ChilChil Thai Super Bowl

This fried rice matched the authenticity in Thailand so I approve. But the thinly sliced pork was too dry.

Interesting. I've never seen this dish in Thailand and suspect it doesn't exist. The noodles may look little but it's fine. The curry ticked the boxes but was overly oily.

Cineleisure Orchard has been undergoing a little bit of revamp and it does seem that the mall does have some new F&B tenants to entice the shoppers along the Orchard Road shopping belt to have settle their meals there — recent F&B additions at Cineleisure Orchard includes establishments like an outlet of Ah Chew Desserts, an outlet of McDonald’s and TaiWan Night Markets. With Fatburger’s exit out of the Singapore market, the space beside McDonald’s had been left vacant for quite a while — the hoardings of ChilChil undergoing renovations being added a while after Fatburger’s closure. ChilChil had since opened its doors to patrons at Cineleisure Orchard; turns out, this may not be ChilChil’s first F&B venture — one can find the logo of SweetThai stuck on the dessert counter right at the frontage of the shop unit it occupies. For those whom are unaware, SweetThai was a takeaway kiosk-style establishment that once operated at Novena Square serving up mix-and-match Thai dessert as their focus. The entire space had been revamped since its days being an outlet of Fatburger; the dine-in section being split into a bar area and a standard dine-in area while there is a strong industrial theme going on with faux exposed brick walls, cemented walls and floors and wooden furniture and fittings that carried a bit of a rustic flavour. Unlike SweetThai, ChilChil is a Thai restaurant serving up quite a variety of Thai dishes; their main attraction being the Thai Super Bowl which is essentially a large pot of Thai Tom Yum Mama Noodles served atop a stove and comes with a slew of ingredients. For those wanting something more ordinary, ChilChil’s food menu is segmented into Street Bites, Sharing, Rice & Noodle and Something Sweet — the beverage menu on the other hand comprising of typical Thai drinks like the Iced Thai Milk Tea and Iced Lemongrass with Lime alongside canned drinks; they also do serve up alcoholic drinks as well.

We actually visited ChilChil without much of an intention to do so at the start; we found ourselves settling here since there was not much that we were enticed with whilst being in that part of town, and that we were also dining by ourselves on the weekday evening which we made our visit to ChilChil. Having skimmed through the menu, we were actually pleased to find out that they have several dishes that are listed on the menu that suits individual diners — all of which being the items in the Rice & Noodle section of the menu. Skimming through the said section of the menu, it was the Green Curry Gai Laksa Noodle that really captured our attention since we had not quite seen the words “curry” and “laksa” appear in the same line in Thai cuisine. It was only when the dish appeared at the table that all became a little more obvious — the presentation being a bowl of green curry chicken being placed on a platter which comes with thick Bee Hoon that is typically found in Laksa; hence “Laksa Noodle” in its name. Interestingly, they did divide the portion of thick Bee Hoon into five mini-portions that does help to give it a visual appeal different from that of if the thick Bee Hoon was served in the bowl directly. Digging into the bowl of Green Curry Gai, we noticed that the Green Curry Gai comes with radish, Thai eggplants, chili padi, basil leaves, and chicken slices. The green curry here does come a little bit more on the greasier side of things, though we did feel that it was somewhat required for the dish to bear some of its flavour anyway and for a good texture.

Carrying that sweet, umami note that is typical of Green Curry, the only qualm we have with this version was how the root vegetables here felt like they had not absorbed the green curry entirely; the flavours of green curry within them being pretty much non-existent whilst still carrying a crunch. The strips of chicken were however pretty tender, while the basil leaves helped to add a contrast of flavours overall with its aroma. It is not stated on the best way to enjoy the thick Bee Hoon here, though we mopped up an entire portion at one time dipping it into the Green Curry with a spoonful of Green Curry broth as well — the thick Bee Hoon being slurpy and smooth. We had also gave the Thai Chendol a go during our visit to ChilChil since we had wanted to try SweetThai for a while but never did; the Thai Chendol features coconut milk, green jelly and red beans. Despite missing the Gula Melaka, the Coconut Milk is sweetened; much to the likes of that typically found in Thai Red Ruby. Also noted is how the Thai Chendol features thicker Chendol Jelly than the usual; these however, carried a heavier note of Pandan than usual with a really evident fragrance and a softer texture than the local ones we are familiar with — the red bean carrying an earthy flavour profile to balance things out. All in all, ChilChil does serve up some decent Thai fare worth and is a spot that works for groups especially; though also an establishment that is friendly for single diners looking for something simpler to have to solve those raging Thai food cravings that they may have.