This Hainan 2.0 wave is rooted in the Hainan province in Southern China, but evolved from a comfort dish popular in Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand — each with its own slight variations. One of the most traditional Hainan chicken rice versions is poached chicken on a bed of chicken stock-punctuated rice and served alongside cucumber slices, and sauces like ginger-scallion, sweet soy, and chile. In October, when the team behind Koreatown sandwich shop Open Market (@openmarket.la) posted its daily special on Instagram — a Hainan chicken salad sando — it didn’t anticipate the enormous response. “I didn’t prepare that much for this one because I just had no idea anybody wanted it, but we sold 25 of them — that’s all I had — in less than an hour,” says chef Andrew Marco. Go to the link in bio for the story by @jeanstrinh. 📷1: Jeff’s Table 📷2: @wonhophoto 📷3: Ralph Hsiao