HoKat Food Blog: Chatterbox (Singapore)

After a nice experience at 逸群雞飯 on the previous day, we want another round of 海南雞飯 (Hainanese Chicken Rice). This time, we went to an upscale restaurant on the 38th and 39th floors of the Meritus Mandarin Hotel on the famous Orchard Road shopping area. The scenery is great because the restaurant is surrounded by oversized windows with a clear view of the city. During our lunch, we saw a few colorful helium balloons flew in the sky. I gotta tell you though, it is the most expensive Chicken Rice that I have ever had. The same dish cost 5 times more than what you pay at 逸群雞飯. However, every penny is well worth it.

As an appetizer, we ordered the Rojak, which is a popular fruit and vegetable salad in Singapore and Malaysia. The Rojak consists of potatoes, cucumber, tofu puffs, youtiao (Chinese-style fritters), and green apples. The dressing is made of shrimp paste, sugar, chili, and lime juice. The ingredients are cut into bite-sized portions and tossed in a bowl with the dressing and topped with chopped peanuts. The dressing has a strong taste and there are many flavors, yet this dish is very refreshing.

Another appetizer that we ordered is the Satay Platter of beef skewers, lamb skewers, and chicken skewers. I picked the lamb skewer to try because it is not as common as the other two. The lamb skewer is very tender and juicy because of the fat in the meat. The taste of lamb comes through nicely in this dish and is not overpowered by the taste of the satay sauce.

For main dish, we placed an order of the 喇沙 (Laksa) and two orders of Hainanese Chicken Rice to share among the five of us. The Laksa is a coconut curry soup with thick rice vermicelli. It contains tofu puffs, fish sticks, shrimp, eggs, and cockles. We like the taste of coconut curry because we make it at home all the time.

For Hainanese Chicken Rice, you have a choice of breast or thigh, and we chose the latter. Each order of is served with about ten pieces of chicken and a bowl of chicken oil rice. The condiments include dark soy sauce, minced garlic, and also chili paste which is more sour than spicy. I would say it is the best chicken rice you can get anywhere in the world. The chicken is so incredibly soft, tender, and juicy. Is this really chicken? I could not believe that chicken can have this kind of texture. It takes no effort at all to chew on the chicken and it slid down my throat. The chicken oil rice is also delicious. The rice is cooked just right, with each bit of rice easily distinguishable. It is filled with the aroma of rich chicken oil. This dish is so fine. There is only one word to describe the Hainanese Chicken Rice, it is EXTRAORDINARY. The only problem is that there is not enough to share among five people, and it left me craving for more.