Chatterbox Restaurant : Posh Hawker Food in Singapore

Our last visit to Chatterbox Chicken Rice restaurant was when the hotel was known as the Mandarin Hotel. The hotel is now known as Hilton Singapore Orchard and the restaurant looks more posh than we remembered it to be. With the swanky decor and pricing, this is perhaps the 6 Star Hawker Centre of Singapore.

Memories of Chatterbox Mandarin Hotel

Located on level 5, the Chatterbox restaurant can be accessed via the lifts at Hilton Singapore Orchard or from the shopping wing, the Mandarin Gallery. There is a waiting area at the entrance to the restaurant where visitors can view some photos and memorabilia from the restaurant’s long history which are on display.

In 1971, the Mandarin Hotel took a bold step to serve the humble chicken rice in a prestigious coffeehouse of a five-star luxury hotel on Orchard Road, with prices to match. As far as we can remember, it was a winning formula and locals and visitors loved it. It is now 2025 and this fondness for premium chicken rice has endured to this day. It was quite crowded when we visited on a weekday lunch. We arrived without a reservation and had to be content to eat our lunch perched on bar stools. Many others did the same.

This is a photo of the reserved seats. Much more glamourous than the bar area. We will make it a point to reserve in the future. There is apparently still a high demand for $25++ chicken rice in Singapore.

Chatterbox Restaurant Menu

Here are pictures of some pages from the Chatterbox Hilton Singapore Orchard menu. There seems to be more options for diners including a $46++ Heritage set meal that features the Mandarin chicken rice / Hokkien mee / lobster laksa (add $10) as the main course with bak kut teh as the optional soup course (add $10). There is an even more pricey set dinner that costs $68++. Links to the full menus are provided at the end of this post.

I think the top hits of Singapore hawker food can be found in the rice and noodles section. We picked two from here – Mandarin chicken rice individual set ($25++) and char kway teow ($24++).

Premium Hawker Food at Hilton Singapore

We had initially intended to eat the famous Mandarin chicken rice at Chatterbox restaurant. But decided at the last minute that it would be a bit boring. And so one of us had to order another item – char kway teow.

Mandarin Chicken Rice

This is a picture of the Mandarin Chicken Rice at the Hilton Singapore Orchard. Served on a tray, this had all the Chatterbox chicken rice essentials – a large serving of chicken, fluffy chicken rice, soup and three types of condiments/sauces (soy sauce, chilli and ginger). We thought that the chicken portion was quite generous. the quality has also been maintained to the high standards we were expecting. Cooked just right – tender and without any strong chicken flavours.

Just as important as the chicken was the rice. In this case we think it was more outstanding than the chicken. The rice had a rich aroma and flavour. Dry and springy in texture. It was wonderful. All the other components performed well too. Overall, we thought that for the price and the dining experience, we would return to eat this premium chicken rice in a posh restaurant setting.

Chatterbox Restaurant Char Kway Teow

Unfortunately we were not as thrilled with the Chatterbox CKT. It arrived looking like a typical plate of char kway teow we can find elsewhere. The portion may be a bit bigger and there were more bits of vegetables and other ingredients. But we did not get a wow factor which we were expecting for a $24++ char kway teow.

The taste was ok but not memorable. A strong sweet soy sauce taste was the main impression that I can recall about it.

Ratings:
Food: 3
Service: 3
Value: 3
Atmosphere: 4
Overall Rating: 3 TOPs

Chatterbox
Level 5, 333 Orchard Road, 
Hilton Singapore Orchard
Singapore 238867

Lunch Menu | Dinner Menu

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday
11.30am to 4.30pm (last order at 3.45pm)
5.30pm to 10.30pm (last order at 9.45pm)

Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays
11am to 4.30pm (last order at 3.45pm)
5.30pm to 11pm (last order at 10pm)

Nearby MRT Station: Somerset (NS23)

Website