If you have been to Chatterbox in Singapore’s Mandarin Orchard Hotel (formerly Meritus Mandarin Hotel) along Orchard Road, you have probably already tried their Hainanese Chicken Rice. I have done so once last year with my children. I have to admit, that was good chicken.
I know you’ll find it strange that I’d eat chicken in a hotel restaurant rather than somewhere else, but it was a no- brainer choice for us since we were with two kids who didn’t want to travel very far to have lunch.
On my recent trip, we ate at Chatterbox again (because this time, it would be quite impossible to book a 15- seater table at Boon Tong Kee or at another local haunt that served excellent chicken). So yes, I ordered Hainanese Chicken Rice thinking it would be just as good as the one I had the last time. I hate to admit this, but I was very disappointed with the chicken. It was very dry. The chicken I had at the coffee shop of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel was so much better, but even then, that chicken was not as good as the Hainanese Chicken of Chef Stevie Villacin in Makati!
Chatterbox may not have the best chicken rice, but I think hands down they serve the Best Bak Kut Teh.
I grew up drinking Bak Kut Soup in our house, but our soup is prepared differently. Our cook flavored the soup with sliced radish and garlic. It was very good too and has become one of my “comfort” foods. Hot chicken soup is to some, while hot Bak Kut soup is to me.
Bak Kut, in direct translation, means Meat- Bone (like Spareribs). Teh is tea. It’s “Sparerib tea” which has spareribs, goji berries, tofu, mushrooms, and fresh cilantro stalks in it. The flavors of this soup are so full and packed. It’s unlike the soup I grew up drinking. I love our homemade soup, but this soup really merits a post on today’s food blog.
So when you come to Singapore, don’t have the Hainanese Chicken at Chatterbox. Choose the Bak Kut Teh instead!
x,
Mrs. T
