Swee Kee Chicken Rice War: Half-Siblings Fall Out Over Business, Sister Opens Own Stall In Chinatown
Joseph Tan and Jass Lee had set up their own chain Rui Ji Chicken Rice in 2023 and purportedly use recipes from their family’s defunct business Swee Kee, which was widely regarded as Singapore’s best chicken rice purveyor.
Joseph Tan, 58, and Jass Lee, 49, set up Traditional Rui Ji Chicken Rice together in 2023. The half-siblings, whom Joseph says are “同母异父” [Chinese for siblings who have the same mother but different fathers], apparently descended from the Moh family who founded the famous Swee Kee Chicken Rice. “[Swee Kee’s founder Moh Lee Twee] was my granduncle,” says Jass.
Widely regarded as the best chicken rice specialist in Singapore, Swee Kee closed in 1997. But you can still find brand offshoots like Sing Swee Kee (which means ‘new Swee Kee’ in Chinese) and Rui Ji (Swee Kee’s Mandarin pronunciation), which were purportedly opened by various relatives of the Mohs.
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Siblings in conflict over business direction
But an unexpected twist popped up two weeks ago: Jass debuted her own hawker stall called Moh Swee Kee at People’s Park Food Centre. As it turns out, she had distanced herself from Rui Ji after disagreeing with Joseph over how they should run their business. “I left when we had problems working together,” Jass tells 8days.sg.
She became a wheelchair-bound amputee in 2010, after losing her left leg in a traffic accident in Malaysia that also claimed the life of her Malaysian husband. “I went for operations in Singapore and rested till 2019,” says Jass.
When she and Joseph opened their first Rui Ji Chicken Rice eatery in Toa Payoh, Jass helped out part-time with operations at the shop, which also serves Hainanese-style chicken curry noodles.
Despite her disability, Jass could still chop chickens and serve customers using a table that was specially calibrated to her wheelchair’s height. “I don’t have a share [in the business]. I only drew a salary of $50 a day,” she tells us.
According to Jass, business was rather slow during the initial opening period, and the siblings sold only around 20 chickens a day. But after being featured by media outlets, their sales increased to about 60 chickens daily.
Due to the heavier workload, Jass says, her brother hired more manpower to ease her burden and let her take a break. He also opened two more Rui Ji outlets at Beach Road and Ubi, though the Ubi branch has since closed due to poor footfall.
Sibling conflict
The trouble started when, according to Jass, Joseph tweaked their Swee Kee-linked recipes in her absence and changed their Hainanese menu to include roast meat and laksa.
The move upset her, as she felt that Joseph should commit to offering only their family’s traditional recipes. Jass adds: “Last time, Swee Kee didn’t just have chicken rice. It also sold Hainanese pork chop, ngoh hiang and fish head steamboat. Since he changed the recipes, I decided to leave.”
When Jass’s son expressed interest in learning how to run a chicken rice business, she made plans to set up a new hawker stall. “Joseph said, ‘Don’t want lah, he can come to my shop to learn’,” recalls Jass, who insisted to herbrother that she preferred to go her own way.
She officially opened her stall in March 2024 at People’s Park Food Centre, as “it was near Swee Kee’s original location”. She named it Moh Swee Kee after her family’s original chicken rice business, and added their surname. “Joseph already registered Rui Ji [as a business name], so I thought for two nights and decided to add the Moh name,” she explains. “At my stall, I only sell steamed chicken and gizzards.”
War of words
When Joseph learnt that Jass had opened her own stall, “he started texting me,” she says. She showed 8days.sg a very tense conversation with Joseph over WhatsApp, in which he expressed unhappiness that she was using the Moh name for her own biz. “He called me the next day after my stall’s opening to argue. I didn’t open next to him [to compete], so why did he have to do this? I told him he can say whatever he wants. I helped him at the start and he changed the recipes," says Jass.
“When she told me to set up the Toa Payoh outlet, we used Swee Kee’s recipes, but [sales] were dismal. After three days, I took over,” he says, adding: “I think her food, cannot leh. She cook at home for people, can lah. But if she wants to become a hawker, cannot lah.”
He elaborates: “She can use any name she likes for her stall, but Swee Kee’s name cannot anyhow use.” Joseph also later texted us to emphasise: “Please make the distinction that my shop’s name is Rui Ji, not Swee Kee. Only people with authority can use the Swee Kee name [sheepish smiley emoji].”
Moh Swee Kee’s menu
When we dropped by Moh Swee Kee on a weekday just before dinnertime, business was pretty brisk. “My customers are old Swee Kee regulars,” says Jass (we did see an elderly uncle approaching her to tell her that he patronised Swee Kee years ago).
Moh Swee Kee serves only steamed chicken rice, with straightforward items like set meals priced according to various cuts of chicken (from $5 for a 1 Person Set with breast meat to $7 for drumstick). Each set comes with steamed chicken, rice, a veggie side and soup.Customers can top up for Chicken Rice Ball ($1 each), Chicken Wing ($2), Gizzards/Liver (from $1 to $3) and Braised Egg ($1). There are also options to buy just steamed Chicken (from $10 for a quarter upper part to $32 for a whole chicken).
We personally find that the rice here could be more flavourful, but the steamed chicken is pretty good; succulent with a silky, gelatinous layer of skin drizzled with a moreish soy-based sauce. This is accompanied by a serviceable-enough plate of veggies and light broth. “Our chicken sauce has a special ingredient imported from Hong Kong,” says Jass, though she declines to reveal more.
Halal chicken rice
Interestingly, Jass is in the process of applying for halal certification for her Chinatown stall. Her goddaughter, Jovina Tan, 31, currently helps her at her stall, and is a Muslim convert by marriage. “We are getting a halal cert so people of all races can enjoy chicken rice,” Jass shares.
Last week, she also opened a second outlet for Moh Swee Kee at High Street Centre in City Hall. The air-conditioned cafe offers the same chicken rice menu, with an additional selection of hot and cold beverages, plus a breakfast-friendly Bread and Egg Set ($3.80). Oddly enough (and decidedly not old-school Swee Kee), this cafe serves non-Muslim-friendly beer and finger snacks like sotong balls and sweet potato fries.
Jass says that she plans to open more outlets for Moh Swee Kee. “If I can open four to five outlets, I will set up a central kitchen,” she explains, though it remains to be seen if she will go with a halal chain. Meanwhile, Joseph is also planning to open an outlet for his Rui Ji brand. “I’m looking for space now,” he shares.
Moh Swee Kee’s hawker is at #01-1062 People’s Park Food Centre, 32 New Market Rd, S050032. Open daily except Mon, 10am-7pm. Cafe outlet at #B1-11 High Street Centre, 1 North Bridge Rd, S179094. Open daily except Sun, 7am-7pm.
Traditional Rui Ji Chicken Rice, two outlets including #01-48 Blk 93 Toa Payoh Lor 4 Market & Food Centre, S310093, open daily except Mon, 9am-7pm. And #B1-01, 148 Beach Rd, S189720, open Mon-Fri 9am-3pm.
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