101 Hawker Food House

Nanyang

Bugis Singapore Streetfood

Claypot Bak Kut Teh

Boon Tong Kee

We celebrated Andi's 12th birthday at Boon Tong Kee (Quezon City branch) which is right beside its sister outlet Burgoo along Tomas Morato.  I had wanted to compare the taste of the local branch with the taste of the cooking in Singapore.  It was a good thing we arrived early, as parking in the area gets pretty hard to find by 7pm.  Our big group of 20 was seated at a long table at the rear portion of the restaurant, and this was just fine as it afforded us some semi-private space.  Gwammy was particularly thrilled because the egg-drop soup that was served as a tummy warmer was on the house!

While waiting for the rest of the family members, we started off with some dimsum treats so that the children's boredom would be quelled.  The staff was quick to point out some of their specialties, and the kids didn't have any objections.

The boiled chicken is the specialty of the house, together with the accompanying chicken rice, this is probably Singapore's best known legacy to the foodie community.  The bird was tender, and the skin was gelatinous in form, which is exactly what I look for!

And the parade of viands started--sweet sour pork, birthday noodles, beef fillet with black pepper, Chinese spinach with century eggs and salted eggs, fish sauteed in garlic, French beans, fried chicken, Dory fish in tausi sauce, cereal prawns, mussels and squid rings and coffee pork ribs.  How much more Singaporean can you get?

Staff service was excellent, we felt as if we owned the place.  I learned from the head chef that a whole team of Filipinos trained in Singapore for some 3 to 4 months before the local branch was opened, and I'd say that taste of the cooking here is already quite good, and the cereal prawns and the coffee pork ribs were clearly winners. However, having eaten in their Singaporean outlet, I'd say that the original stores have a slight edge, probably because of the quality of the produce.  For example, the local Chinese spinach is a truly more fibrous as compared to the one I tasted in Singapore.  Also, the sweet & sour pork ribs and the fried chicken were quite ordinary, just like those of nearby Chinese restaurants in the Tomas Morato area.  In fine, the bill of around P750 per head was reasonable for a good tummy-filling treat for all of us.

My Singapore Food Street

It seems that we've been seeing a lot of Singaporean style restaurants around the Metro. Waiting while Monique did her shopping rounds in SM Megamall made me slightly bored and hungry, so I went to the food area.  The sight of the Merlion at My Singapore Food Street piqued my interest--such a long name for a restaurant, I thought.  The restaurant had a lot of roasted meats, laksa, prawn mee and also carried a variety of short orders.  Of course I had to go for their flagship Hainanese chicken rice, which was priced at the P150 level, and was surprisingly tender.  Moreover, the ginger sauce was well flavored.  Not bad for fast food, I'd say, although I would have wanted the chicken skin to have that gelatinous consistency that bounces as you bite.

Whistlestop

Monique and I spent a Sunday just driving around the city, sharpening her reflexes and polishing up on her driving skills.  By mid-afternoon, we wound up along Jupiter St., and to my surprise, I saw a Whistlestop signboard, near the intersection of Paseo de Roxas.  Could it be the old Whistlestop from along Pasay Road?  Vicky and I used to spend a lot of post-party time there--the Hainanese chicken was very good and we would take coffee  to sober up after making merry in nearby clubs or drinking ourselves to oblivion.  The restaurant was a favorite pit stop because it was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  We strolled in to find that the place was indeed the new incarnation of the restaurant.  The background prints and decor, however, gave the impression that we were in a train station, probably a play on the name "whistlestop!"

The Hainanese chicken was still good--the ginger sauce had a good tasty oomph to it.  I had wanted to get other old favorites--Nasi Goreng, Char Kuey Tiao, but too bad, I didn't have the storage space in my tummy.  Monique had a bacon cheeseburger, and that was pretty juicy and flavorful too.  Prices have been kept at reasonable levels, and you can probably have a good hearty meal at the P350 to P500 per head range.

 

I understand that the restaurant is now owned by a new management team, and that the old Whistlestop (which also had a branch along E. Rodriguez Avenue in Libis) had shut down for many years.  Well, the place is not bad, especially since there are very few others that have followed suit in the 24/7 market, but maybe the drawing power isn't the same anymore.