Hainanese chicken rice is a dish adapted from early Chinese immigrants originally from Hainan province in southern China.

"[12][21] When it comes to the history of Wenchang chicken, according to the records of Lin Zhemin from the Livestock and Veterinary Research Institute of Hainan Province, it has long been a delicacy used by local officials and people to entertain guests.

Additionally, during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, there were several large banyan trees in Wenchang, which bore seeds all year round.

The earliest mention can be found in the Qing Dynasty book "Lingnan Miscellaneous Poems," which states, "There is a kind of hen in Wenchang County that tastes as good as a rooster."

An old hen which had passed its eggs laying years would be slaughtered to be cooked into broth and rice to extract the chicken flavour.

[23] The first chicken rice restaurants opened in Singapore during Japanese occupation in World War II, when the British were forced out and their Hainanese servants lost their source of income.

[23] There were also sources stating that Wang Yiyuan, a street hawker first started selling "chicken rice balls wrapped in banana leaves" in Singapore during the 1920s.

[24][2][25] The dish was popularised in Singapore in the 1950s by Moh Lee Twee, whose Swee Kee Chicken Rice Restaurant operated from 1947 to 1997.

"[35] In 2018, then Malaysian Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng joked that Singapore claimed "chicken rice is theirs (and) if we're not careful, ‘char koay teow‘ will become theirs" one day.

[36] Catherine Ling of CNN called Hainanese chicken rice one of the "40 Singapore foods we can't live without.

[38] David Farley of the BBC called it "the dish worth the 15-hour flight" and said it was "deceptively simple – which is good, because on paper it sounds awfully boring.

"chicken rice" in Bahasa Melayu) is "a culinary staple"[40] and a popular street food, particularly in Ipoh, a center of Hainanese immigration.

[45] One famous Bangkok neighbourhood for Khao man kai is Pratunam in Ratchathewi district, located near to Platinum Fashion Mall, CentralWorld and Ratchaprasong Intersection.

[47] Khao man kai is also well known in other areas, including Pracha Chuen,[48] Yaowarat[49] and Phasi Charoen near Bang Wa BTS station and Phyathai 3 Hospital[50] including various places are Thanon Tok near Rama III Bridge,[51] Thong Lor on Sukhumvit Road, Wat Suthiwararam School, Yan Nawa, Bang Kapi, Wat Saket, and Saphan Kwai neighbourhoods.