Boon Tong Kee Philippines

*This restaurant is now closed*

Boon Tong Kee was one of my favorite restaurants for Hainanese Chicken Rice whenever I visit the Lion City. They finally opened in Manila last year in SM Mall of Asia but I was not so excited to go since they left out my favorite coffee ribs from the menu. I was finally able to try out Boon Tong Kee Philippines when I was invited to check out the newest branch in Tomas Morato.  The resto is located beside Burgoo, just a bit from the Boy Scout Circle and across Il Terrazo.

We started our meal at Boon Tong Kee with some Crispy Beancurd (P185). Deep fried, pillowy soft beancurd cubes with a light, crisp coating. There’s a side of creamy wasabi mayo to flavor it.

Prawn Toast (P275). Crispy cubes of bread with minced shrimp on top. There was surprisingly a generous amount of shrimps.

Braised Pork Belly with Bun (P325). Saucy and meaty, perfect to stuff inside the soft white buns.

Poached Chinese Spinach with Assorted Eggs (P295). Spinach with century, duck and chicken eggs. I would have preferred this to have less soup but it was quite enjoyable, taste-wise. The amount of spinach is very generous and you’ll be feeling Pop-eye in no time.

Stir Fried Lotus Root with Sambal. This dish was a nice surprise, lots of flavors and textures made this so interesting. Despite the addition of sambal, this had just a hint of spiciness. I also found out that not only were lotus roots delicious and healthy, the plants clean bodies of water.

Signature Boiled Chicken (P245/quarter, P455/half, P845/whole). The best thing they do at Boon Tong Kee Philippines is their ability to served this boneless with their special way of slicing and cutting the chicken. Taste wise, I’d still rank the Yellow Chicken above this one. See those triangle shapes in the back? That is how they serve their chicken rice (P65) here, interestingly shaped.

I actually like the Crispy Roasted Chicken (P235/quarter, P425/half, P755/whole) much better. It had a layer of super crispy skin that would fool you into thinking it was deep fried instead of roasted. The flavors penetrated all the way into the meat too.

Fried Spare Ribs with Zhen Jiang Sauce (P395). This is accompanied by fried buns. Sticky and sweet, its like an Asian version of American barbecue pork ribs.

Coffee Pork Ribs (P295). I finally get to taste my all time favorite dish from Boon Tong Kee Singapore.  They use the same exact sauce mix from Singapore but I felt they used a too thin piece of meat and slightly overcooked it, leading to a bit of bitter taste.

The Crispy Cereal Prawn (P375/3 pcs, P655/6 pcs.) looked somewhat like a stringy and jungle like. The cereals are not like the little bits of oats other places uses but is instead made of oat flour. The best thing about this dish are the oat strings, sweet with a little spicy hint that are super addicting. I think this is the best cereal prawn I’ve had in Manila.

Cream Cheese Prawn (P375/3 pcs, P655/6 pcs.), a new dish launched to celebrate Singapore National Day. Deep fried prawns slathered with gooey and creamy cheese sauce. You’ll be licking your fingers to remove the mess you make but it will be so worth it.

For dessert we had Sago Gula Melaka w/ Vanilla cream (P145) and Mango Taho. Sago and plam sugar syrup with some ice cream, sweet but worth the calories. Be sure to dig down with your spoon since the sago are in the bottom. The mango taho tasted like a jigglier and lighter mango pudding to me.

The place is nice and clean with dark colored furniture and lots of little intricate details. What I’m excited about is their planned addiction of Singapore style clay pot rice to the menu. It will only be available in Tomas Morato and Mall of Aisa because they have outside kitchens. I now have some new additions to my Boon Tong Kee hit list like the Cream Cheese Prawn, Lotus root and fried spare ribs.

Boon Tong Kee Philippines

301 Tomas Morato Avenue,

(beside Burgoo and ABS-CBN)

South Triangle, Quezon City

Philippines

Contact No.: (02) 332-5692

 

Other Branches:

SM Mall of Asia

Power Plant Mall, Rockwell

Like this post? Subscribe to Tales From The Tummy by Email