The Hainan Story Chapter Two (Singapore): Serving Hainanese Food Including a Curry Rice Served on Newspaper?

En route to Thailand for our first international trip of the year (and since the COVID-19 pandemic), we did a layover in Singapore. Pre-pandemic, I’ve been going the Lion City yearly since 2017 to attend a conference and to have my annual vacation. So I missed Singapore and its food so much!

We only had a short layover so we only confined ourselves to Jewel Changi Airport, which we didn’t mind. We seized the moment to eat authentic Singaporean food and went to The Hainan Story Chapter Two.

The Hainan Story Chapter Two is the third outlet of the chain, serving Singaporean and Hainanese dishes. What’s unique to The Hainan Story is that it brings different brands under one space. They are 218 Hainanese Lor Mee, Ah Mai Kum Hainanese Chicken Rice Porridge, Newspaper Hainanese Curry Rice, Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice, and Uncle Robert Western & BBQ.

The Hainan Story seems to be targeting the younger generation, as it made its ambiance very Instagrammable, and its ordering system digital.

A Colorful Wall Feature in The Hainan Story Chapter Two

Let’s now talk about the food, starting with my dish: Hainanese Curry Chicken Drumstick Set from Newspaper Hainanese Curry Rice. As you can already tell, this dish is served on a “newspaper”. I have a hunch that this was how Hainanese curry rice is served or taken out in the old days (can someone confirm?). But The Hainan Story does not really serve it on a newspaper. Rather, it’s a printout that looks like a newspaper and it’s certainly hygienic.

Hainanese Curry Chicken Drumstick Set (SGD9.80)

Anyway, the curry is so flavorful! It’s spicy and I can definitely taste the lemongrass. The chicken is tender, the fried egg js is creamy, and the veggies are tasty, though I wish it’s more crisp. The dish also has two small cubes of tempeh, which, up to now, I I still haven’t learned to appreciate. LOL. This dish reminded me that I’m really in Singapore!

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My wife got the 1980’s Hainanese Pork Cutlet Coated with Potato Chips Crumbs from Uncle Robert. The cutlet has a crunchy coating, and is sweet and tangy like teriyaki sauce.

1980’s Hainanese Pork Cutlet Coated with Potato Chips Crumbs (SGD18.80)

It came with baked beans, a croissant, coleslaw, and fries. The beans is the best of all the sides, and the croissant is my least favorite, as it’s chewy. For it’s price, I expect more from this dish.

For our drinks, we got the Iced Lemon Tea, which I can tell is made with real tea and has a nice hint of bitterness, and the Iced Yuan Yang, which is a mix of coffee and tea, satisfying my caffeine needs.

Left to Right: Iced Yuan Yang and Iced Lemon Tea

The Hainan Story has its own bakery, offering British Hainanese Swiss rolls, traditional cakes and cookies, and my favorite Kueh (rice cakes). Because I love rice cakes, I got the Ondeh Gula Melaka (a.k.a. Ondeh-Ondeh), a pandan- (screwpine leaf) flavored glutinous rice balls with a filling of molten gula melaka (palm sugar) and covered with shredded coconut.

The Hainan Story Bakery’s Ondeh-Ondeh is chewy, bursting with caramelly gula melaka. I love it!

Of course, there are better and cheaper versions of the dishes above elsewhere, especially from hawker stalls. But if you’re only doing a short layover and craving for Singaporean or Hainanese dishes, then The Hainan Story Chapter 2 is a good option at Jewel Changi Airport. I think they have good food and they offer convenience, as they bring different food concepts under one space. I recommend it to you!

What dish above have you tried or would like to try? What Hainanese restaurant should I try next? Comment below!