing special to eel over rice… boy oh boy think again! No! Don’t think… try it for yourself. I didn’t even know this little hole in the wall place exists until my mom asked to go. I wanted korean BBQ… this WAS most definitely the better choice out of the two.