Boon Tong Kee - Affordable Singaporean Delights in Mall of Asia

Boon Tong Kee Restaurant in Mall of Asia

Mall of Asia is one of those places I don't prioritize going to because of the huge crowd; however, fate sometimes play trick one us. As a proof, I unexpectedly found myself (together with the family) here in MoA for dinner.

Since I'm not too familiar with the food scene there, we tried walking around to find something decent yet "affordable" (yeah, it was our so-called "tipid-Sunday").  After several minutes of browsing restaurants, we finally spotted this "Boon Tong Kee" which we found intriguing enough for us to check it out! Unfortunately, things didn't turn out the way I saw it before we entered the place.

Slow Service

I just want to vent out that we waited 30 minutes to be seated. I understand that the restaurant was operating in a "full-house"; however, the staff took a while before they cleaned out the freed up tables. Also, as this was happening, I could see the staff getting all agitated and panicky. They cleaned the table in installment, taking them almost 5 minutes to get the job done.

Yeah, I was a little pissed off, but I decided to shrug it off and just wait patiently for the food to be served. Anyway, I don't want to keep you waiting as well, so let me now share with you what we had!

Baked Pork Buns || P35 each bun || P100 for 3 pcs 

Baked Pork Buns by Boon Tong Kee

We've heard that the pork buns here are good; hence, we made sure that we would have them.

Frankly speaking, I found the pork buns really good, although they were not as awesome as that of Tim Ho Wan's. Still, I must admit that the bun was definitely an attention grabber with its sweet pastry and savory asado pork filling.

If the pastry could have been softer, it would be a total winner! Nonetheless, I highly recommend the buns for this restaurant!

Since we had an amazing appetizer, I thought everything else would follow. Unfortunately, the buns just raised our expectations, but reality wasn't able to cope up for the succeeding dishes.

Stuffed Beancurd (4 pcs) || P195

Stuffed Beancurd - savory and sour goodness!

This Stuffed Beancurd was nice with its savory yet sour taste; however, I didn't find something different with it. In fact, it was just "okay" and nothing else. Still, to be fair, my mom and sister liked the beancurd.

Signature Boiled Chicken Rice Bowl || P138

Signature Boiled Chicken Rice Bowl  - similar to Hainanese Chicken

The Signature Boiled Chicken Rice Bowl was decent, but somewhat inconsistent with the serving. We ordered two of these, and the other one looked pitiful (i.e. very small and lonely). Also, innate for the boiled chicken, this dish depended on the hoisin and ginger sauce to have a distinguisihing character.

Char Siu (Honey Glazed Pork) || P145 

Char Siu (Honey Glazed Pork) by Boon Tong Kee

The Char Siu, on the other hand, was sweet and it resembled the pork asado we are well-acquainted with. The texture and tenderness was notably fine, and I am giving my recommendation for this as well (but not primarily because of the taste but of the overall value!).

Imperial Pork Ribs Rice Bowl || P128

Imperial Pork Ribs - sweet and savory but unappealing to look at

This Imperial Pork Ribs were sweet and savory, but came in a small serving and not-so-appealing look. Overall, it wasn't able to pass the "foodie" test.

Deep Fried Eggplant || P125

Very plain and lonely Deep Fried Eggplant

The Deep Fried Eggplant was nice and crunchy with a mild refreshing taste. However, the only problem I had this dish was it wasn't able to realize its potential. It just stood alone on its own without any dips or sauces, which could have made this dish fantastic!

Crispy Roast Chicken Rice Bowl || P128

Crispy Roast Chicken Rice Bowl by Boon Tong Kee

This Crispy Roast Chicken Rice Bowl was considerably fine, and I even prefer this one over the boiled counterpart, since the former had more flavor (i.e. didn't depend on the hoisin and ginger). However, in its entirety, this dish was near plain with nothing too new to offer.

*All the rice bowls come with a glass of iced tea

Boon Tong Kee - Ratings

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Note: Unshaded stars are equivalents of half-stars. The ratings apply solely to this dining experience.
Place ★★★
Taste  ★★☆
Service ★★★
Price ★★★★
Budget needed: at least P200 per person for a rice bowl and 1 pork bun

Give your own rating to Boon Tong Kee

Boon Tong Kee seemed to be really interesting at first, but I got a little disappointed over the food because of the small serving, plainness of the taste (for most dishes) and unappealing presentation. Well, maybe this is attributable to the fact that we ordered the "value meal", but then I realized it shouldn't be their basis for being complacent about how those dishes look and taste.

Anyway, I'm not telling you not to try this place out, since it still showed a hint of potential especially with the Baked Pork Buns (and possibly Char Siu). As a matter of fact, I'm encouraging you to try other dishes here, and share with us what you'll like!

PS: I'll still go back for the pork buns here, because Tim Ho Wan is far from where I stay.

Boon Tong Kee
Location: 2nd Floor, North Wing, Mall of Asia Complex (MOA), Pasay City

Reservation No.: (02) 804-2862 - retrieved from Zomato
Service Charge: 10% before VAT