Oh chicken rice, the essential dish for all Singaporeans. Sitting at a hawker centre table and enjoying affordable $3 chicken rice with a group of friends is something many Singaporeans can relate to…which was why I was skeptical about trying $27++ chicken rice. $3 chicken rice already tastes so good. Can $27++ chicken rice be 9 times better? Jokes aside, let’s dig into this review.
The chicken rice came with a generous portion of chicken (as I expected), three ‘standard’ condiments (black sauce, ginger purée and chili sauce), as well as a bowl of lettuce soup. Given the price point, I had some mixed emotions – I was marginally disappointed that there wasn’t a fancy twist, but also slightly relieved that the restaurant preserved the authenticity of the dish.
The rice was quite fluffy and evenly cooked, not too dry and not too moist. It was flavourful, though I felt that it could be more fragrant. The chicken was one of the best I’ve had. I usually do not feel comfortable eating chicken that is red, so I was very pleased to see that the chicken was cooked through. It was moist, tender, and went perfectly well with the soy sauce and condiments. The soup was alright.
My verdict? Yes, the portion of chicken is bigger than most places and yes, the quality is better, but for the rice itself, in my opinion, there are better ones out there. Considering the quality of the food, the air-conditioned environment and the rental costs, I think I would pay more for this chicken rice. BUT I don’t really feel like it’s worth $27++; this price is way too steep, because I wouldn’t call the dish phenomenal.
I assumed that my first time having Chatterbox chicken rice would probably be my last. It just felt like something you went for just to say ‘oh I’ve tried it‘. Plot twist: I ended up at Chatterbox for a second time.
This time, we tried the ngoh hiang too! In fact, the Chatterbox ngoh hiang impressed me more than the chicken rice. Commercial ngoh hiang usually tastes sweeter than homemade ones. I prefer homemade ngoh hiang because I am typically not a fan of sugar in my dishes (for me, only conventionally sweet things like desserts, cereals, fruits, etc. should be sweet). This one was considerably less sweet and more on the savoury side. It didn’t have a gritty texture or blobs of fats inside either. I enjoyed it very much!
Chatterbox is on Chope. You can make a reservation via Chope to earn some Chope dollars! Here is my referral link: https://cho.pe/ie294
The restaurant can be found at: 333 Orchard Road, Level 5, Mandarin Orchard, Singapore 238867
Jia Hui Eatz 