I ordered takeout from Hen Chicken Rice. I got "The Original" and Thai Iced Tea. To be honest, I don't think I'd bother ordering that again, since the chicken was pretty bland. However, I think that's just the nature of the dish, not the restaurant's fault. Maybe the crispy chicken would have been the way to go. The ginger rice was decent, but not something I'd go out of my way for. No issues in terms of service, since I just took my food to go. The restaurant was modern and had a decent amount of seating, but it was certainly a casual spot. I think there are better spots in the area, especially given that the menu is pretty limited. read more

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My friend and I came around 2pm on a Friday. Other than one other table, we were the only ones there. After ordering at the counter, we got our food really quickly (all in takeout containers / disposable at the end). We both ordered the "The Mix" combo, which comes with both the traditional boiled chicken and the crispy chicken. To save you the effort of trying both, the crispy one is definitely better. The boiled chicken has a certain natural flavour to it, but even with the given sauce it is still rather bland and rather chewy in my experience. The crispy chicken was very yummy - crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Also, the ginger rice is very fragrant and pairs well with the chicken, and the meal came with a bowl of the daikon soup which I loved! I was a bit peeved that the boneless chicken included quite a few pieces of bone. A few is understandable, but 6 out of 8 pieces included nontrivial bones. (Not a significant part but the Thai iced tea was good too.) We ended with the "The Mango" mango sticky rice, which was a bit of a miss for us. The first impression - seeing rainbow-coloured sprinkles - definitely set a weird tone, and unfortunately the rest of the dresser didn't really salvage that impression. The mango was mediocre - not very fresh, and many pieces looked dark or bruised. I understand mangos may be difficult to procure freshly / in season, but I feel like if that is the primary feature of the dish, then we should be able to expect more. The rice part was also decent at best - rather bland and sticky to the point of sogginess. Overall, the main entree parts were very yummy, and I would definitely come back for that again (although maybe just the crispy chicken next time). The dessert was disappointing, although I wonder if that is a specific thing with the mango (they have a fried milk dessert - which I love - and seems very promising!). read more

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I just like this comfort street food. It's a simple dish and I tend to crave for it occasionally. That being said, this new location is a below those of the competitors -- as well as below its other location in Sommerville. Hence, the 4 stars. Being said, worth trying if you want to have the comfort food, but it's not the best store to get such -- other than the location maybe. read more

Hen Chicken Rice - a view of a street through a window - Singaporean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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I always wanted to try Hen Chicken in Somerville but too far... finally get to try it since this location is close to my workplace. Simple menu, rice and chicken but the food was bland. I got the Islam and the mixed which the chicken was juicy and bland. The mango on sticky rice, the coconut flavor was good but the mango was way too raw. Waste money, good thing I ordered it through chowbus that they offered 50% off. read more

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The food is ok. I've had food from their place in Somerville and also had delivery that apparently came from their Boston location, which seems to be there primarily for the purpose of serving delivery orders. I ordered the crispy and the original. Each comes with their daikon soup, three slivers of cucumber, and one sauce. The sauce that comes with the crispy is different than the one that comes with the original. First, the chicken: you don't get very much. "The Original" is very bland, which, as I remember, is pretty consistent with this style when I lived in Taiwan and spent time in Thailand. "The Crispy" has a bit more texture, flavor, and body... because it's coated and fried. The rice: you get a lot. It has a nice, mild ginger flavor. No complaints. Possibly the best part of what they provide. The soup: it's an ~8 ounce (?) serving of chicken stock with a small piece of daikon in it. Not too terrible, but not rich or full of body and flavor. Probably from a box or other container, but not too terrible. The cucumbers: you get three slices and they're warm by the time the meal arrives if you ordered for delivery. That's more of an issue with ordering delivery than anything else. The sauces: this is where the whole thing goes wrong. They are just beyond mediocre. In my opinion, khao mun gai or hainanese chicken (or whatever regional name it has) is the best when it has a good sauce. The sauces that came with these two dishes -- a sweet-sour-spicy for the crispy and a more traditional bean-based sauce for the original -- tasted like something that came out of a bottle. It's priced at $12-$13 a meal. For a version of this meal that is this mediocre, I won't be ordering from this place again. read more

I work in the area and try to come in weekly for the crispy chicken as a go-to in the area. Great food, friendly staff!

You'd think that for a restaurant that specializes in one type of cuisine (in this case being chicken and rice), they would perfect every aspect of it. However, I found myself rather disappointed by what I had received. The food wasn't anything mind-blowing. I ordered the chicken and rice original, and that's what I got: chicken and rice. Again, you'd think that for a restaurant where their one protein is only chicken, they would cook it to perfection. However, I definitely wouldn't call my chicken tender or juicy, which is ironic since it's cooked by boiling. I've seen real Hainanese chicken that have just been dripping in juice, but this was not the case. As for the "ginger" rice, I couldn't really say I tasted much ginger. I just tasted like basic white rice. The only redeeming factor I could give to this restaurant was the sauce. It nicely wrapped everything together and gave flavor to what would have been a relatively bland dish. read more

Hen Chicken Rice - The Original - Singaporean Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I really enjoy Hen in Somerville, so I was thrilled to find one in Boston. Sadly, this location is nowhere near as good in terms of quality. I went during the weekday lunch hour and Hen was surprisingly empty. The restaurant is poorly lit and the signage isn't very eye catching, which may be why there's limited foot traffic. At 12:30pm, they already ran out of their signature chicken plate. My friend and I ordered 2 and 5 instead, the crispy chicken plates, and waited for nearly 20 minutes for our order to be prepared. During this time, there were 3 other customers waiting (2 arrived before me). The kitchen was staffed by one woman, and the cashier also went back to help. I don't mind waiting for freshly prepared meals but I saw one of the women microwave a container of the garlic ginger rice, so it clearly was not fresh made. With that in mind, I'm not sure why it took that long to fry two pieces of crispy chicken and plate it. The food itself was just ok. The chicken had a nice crisp to it, but nothing special. The rice was very wet and didn't have much chicken or garlic flavor. The chicken soup was nothing special. Overall, I would not get Hen again. read more

I went during dinner time 5:00 and it was empty! The place was very clean! Staff were friendly. I liked their food especially the crispy chicken. Definitely should check this place out. read more

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Good service and really quick food!!!!!!! I usually get the chicken rice for lunch at the office

Solid and simple. A bit pace that strives to make a perfect chicken. Please don't forget that. I also ate in the restaurant and they had to (for whatever reason) pack everything in a Togo container. I asked not to include the bag and they insisted. Seemed pretty wasteful. That being said the combo was solid and the rice was great. Will return. read more

Love this new place. Fantastic, spicy food at a reasonable price. The staff are always polite and the food hot and good. Highlight recommend their original chicken plate. read more

Love that it's conveniently located in the financial district. Chicken and rice is so good and a simple dish for takeout or eat in. Thai ice tea is nice and spicy fried wings! read more

I used to work in the same building so wanted to try this place out since it was right downstairs. Food is really good, definitely smaller portions but it was enough to fill me for a lunch meal. Chicken is nice and juicy (I always get The Crispy and it's so good). Not a huge fan of the soup that comes on the side but the meal makes up for it. Every time I went there was never anyone in there which I was surprised about, but the food comes out quickly because of that :) read more

Nice food and delicious meal. Definitely a restaurant worth visiting. I usually order takeout on Uber eats.

Lunch of crispy chicken / rice was amazing. Food was quick and had a nice place to sit and enjoy. Is also great place for takeout

Great food and service. Simple menu. Tasty chicken. Always fresh and the staff is always super friendly

dry kataifi, okay baklava, odd prices, and terrible and unattractive service. Good selection of other products.

Sad to give this review but we were extremely disappointed by the food from Hen. The people working were very nice but the food was not it... The traditional chicken was extremely dry (the amazing thing about this dish is the simple juiciness of the chicken) and the rice was bland. The crispy chicken was tasty, much better than the traditional but not good enough to return. Lastly the mango dessert, the mangos were unripe and crunchy - it is not the season for mangos so I would avoid ordering it until it's mango season. read more

I only go for the spicy one -- The Heat, they call it. It's crispy with perfect seasoning!! The seasoning has tanginess, sweetness, spiciness, all in one! And the rice is very flavorful, with the right texture. They should add more veggies, though, not just the 3 slices of cucumber. They're also quick. My go to lunch place. read more

staff always friendly food is good and affordable compared to some of the other places one of the better options if your in the downtown area read more

Excellent food and clean restaurant. Chicken is very tender and juicy, which is way better than the typical Hainan chicken rice restaurants (and we have tried a ton of them) read more

First, you can't tell if this place is open by walking by--it's one of the darkest quick serve restaurants I've ever seen. You can see from the photos that there is a single neon light illuminating the eat-in area and order desk. I think I saw a Sleestak sitting at the corner table. Service was direct and businesslike. No attempt at a smile or any sort of welcoming gestures. Do I need that? No, but I'm any consumer oriented business you are better off if you try. I'm about to leave a negative review and part of that, even subliminally, has to do with the dungeon you eat in and the prison guard who takes the order. I had the Heat...Accompanied by stale rice with hard chunks in it, and featuring a lukewarm chicken cutlet that had been sitting unloved in a fryer basket (in the ambient air) for too long. It was ok but is probably way better when cooked fresh. If it were my restaurant I'd not precook like this. Battered and fried chicken should be crispy not soggy. Dish also came with one slice of cuke versus the generous portion of veg depicted in the pictured menu. I did get the soup, which I was not expecting, but it was just a thin broth without much flavor. I'm assuming it was the daikon broth from the menu but hard to tell. Certainly not a must have menu item. I don't need to return here. Maybe at noon everything is super fresh but I went at quarter to 1 and it was dead and I got leftovers basically. I'd never eat inside this place. Never seen such a stark, depressing vibe in a restaurant. read more

Very tasty chicken and rice combinations. Isan is the best one which is crispy chicken, sticky rice and a soup.

Strolling by we decided to take a look and we were pleasantly surprised. We really enjoy food that looks like food and tastes like food. This definitely checks the box... fresh, good value, great taste, varieties of tastes, available quickly, and a clean establishment. read more

Quick and pleasant service. I got the spicy chicken and rice dish. If you're one that likes spicy, I would certainly recommend it. The portions were modest. Definitely a place I would go back and visit. read more

Stumbled upon this joint and I'm SO HAPPY I DID! Ordered the heat and it delivered. The chicken is seasoned to perfection. The tangy spices coupled with the fluffy ginger rice was incredible! Also had the daikon soup which was a nice pairing to the chicken/rice. Had to go back abc order the mango dessert too. Bravo to the chefs preparing this food! Simply delicious! read more

Simple food well done. They sell several variations on chicken breast either fried or steamed with either plain rice or ginger rice, a soup, etc. Lunch is $10-$13 read more