Yesterday being a Sunday, the hubby and I, along with my SIL, hit the first Ayala mall in Cavite after hearing the morning mass at the community parish. Our lunch was courtesy of Wee Nam Kee, a Singaporean franchise known primarily for its authentic Hainanese Chicken Rice.
If Adobo is for Filipinos, then Hainanese Chicken Rice (HCR) is for Singaporeans. I remember I first tried the Singaporean staple at Ang Mo Kio, a hawker center-style dining place at the Podium Mall in Mandaluyong City. It was delicious. The second I've tried was the one from Kenny Roger's. It was surprisingly good and affordable, too.
Dining at Wee Nam Kee (WNK) felt very authentic to me from the moment we got a table inside the restaurant and were served complimentary tea. The ambience was elegant and cozy at the same time. I noticed though that this particular branch didn't adopt the unique wooden roof design of the other branches in Manila (two separate roofs that resemble that of two different houses with the space in the middle looking like a street food alley). It must be due to the small space of the restaurant. But given the small space, it still can serve a few big families at once.
Of course, dining here wouldn't be complete without trying their HCR and that's exactly what we did. We got their medium set (there are several sizes to choose from) and had it served two ways: steamed and roasted.
Hainanese Chicken, P488 for the medium set
One bite of the chicken and I could easily tell what we got was the real thing. The chicken tasted really fresh and juicy with just a thin layer of fat from the skin. I liked that the insides of the chicken were fully cooked with no traces of raw blood whatsoever. The three of us finished the chicken in no time!
Chicken Rice, P40 per cup
The chicken rice, on the other hand, though not fragrant as I expected it to be, was tasty and had a delicate, ginger-y flavor.
complimentary sauces for the HCR
Eating the chicken with the three sauces (chili sauce, ginger oil and dark soya) further enhanced the chicken's yumminess. Special mention goes to the dark soya which was extra thick and made all our food more palatable.
We also got an order of cereal prawns, sambal kangkong and Hong Kong birthday noodles. For drinks, we had three different ones: cucumber lime fizz for me, barley juice for the hubby and house blend iced tea for my SIL.
Barley Juice (P55) and Cucumber Lime Fizz, P120
My cucumber lime fizz was freshness in a tall glass, perfect for summer. It was actually lime soda with cucumber slices and minced mint leaves. The hubby's barley juice, on the other hand, looked like rice water to me with barley oats underneath the glass. He finished it in no time so I guess he liked it.
Cereal Prawns, P395
There were four juicy and plump prawns in our order of cereal prawns. With the generous serving of cereals, I thought then the dish could be a meal on its own. Since the hubby is allergic to seafood, my SIL and I happily shared this dish. If I may suggest though, I think it would be better if there will be lesser cereals as they tend to cover the prawns fully which makes the dish not so photogenic.
Sambal Kangkong, P199
This vegetable dish was light and hot at the same time. I appreciated the fact that they overcooked the kangkong which made it easier to chew (and digest). This provided a good balance to our otherwise protein and fat-laden meal.
HK Birthday Noodles, P305
The HK birthday noodles came in generous servings of both the toppings and the noodles. I liked how saucy and flavorful this dish was. It had pork slices, quail eggs, squid, bokchoy and the usual veggies. I found the squid a bit overcooked which made it hard to chew. But other than that, everything was delish. An order can be shared among three to five people. It was very filling so if you'd like to try a variety of food from WNK, just get a small portion of this.
Mango Sago Pudding (P185) and 3-Flavor Chocolate Truffle Buchi (P88)
We capped off our awesome Singaporean lunch with two desserts: mango sago pudding and 3-flavor chocolate truffle buchi. I loved the four-layer of goodness that the mango sago pudding provided. The sweetness of the pudding was just right and the whipped cream on the side added a nice touch to the dessert.
My two lunch companions had been in chocolate heaven for several minutes courtesy of the richness of the 3-flavor chocolate truffle buchi. The P88 price tag was so sulit! My SIL said it beat the mango sago pudding in the taste department but I begged to disagree because for me, it was the better one. Haha. To each his own, I guess.
The first Wee Nam Kee branch here in the Philippine opened in November 2010 at the Ayala Triangle Garden in Makati. This particular branch at The District just opened on February 1. They're located on the ground level of the mall, just beside Sumosam and with the fountain attraction just in front of it. It's pretty new but based on the volume of people during our visit, a lot of Caviteños has already heard about its nice offerings that they've been taking their families and friends here to eat.
with Pia Tuviera, WNK manager on duty
Did I mention they have free wifi, too? We connected with family and friends on our fave social media sites while waiting for our food to arrive. It also helped that the service was fast and friendly. Benjie, one of the waiters, went to our table twice to check if everything was okay which made us all feel that he was eager to please.
I missed eating HCR when the hubby and I went to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore for a short vacation in October 2011. We concentrated on their laksas and curries then. Good thing I can now eat HCR whenever I want with Wee Nam Kee just a car ride away from our place in Bacoor.
Have you been to Wee Nam Kee at The District yet? :)
P.S. Thank you to Mr. Linfred Yap, the person who brought the Wee Nam Kee international franchise to the Philippines, for the special invite. We had a great lunch at your restaurant and we plan to go back with the entire family soon!
Wee Nam Kee
Unit 105, Ground Floor, Promenade
The District Mall
Daang Hair cor. Aguinaldo Highway
Imus, Cavite
(+6346) 543-0386
(+63917) 828-5011
If you liked this post and would be interested to get updated with Foodiestation, bookmark this site or subscribe to my feeds.
If Adobo is for Filipinos, then Hainanese Chicken Rice (HCR) is for Singaporeans. I remember I first tried the Singaporean staple at Ang Mo Kio, a hawker center-style dining place at the Podium Mall in Mandaluyong City. It was delicious. The second I've tried was the one from Kenny Roger's. It was surprisingly good and affordable, too.
Dining at Wee Nam Kee (WNK) felt very authentic to me from the moment we got a table inside the restaurant and were served complimentary tea. The ambience was elegant and cozy at the same time. I noticed though that this particular branch didn't adopt the unique wooden roof design of the other branches in Manila (two separate roofs that resemble that of two different houses with the space in the middle looking like a street food alley). It must be due to the small space of the restaurant. But given the small space, it still can serve a few big families at once.
Of course, dining here wouldn't be complete without trying their HCR and that's exactly what we did. We got their medium set (there are several sizes to choose from) and had it served two ways: steamed and roasted.
Hainanese Chicken, P488 for the medium set
One bite of the chicken and I could easily tell what we got was the real thing. The chicken tasted really fresh and juicy with just a thin layer of fat from the skin. I liked that the insides of the chicken were fully cooked with no traces of raw blood whatsoever. The three of us finished the chicken in no time!
Chicken Rice, P40 per cup
The chicken rice, on the other hand, though not fragrant as I expected it to be, was tasty and had a delicate, ginger-y flavor.
complimentary sauces for the HCR
Eating the chicken with the three sauces (chili sauce, ginger oil and dark soya) further enhanced the chicken's yumminess. Special mention goes to the dark soya which was extra thick and made all our food more palatable.
We also got an order of cereal prawns, sambal kangkong and Hong Kong birthday noodles. For drinks, we had three different ones: cucumber lime fizz for me, barley juice for the hubby and house blend iced tea for my SIL.
Barley Juice (P55) and Cucumber Lime Fizz, P120
My cucumber lime fizz was freshness in a tall glass, perfect for summer. It was actually lime soda with cucumber slices and minced mint leaves. The hubby's barley juice, on the other hand, looked like rice water to me with barley oats underneath the glass. He finished it in no time so I guess he liked it.
Cereal Prawns, P395
There were four juicy and plump prawns in our order of cereal prawns. With the generous serving of cereals, I thought then the dish could be a meal on its own. Since the hubby is allergic to seafood, my SIL and I happily shared this dish. If I may suggest though, I think it would be better if there will be lesser cereals as they tend to cover the prawns fully which makes the dish not so photogenic.
Sambal Kangkong, P199
This vegetable dish was light and hot at the same time. I appreciated the fact that they overcooked the kangkong which made it easier to chew (and digest). This provided a good balance to our otherwise protein and fat-laden meal.
HK Birthday Noodles, P305
The HK birthday noodles came in generous servings of both the toppings and the noodles. I liked how saucy and flavorful this dish was. It had pork slices, quail eggs, squid, bokchoy and the usual veggies. I found the squid a bit overcooked which made it hard to chew. But other than that, everything was delish. An order can be shared among three to five people. It was very filling so if you'd like to try a variety of food from WNK, just get a small portion of this.
Mango Sago Pudding (P185) and 3-Flavor Chocolate Truffle Buchi (P88)
We capped off our awesome Singaporean lunch with two desserts: mango sago pudding and 3-flavor chocolate truffle buchi. I loved the four-layer of goodness that the mango sago pudding provided. The sweetness of the pudding was just right and the whipped cream on the side added a nice touch to the dessert.
My two lunch companions had been in chocolate heaven for several minutes courtesy of the richness of the 3-flavor chocolate truffle buchi. The P88 price tag was so sulit! My SIL said it beat the mango sago pudding in the taste department but I begged to disagree because for me, it was the better one. Haha. To each his own, I guess.
The first Wee Nam Kee branch here in the Philippine opened in November 2010 at the Ayala Triangle Garden in Makati. This particular branch at The District just opened on February 1. They're located on the ground level of the mall, just beside Sumosam and with the fountain attraction just in front of it. It's pretty new but based on the volume of people during our visit, a lot of Caviteños has already heard about its nice offerings that they've been taking their families and friends here to eat.
with Pia Tuviera, WNK manager on duty
Did I mention they have free wifi, too? We connected with family and friends on our fave social media sites while waiting for our food to arrive. It also helped that the service was fast and friendly. Benjie, one of the waiters, went to our table twice to check if everything was okay which made us all feel that he was eager to please.
I missed eating HCR when the hubby and I went to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore for a short vacation in October 2011. We concentrated on their laksas and curries then. Good thing I can now eat HCR whenever I want with Wee Nam Kee just a car ride away from our place in Bacoor.
Have you been to Wee Nam Kee at The District yet? :)
P.S. Thank you to Mr. Linfred Yap, the person who brought the Wee Nam Kee international franchise to the Philippines, for the special invite. We had a great lunch at your restaurant and we plan to go back with the entire family soon!
Wee Nam Kee
Unit 105, Ground Floor, Promenade
The District Mall
Daang Hair cor. Aguinaldo Highway
Imus, Cavite
(+6346) 543-0386
(+63917) 828-5011
If you liked this post and would be interested to get updated with Foodiestation, bookmark this site or subscribe to my feeds.
Spell AWESOMENESS! It's WEE NAM KEE! Grabe naman katakam-takam ang food photos mo! Kailangang ma-try namin yan nina Mommy at Daddy!
ReplyDeleteYes, you can try Wee Nam Kee anytime with Tito and Tita kasi super convenient yan sa place natin. Hehe. :)
ReplyDelete