Botak Jones

As requested, an extremely overdue post on Botak Jones. Personally, i have been there at least 5 times over the past 1.5 years and each time with a different group or by myself. So this is more or less a collective experience post. (PS: pardon the horrible pictures. The food looks much better when you are there.)

Location: Blk 608 Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 (next to an Esso Petrol station)

Website: http://www.botakjones.com/

Located in a humble coffee shop setting in the middle of nowhere in Ang Mo Kio, i was apprehensive at first during my first visit. This however, gave way to appreciation as the prices were definitely lower then its restaurant counterparts. Along the same vein as Aston's and Blackboard, Botak Jones was probably one of the pioneers in this field (correct me if i'm wrong please). Now, after four years, Botak Jones boasts a total of 6 outlets and a strong following of loyal customers with new ones born everyday. Be warned that if you arrive late for the meal, be prepared to wait at least 30 minutes for your food.

The Double Botak ($9.50)

Botak burger, 2 150 gram beef patties set atop a lightly toasted bun with tomatoes onions and lettuce. The burger comes without cheese or any such toppings unless ordered, toppings are priced between $1 to $3.50 on top of charge for the burger. I recommend the cheddar cheese topping for a more wholesome taste. As you can see, the burger i ordered did not come with cheese because i conveniently forgot. The patties are as i remember it, moist and medium well done on the inside which oozes a pleasantly strong beefy taste. The patties were smaller then i remembered however, and it was a little drier then my previous visits for some reason, the lack of cheese also took away a significant portion of enjoyment. The fries were thick and came with chilli powder sprinkled over it.

Cajun Chicken ($7.50)

Having never ordered anything apart from Botak Burger, i was pleasantly surprised with the Cajun Chicken my dad ordered. Chicken breast thats tender, a novel concept and well executed. The chicken was tender, juicy, easily cut and full of flavor from the mozeralla cheese and the spicy cajun sauce. Thats my impression from the one piece i had, my dad enjoyed it and said it was good. Enough said.

Fish And Chips ($6.50)

The humble fish and chips or breaded fried fish, available everywhere and at low prices, how does their rendition fair? Supposedly made from pacific dory fish and breaded on the day itself, they tout it as being freshly made daily. The reality of it is that it still tastes generic albeit a much better one then those available in other hawker centers or coffee shops. This one beats Blackboard's rendition hands down. The fish was thick and sweet with a thin layer of batter, still, would be better if they gave even bigger servings.

Score:

Overall: 7/10

Last Word:
"Damn good food at a damn good price!" is their tag line. From my visits, i got to realize that prices have been increasing and the food quality, though decent, have been sliding. The beef is where its at for me, but as prices increase ($1 for cheddar cheese?), the previous good value it offered is slowly offset as it now rivals restaurant prices when toppings are considered. Add the unpleasantness of its long wait times and somehow, the feeling of satisfaction it previously offered somehow ebbs away. Still, for its theme of American burgers, its currently still the better of the lot. Still, its more edging towards "Decent American burgers at semi decent prices" as opposed to what its tag line suggests.

Fried Rice Self Cooked (Misc Post)

Having eaten so much over the course of my life, i finally decided to try cooking on my own to find out exactly what i could do with food after my countless ramblings and complaints about food i have had the privilege of enjoying at various restaurants. As its the very first time i have ever cooked, what you see is my maiden outing in the kitchen which turned out to be alot of fun and educational at the same time. The other reason i decided to cook was because i promised my gf i would cook for her one day and so, i had to live up to my word.

Lettuce, chopped garlic, chopped apple ham and diced brown button mushrooms

I wanted to make garlic butter fried rice and since i'm purely working on imagination, these are the ingredients i figure should be sufficient for it. Did it turn out correct though? Read on.

Chicken thigh marinated in soy sauce, pepper and ma you

I had a few ideas for how i wanted to cook these chicken thighs but basically ended up with baking. Basically, because its healthier and because its easier to do so.

Salmon with simple salt marination

Salmon tastes fine as it is so nothing much is needed to marinate it. Salt to kill germs and rid it of its strong fishy taste.

The Completed Lunch

It turned out rather well. I pan fried the salmon before adding in black pepper sauce and white wine to enhance the taste. The broccoli was simply boiled with a little salt and olive oil. The chicken was baked twice, one with the aforementioned marinate and wrapped in aluminium foil before taking out, adding a layer of honey and char siew sauce and baked again. It turned out surprisingly juicy, sweet and pretty good if i say so myself. The fried rice, however, didn't turn out the way i wanted. My idea was influenced by how easily i saw chef's in Teppenyaki cook an extremely fragrant fried rice with simply garlic and butter. Mine turned out tasting overwhelmingly of butter and mushroom. My gf however, said everything tasted good. Obviously, there's more then a little bias in her judgment.

Personal score:
5.5/10 for the chicken
6.5/10 for the salmon
6/10 for the broccoli (at least its cooked)
5/10 for the butter garlic fried rice

Dinner

Seafood fried rice, baked chicken, ngor hiang and boiled mushrooms.

For dinner, i cooked for my dad and my gf again. This time, i tried cooking seafood fried rice with prawns, squid, crab meat, eggs, garlic and spring onions. As an added bonus, i fried the rice with olive oil and white wine (chardonnay). The result was very satisfying as it was more fragrant and tasted much better then the afternoon rendition. Baked chicken this round totally failed as i must have overcooked it because it was harder then my teeth. The mushrooms were simply boiled and sprinkled with pepper for this meal. The Ngor Hiang (five fragrance literally) was made by my grandmother so obviously, its the best of the lot.

Personal score:
6.5/10 for the seafood fried rice
2.5/10 for the chicken
5/10 for the brown button mushrooms.

Last word:
This turned out to be a fun and educational experience for me and it definitely won't be the last. I hope you found this an interesting read because i'm sure there'll be new blogs on food i made myself in the near future. If you violently object to seeing this here, please voice it on the chatbox and it will be removed in future.