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2012-11-25
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We know there's a lot of Botak Jones (BJ) reviews out there, some good, some bad, some ugly (don't cue Clint Eastwood, please). So probably what you'll read will be (same old) x2, maybe not.Having patronised Botak Jones literally a hundred times, maybe more, we've had more free ribeye steaks (thank you BJ loyalty cards!) than the toes on a cow. So when the friend introduced BJ's American Diner, we knew it was going to be baaad - in a good way of course. Heck, we specially drove all the way down
We know there's a lot of Botak Jones (BJ) reviews out there, some good, some bad, some ugly (don't cue Clint Eastwood, please). So probably what you'll read will be (same old) x2, maybe not.Having patronised Botak Jones literally a hundred times, maybe more, we've had more free ribeye steaks (thank you BJ loyalty cards!) than the toes on a cow. So when the friend introduced BJ's American Diner, we knew it was going to be baaad - in a good way of course. Heck, we specially drove all the way down from home in the Northwest just to eat, shoot, and leave for home immediately after.
True to it's namesake and Bernie's (aka the Botak himself) in-your-face American hearty philosophy, the whole setup felt right-at-home - the perfect ambience for some chow-down with the mow-down. Adding to that was the lazy, albeit rainy Sunday afternoon. The timing was not accidental, but deliberately, strategically, masterfully chosen. Why? Complimentary soup, and free flow drinks (either sodas, iced tea, or hot piping tea/coffee) to suit your mains when you order anytime before 4pm (daily except Monday when they're closed)!
We ordered the usual signatures: Cajun Chicken and Ribeye Steak: Hungry 300grams "Like a Boss" Edition. Since the Thanksgiving Meal still applied, we had it as well (the meal comprised generous servings of turkey breast with cranberry sauce + sides, free drinks, a soup, and a pumpkin pie with ice-cream for dessert - yours for the price of $20 nett). What entranced us next would be, besides the rather quick service although it was a pretty sleepy afternoon for the diner as well, the mains laced with incredibly large portions of spicy fries and cheese potatoes (this is where the carbo-phobic faint). As BJ fans would have noticed, the portions of fries at the usual kopitiam joints seem to be shrinking in line with the economic forecasts. Not at this diner, seriously. The ginormous portions of potatoes here brought tears to our eyes, having being reminiscent of BJ back in the good-old-days when you could ask for more fries and therefore, happiness.
Of course, we didn't come to hantam-bolah the fries. The mains were as good as the usual joints (same recipe, duh), just that they seemed more flavourful. For the BJ un-initiated, we were referring to the grilled scent of steak infused with rosemary and peppercorn + rich chewy texture of its doneness (a beautiful medium rare), the thick smokey accents and springy taste of the cajun chicken that would make your throat dry, and juicy tenderness of the turkey breast that shys away its tough, chewy equivalent you'll find in other similar outfits on the island. The pumpkin pie was a novel treat though, having tasted like kueh lapis (Bernie goes Singapura, huh?)
In the end, we literally pigged ourselves out, not being able to finish our cheese potatoes. All of us. To aid with the digestion, we attempted doodling on the blank white sheets of mahjong paper that served as dining mats using crayons found at our table (i.e. bring your kids along for a whale of a time - not yours).
We spent approximately 61 for 3 persons (no GST and service charge, yippee!). But the portions, we reiterate, were more like 6611... burp!!
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