Botak Jones
Ok I have a really embarrassing admission: I’ve never eaten at Botak Jones before. Despite the fact that I’ve just about everybody rave about the place and seen the thousands (or so it seems) magazine features and reviews exalting the outlet, I’ve never actually found the chance to head down to one.
Yesterday, I finally had the chance to try out the famous Western stall. Heading down to the Clementi branch (heck, I didn’t even know they had so many branches other than the AMK one) with friends after booking out, I was finally able to take a whack at what made Botak Jones (here, a modest little stall in a heartland hawker centre) so famous – affordable, unbelievably generous servings of inexplicably tasty nosh.
I ordered a large-sized Cajun Chicken, which a friend recommended. The dish came deceptively compact, with everything fitting into a normal-sized plate. The chicken was really tender (which is in stark contrast to the tough, chewing-gum affairs of cheap Western eateries), the sauce and cheese applied in just the right amount and the potato-chip-tasting spicy fries that came with it the perfect complement. As I ate on, the serving never seemed to diminish and the modest looking size of the chicken slices belied an unbelievably filling meal.
Other than my own meal, I also had samples of my friends’ orders: lamb chop, fish and chips and hilariously huge sausages called Swanky Franky(ies). All definitely packed a bang for the buck, although the lamb, which was done medium-well-done on the staff’s recommendation, was a tad too chewy for my liking.
On top of that, we also shared a seriously oversized plate of Whoopass Fries (the shop’s name for it, not mine), which was a plate of fries topped with minced meat (if I’m not wrong) and cheese, a concoction which we noted looked like puke but which we nonetheless tucked into with great pizzazz.
The great acclamations about the place that I’ve heard definitely weren’t wrong. The food is great (especially considering the fact that it is housed in a neighbourhood coffeeshop), as good as or even better than most budget Western joints, the service is great (they knew where we were despite the fact that there was no indication of our table number), the prices are definitely affordable (S$15, which includes both my large-sized chicken and my share of the Whoopass Fries) and the meal is definitely filling, if a tad jelak due to the sheer amount of food (but, of course, it’s my own fault for being a greedy pig).
Definitely recommended. Oh, and if anyone has tried out the Bukit Batok branch, please let me know how the food there is (since it’s only like ten minutes from my place, I might make that my next haunt).