Singapore's Chatterbox Brings Its Hainanese Chicken Rice to the Philippines

(SPOT.ph) When in Singapore, Hainanese chicken rice is a must. Apart from the many versions available at hawker centers, the humble dish can be had at a much-elevated level at Chatterbox—right inside the five-star Hilton Singapore Orchard, no less. This legendary restaurant has served presidents, dignitaries, and A-list icons from the likes of  Muhammad Ali and Jackie Chan, and just in case you're interested in the local scene,  even Marissa "Small" Laude gives it her stamp of approval in her travel vlogs.

Since you’re already splurging on the food, you can skip the pricey airfare to Singapore because Chatterbox is finally bringing its legendary Mandarin Chicken Rice to the Philippines very, very soon.

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Here’s the scoop on Singapore's Chatterbox restaurant's arrival in the Philippines:

Singapore's Chatterbox is opening its first Philippine-based store in SM Aura, with a target to open this June. This is a significant development—since it was founded in 1971, Chatterbox has maintained a selective international expansion strategy, namely with Chatterbox Café and Chatterbox Express in Hong Kong and another branch in Fukuoka. Alongside launching in the Philippines this year, Chatterbox has plans on opening in other parts of Asia, such as Macau, Taipei, Tokyo, and beyond.

What dishes to try at Chatterbox

Chatterbox has long been known for its Mandarin Chicken Rice—a dish the Singaporean restaurant has served since the first day (when it opened in 1971). This dish uses free-range chicken cooked in an aromatic stock, gently steamed until the meat is tender, and then cooled to seal in the flavor. This is served with fragrant jasmine rice, a bowl of chicken broth, and the usual companions of soy sauce, ginger, and chili sauce.

Aside from the Mandarin Chicken Rice, Chatterbox is also known for other dishes. There's the  Lobster Laksa, which has a thick, creamy, spicy, and nutty seafood broth you'll want to slurp to the very last drop. This is made heftier with vermicelli noodles, a whole Boston lobster claw, tofu puffs, fish cake slices, bean sprouts, quail eggs, and laksa sprigs.

There's also the Beef Hor Fun, which has flat rice noodles with beef slices stir-fried to give it a smoky flavor and simmered in a black bean gravy; Hokkien-Style Bak Kut Teh, which has Sakura pork ribs slowly cooked in a herbal broth and served with deep-fried dough fritters.

Hopefully, Chatterbox will be generous enough to bring its legendary cold desserts along for the ride—because if anyone understands the art of surviving sweltering, hellish heat indexes, it's Singaporeans, since their summers are just as relentless as ours. Here’s hoping they bless us with their signature Coconut Ice Cream, fragrant Pandan Cake with Gelato, and local gems like Chendol, Tau Suan, and Cheng Tng.

For more information, check out Chatterbox's Instagram page.

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