Review: Chef Lai’s Cafe by former Chatterbox chef has great chicken rice at wallet-friendly prices

I’ve indulged in chicken rice at Chatterbox all of one time, maybe six or seven years ago. While I was thoroughly impressed, its hefty price tag of almost 30 dollars is fine for a once-in-a-while splurge, but it was one of the reasons why I was one and done.

But the memory of the taste lingered. So when I heard about Chef Lai’s Cafe, a casual eatery concept run by an ex-Chatterbox chef, I — as a self-proclaimed chicken rice lover — had to try it out.

Chicken rice made by a hotel-trained chef, at hawker-like prices? 

That’s worth trying any day.

The backstory

To be clear, Chef Lai’s Cafe isn’t new.

Chef Arron Lai spent 16 years at Chatterbox when it was still located at the now-defunct Mandarin Orchard hotel, before leaving to open his own chicken rice restaurant in Hong Kong. 

He eventually returned to Singapore and started Chef Lai’s Cafe at The Adelphi at the end of 2018, where he had been quietly building a following for years now.

The Sim Lim Square outlet, which I visited for this review, opened earlier this year, and it’s his first and only branch in years. 

Situated along the same corridor as the popular 3 Meals a Day, the Sim Lim Square outlet occupies a relatively small space, with six larger tables for groups inside and a few more spilling along the corridor outside. 

Photos from his Chatterbox days line the walls, while the whole place smells like curry chicken and rendang the moment you walk in — which does wonders for your appetite before you’ve even sat down.

The menu looks extensive at first glance, but it’s basically different set types for his specialty dishes: the Hainanese chicken rice, obviously, along with things such as curry chicken, rendang chicken, lemon grass chicken, and braised pork belly. 

It’s worth noting that all his sets, with soup and vegetables included, go for just S$7.50 regardless of which meat dish you choose.

Our verdict

I went in expecting one really good chicken rice and left impressed by everything else as well.

Chef Lai’s Cafe strikes me as a homely, feel-good eatery that knows exactly what it wants to be, both with its food and service. 

Nothing here feels oily or overly rich, but everything is flavourful in a clean, intentional way — no doubt thanks to Arron’s decades in the business. 

Arron himself is often behind the counter here, and he’s a really friendly presence, cracking jokes with the regulars, many of whom popped throughout the course of my meal. 

This is a spot that I’d highly recommend, especially if you love a good reliable plate of chicken rice.

What it’s good for

To come to an ex-Chatterbox chef’s cafe and not order the chef Lai Hainanese chicken rice set (S$7.50) would be an atrocity, which I for one did not commit. 

I ordered the set, along with many other tables there that afternoon. 

The chicken is beautifully poached, skin still on but deboned, tender and moist all the way through. 

Even the breast meat — so often the letdown at many chicken rice places — doesn’t dry out here, and instead stays tender and juicy even, sitting in a sauce that’s rich in chicken flavour but doesn’t overpower with saltiness.

Likewise, the accompanying chilli is gingery and garlicky, and not particularly spicy, which is exactly the balance I like.

Besides the protein, the rice fairs well, too.

This is one of the renditions that is least oily, compared to many other versions I’ve had. But it’s nowhere near being dry. Rather, the rice remains fluffy and infused with chicken broth with a hint of ginger-garlic fragrance.

Like the other components on the plate, you can tell a lot of thought has gone into the soup, a dish that tends to be an afterthought at other places. 

As you dig into the soup, you’ll even find a good amount of chicken bones, red dates, and wolfberries — testament to the quality of the broth.

The attentive Arron noticed me slurping the soup and asked if I wanted a refill, which I gladly said yes to.

Also included in the set is a side of soft-boiled cabbage and carrots that’s clean and sweet. At S$7.50, a chicken rice set of this calibre is simply great value.

The chef Lai curry chicken (S$6.50, a la carte) is the only other dish besides the Hainanese chicken to have the chef’s name appended in front, so it’s safe to say this is one of Arron’s signatures, too.

Thankfully I took a chance on it, because its taste is befitting of that label — this is among the most flavourful curry chicken I’ve had, that’s not actually dripping in oil. 

The curry is creamy, savoury, and lightly spiced with barely a trace of oil on the surface. It has a very drinkable consistency that also clings properly to the perfectly-boiled potato and tender chicken, which makes every bite well-coated and flavourful.

Encouraged by the consecutively good dishes, I tried the chicken rendang (S$6.50, a la carte) which looks similar to the curry chicken at a glance. 

Chef Lai’s version leans closer to a gravy-heavy Chinese-Malaysian style curry than the typical Indonesian or Malay-style dry rendang — but the recipe clearly isn’t the same.

Yes, the chicken itself is similarly tender, but this one comes imbued with proper rendang spicing such as cinnamon, star anise, cloves, a touch of tamarind for tang, and what tastes like toasted coconut lending a nutty depth. 

Go for this over the curry chicken if you prefer your chicken fragrant and spiced over a creamy curry.

Lastly, the braised pork belly rice (S$6.50 a la carte) might be the only non-chicken dish here, but it holds its own. 

It’s not quite a traditional Taiwanese-style lu rou fan or braised pork rice — the meat here is leaner rather than fatty (likely a result of using the lower flap of pork belly), which gives a heavier ratio of lean meat to fat than the usual version. 

That said, the flavour is fairly authentic. It’s savoury from a mix of dark and light soy sauce, with a sweet edge that keeps you going back for more. There’s also half a braised egg and braised peanuts on the side, soaking up the same sauce.

I wasn’t planning on ordering the housemade barley drink (S$1.80), until I saw the tables around me all going for one — there was even a pair of ladies who came in just to enjoy a cup before leaving. 

Help yourself to a cup from the fridge — or if you’re lucky enough, Arron might have a fresh batch that’s still warm and if there is, get the warm one instead. 

Remember to grab one of the larger bubble tea straws at the side. The barley bits have a chewy bite to it — almost al dente — and are slightly slippery in a pleasant way that makes each sip go down easily. 

It’s not sweet, letting the natural nuttiness of the barley come through. No wonder everyone was ordering one.

What it could improve on

Honestly, Chef Lai’s Cafe is one of the easiest recommendations I’ve had to give. 

The only constraint I can think of would be the compact space — knowing the weekday lunch crowd on this floor, I can only imagine the squeeze for a seat and food waiting time during peak lunch hours, so time your visit accordingly.

I visited at 5.30pm and had no issues getting a seat. The food was also a mere four-minute wait. 

Our quick takes

Is it conducive to conversation? It’s a small space, so not during peak lunch hours.

Is a reservation necessary? Walk-ins only.

How to get there? Chef Lai’s Cafe is on the second floor of Sim Lim Square, a short 1-minute walk from Rochor MRT Exit A.

HungryGoWhere paid for its meal at this restaurant for this review.

For more eats around the Bugis area, check out Permata’s newest buffet spread and promotion, as well as Gem Fresh Yong Tau Foo at Bugis Cube.