Chatterbox has been around since 1971. That’s only 6 years after Singapore gained independence. Outside the restaurant, you can see photos of celebrities visiting the restaurant, including Singapore’s founding father Lee Kwan Yew. So, it’s safe to say the restaurant is part of history – it even has its own wikipedia article.
I’ve always wanted to try Chatterbox for their famous “atas” (Singapore local term for fancy) chicken rice. However, it seemed like a place that requires special occasion to visit, so I waited for the perfect time.
Finally, last week, the perfect time came – I had a group of overseas visitors coming, so I quickly made a reservation at Chatterbox.
What we ordered
Ok, let’s get straight to the review. We were a group of 4 adults + 1 child. Here is a list of the dishes we ordered, and what I thought of them.
1. Mandarin Chicken Rice
Chatterbox is arguably most known for chicken rice.
You have the option to order as single portion, half chicken or whole chicken. For our group, as we wanted to try other things, we decided to order half chicken, priced at hefty $42.
Then to my dismay, the half chicken does not include the rice. We had to order 3 bowls of rice at $3 per bowl.
As with other chicken rice dishes, the rice was definitely the star. It was cooked well – flavorful with the right texture. The chicken itself did not impress me. I normally prefer roasted chicken to begin with.
2. Hotplate Oyster Omelette
When I first visited to Singapore as a young girl (I think I was about 9 years old), one of the most memorable thing I did was eating oyster omelette. So when I saw this on the menu, I had to try it.
At Chatterbox, the oyster omelette is served piping hot on a hotplate. It was… decent, and I could tell the oyster was fresh. But it was not nearly as good as the ones I’ve had in Bedok hawker center.
3. BBQ Sambal Seafood Platter
The seafood is Squid, Lala clams, and King Prawns. I’m not personally a fan of seafood, but I tried the squid. Again, the ingredients were fresh. But I thought the sambal could use a bit more kick to it.
4. Beef Horfun
Beef horfun is one of my favorite dishes and I had to try Chatterbox’s version. And I’m happy to say I really enjoyed this! The flat noodles had a nice smokey “wok hei” flavor, the beef was perfectly velveted and tender, and they were quite generous with the portion.
5. Stir-fried Golden Fragrant Garoupa Fillet
This dish consist of breaded and fried Garoupa (Grouper) fillet stir-fried in slightly spicy sauce. I personally enjoyed the dish, the fillet was crispy as promised, and the sauce was tasty, but the portion was quite small for sharing.
6. Crispy Salted Egg Chicken Wings
This one is from the appetizer menu, and came as 4 pieces of chicken wings slathered in salted egg yolk sauce and curry leaves. I didn’t expect much from it (I had not read the menu properly and I thought it was the prawn paste chicken), but this was probably my favorite item we ordered that time.
The menu had a cheeky warning that it is highly addictive, and I really have to agree. I wish I had more than just one wing!
Conclusion
Judging from the number of tables serving Japanese business groups when I visited on a Thursday dinner, it’s clear that Chatterbox wins out for the location and dish presentation.
When important clients and colleagues visit from overseas and there is a pressure to impress, you may not be able to just take them to hawker centers (read: place with no airconditioning), but a location like Chatterbox is a pleasant and safe choice.
The food is not bad, I actually enjoyed most of it, but for that price? I will not be returning regularly because there are just better places to have local food in Singapore where my money will go further. However, I will definitely be bringing overseas friends and coworkers – The kind that probably won’t tolerate hawker centers in the heat of Singapore.
Looking for a place to eat in Singapore? This post is part of my reviews of restaurants and other food places in Singapore. For more posts like this, check out “Dining Out in Singapore” category