CHATTERBOX

It’s best not to stray from the signatures here to avoid disappointment—and the dish to go for is still the quintessential Mandarin chicken rice. The culinary team steams the bird until tender and juicy, then serves it with aromatic rice, hot soup and the traditional chicken rice condiments. A close second is the lobster laksa; it has enough spice in the coconut gravy but it doesn’t burn the tongue, and is elevated by the meaty crustacean, served with the usual rice noodles, quail eggs and tofu. You can’t go wrong with the salted egg chicken wing, either. The chefs carefully coat each wing with the piquant batter and deep-fry them along with curry leaf and chilli padi. The staff do their best to attend to diners, even when it’s 90 per cent full on a busy Tuesday night. Wine options here are very limited, so you’d do better to order a cocktail from the hotel bar. However, there are a variety of non-alcoholic beverages—perfect when you’re dining with the little ones.