Three people mentioned and recommended this place shortly before my trip to Singapore this month; I mean, I have been to Singapore many times, this the second for the year, but no one has ever mentioned about this restaurant. Apparently the place has been in existence since 1971, and the current residence is at the Meritus Mandarin on the famous Orchard Road in Singapore.
Chatterbox. That's the one I am talking about, and the place is apparently well known for its Hainanese Chicken Rice.
Honestly, it is much ado about nothing. For all the glories trumpeted by the aforementioned fans, the signature dish did not differ too much from anywhere
you could find it elsewhere in the city. One thing for sure: foreigners who wish not to rub elbows with the locals, eating in the heat and humidity of Singapore, then this place is their place: within a reputable hotel, in an air-conditioned and clean space with the color red so imposing that if it does not whet one's appetite, then nothing else might not. This probably is the appeal of the place: a traditional dish that can be eaten in a more respectable ambient.
Their claim to fame is their secret ingredients for the three condiments that come with the Hainanese Chicken Rice: the soy sauce, the ginger, and the chilli sauce. True, the soy sauce is a bit thicker and slightly sweeter, and the ginger has a slight green tint to it, but there is nothing special about the chilli sauce.
Chatterbox at the Meritus Mandarin Hotel
333 Orchard Rd
Singapore 238867
Tel: +65 6831 6288 and +65 6737-4411
