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When Alan Choong moved to New York in 2022, he had one goal: “to expand Singaporean culture worldwide.”
He got off to a strong start, bringing his Singapore-born restaurant, Prawnaholic Collections, to Midtown’s Urban Hawker in 2022. Building on traditional, Hokkien-style prawn noodles, Choong began adding more street eats to his menu, such as oyster omelets and chili crabs. His cooking even caught the attention of Pete Wells, former restaurant critic for The New York Times, who called out his noodle soups for their “magnificent broth” and honored the wok-fire omelet that was “studded with juicy oysters,” a “masterpiece.” Then, in 2023, he opened Lou Yau Kee, where he shifted his focus to Hainanese chicken, another staple of Singaporean cuisine.
For its fare, Choong tapped a certified Singapore chicken rice master whose family helped to popularize the dish in Singapore. When the chef moved on to open his own standalone restaurant, Choong stepped in to fully oversee operations in 2025. Continuing “the chicken rice legacy,” Choong is starting a new chapter by bringing the dish back to Union Square, this time at Time Out Market New York, Union Square.
Since taking over, Choong has added some “new tricks to the recipe based on our experience,” but he ensures his Hainanese chicken is done “the traditional way.” Choong gently poaches whole chickens in a broth enhanced with pandan leaves, ginger and a hush-hush seasoning blend before shocking it in ice water to get that classic gelatinous texture on the skin. The rice also dances in the same broth before hitting the wok, letting the aromatics bloom even further. The chicken comes with three different sauces for dipping: chili sauce, ginger and a dark soy sauce, all made in-house. Alongside the traditional option, Choong will also be cooking roasted and lemon-fried chicken, with the option to get all three on a platter, plus bowls of porridge with the classic bird on top. For a dinner on the go, Lou Yau Kee will also sell half and whole chicken with a rice-and-soup combo.
Lou Yau Kee is currently soft opening in the Market, with the official opening day on October 26.