Posted by Veron ·
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goes by the name veron (english) or wanting (chinese). a definitive leo born august 1, 1984. a solo traveler. loves cats, coffee, sensual music, yummy food and technology. when she's not at her job as an IS developer for the government, she's likely to be out dining, or visiting an interesting art gallery or event.
“damn good food at a damn good price!” the sign proclaims loudly. you can almost hear it scream! now what the heck am i talking about? botak jones!
some friends of mine had a craving for authentic american food and decided to drop by botak jones. i must admit i haven’t heard of this place before. my friend was like “i want to bring you to botak jones!” and i was like “what?” “botak jones!” “what jones?” oh never mind.
so we drove down to an unremarkable coffee shop at a very nondescript HDB block in ang mo kio. this time, i finally got the name right when i saw their blue stall sign with the very loud and daring words:
“damn good food at a damn good price!”
botak jones is the brainchild of an american that promises to bring authentic american food to the heartland. the ang mo kio branch is its second branch, after tuas. business here is so good, many customers actually wait around patiently until the stall opens at 12 noon. with all the hype, the food had better be damn good!
the menu was made up of sheets of photocopied yellow paper stapled together. and it sure was an extensive one! every item had a descriptive paragraph that followed, written in a light-hearted and very informal style. they also had the menu on a chalkboard right in front of the stall. the staff were all extremely energetic and friendly, taking care to recommend various dishes on hearing that i don’t eat beef.
one of the dishes they recommended was the swanky franky hot dog. lucky for me it was available in chicken too. so that was what i had! it was wrapped in bacon and had melted cheddar cheese on top! doesn’t that sound appetising? i didn’t even have to think twice about it!
Swanky Franky
Price: $9 for set meal (includes chips & coleslaw)
Dish rating:
Price: $9 for set meal (includes chips & coleslaw)
Dish rating:
i did a double take when i saw the gargantuan serving size. that was easily the largest hot dog i have ever seen! throw in the hot dog bun and the heap of chips at the side, i could finish just three quarters of the food. it was an american serving alright! taste-wise i didn’t actually think the hot dog was any special. but thanks to good customer service, we were given many bottles of mustard and varied sauces that helped a lot. i really liked the chips though — thick, crispy, fluffy on the inside, and lightly dusted with botak jones’ own spice mix. yum!
check THAT out! my friend ordered his usual double botak burger with add-ons of cheese and whoopass con carne. boy, it was huge! i sampled a little of the beef patty and found it delightfully tender.
Air Flown NZ Ribeye Steak (medium rare, served with chips & coleslaw)
Price: $13 for 200 grams
Dish rating:
Price: $13 for 200 grams
Dish rating:
same goes for the steak. it was extremely tender. chewy, but not tough. marinaded nicely and seared carefully in such a way that the rich juices ooze out as you chew. this was one good quality steak! and don’t you just love those cross patterns?
those daring slogans on their staff’s shirts and aprons are pretty cool too. throughout our meal the staff were very friendly. they would ask us how the food was, et cetera. we actually spotted the boss himself at the coffee shop, or maybe it was just a random botak (bald) dude.
the good news is that they have a new stall opening at 325 clementi avenue 5 within these two weeks. i’m gonna drag my colleagues down for lunch!
news updates
February 3, 2007: My list of Best (& Worst) Restaurants in Singapore for 2006
- Winner of “Best Hawker Stall”
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I have tried Botak Jones. My first encounter with it was “so-so”. The second time, I went with my friend, and somehow the fries were better cooked, and it certainly lives up to its name.
Oh, it is opening a branch in Clementi? I shall tell my friend. :) View all comments by py
the fries is damn good, especially when we were doing reservist in camp at tuas in june :D View all comments by jkaiser
Wow seems like everyone loves the fries! My Swanky Franky was just “so-so” too, and I felt quite sad when I got too full to finish eating those fries. View all comments by Veron
hey, can i have the address for the stall? will certainly like to try it out~! View all comments by andrew
hey andrew, i have posted the address and telephone number above. View all comments by Veron
hi! thanks for the tip . have not been to botak but will be making a trip with some friends soon. View all comments by paul
no problem! enjoy your meal, and let me know if you’re visiting their new clementi branch. i haven’t been there yet but i’m curious about the place. View all comments by Veron
I went to the Ang Mo Kio branch with friends of mine today at 11.40am. The store was not even open and at the least I know is that we are the 2nd one to place the order. Surprisingly, the queue gets longer as the store starts operating. Food were served and even to those who came later than us, and we enquired abt our US Ribeye steaks after half an hour and were told that ours were on the way, but some who were later than us were already finishing their meal. By the time our meal arrived, it was really cold which I thought it supposed to be sizzling hot. This will be my 1st and last and there are other places better than here. View all comments by Leon
Wow, sorry to hear about your bad experience! I guess with heightened popularity service always goes down, for some reason. View all comments by Veron
After hearing rave reviews of botak jones from my bf, he dragged me to the AMK outlet one afternoon. my 2 cents worth?
Taste - cooked to perfection, authentic american burger, even the side dishes taste great.
Portion - vErY generous.
Looks - whatever u order, the food is always presented lusciously.
Service & Staff - efficient, friendly and in jolly good spirits.
Im currently in yr site becos my bf’s botak jones’s craving is here again, and im googling for news in hope there is / will be an outlet in the east.
Sigh…………… View all comments by serene
They’re opening an outlet at Depot Road this Saturday! View all comments by Agagooga
I was in Depot rd and really it was good. the burgers worth it. 6 bucks only but real 5 star standard. Lamb chops were nice but not food court price. anyway will go back again….
nice… View all comments by Thomas
I haven’t visited Botak Jones in almost a year! Last time I went they had just that sole outlet in Ang Mo Kio. Now it seems that they have 3 or 4 outlets already. View all comments by Veron
hi again!
i think i love botak jones! i’ve been living in singapore for almost a year, i couldn’t find any ‘decent’ american-style meals unless you go into fancy restaurant.. though there’s a so-called western food stall in henderson hawker center that can temporarily act as a remedy, just accross my office in jalan bukit merah, but it’s kinda hard to keep with my standard of good food..
then about a month ago, my friend draged us to its clementi branch.. yeah i also got the “botak jones? you mean as botak bald?” part, but well not so long though, i soon enjoyed the experience already.. she treated me with its most expensive meal on the menu, tenderloin steak set! and damn.. it was a good food indeed! the taste was good, served even better! i also tried cajun chicken and botak burger from other friend’s plates.. but the favorites were the generously-sized cheese fries and stuffed jalapanos! a must try! we promised ourselves to return soon
then again, they have this new branch on depot road! only across AYE from my office.. so i just came back from lunch there and i’m stuffed with botak burger set.. i mean, really STUFFED..
more branches means more heavens near you! keep them coming! View all comments by fakhrur
I ate at Botak Jones and it was not a good experience really sorry to say its not as good as Carls Junior or billy Bombers …First of all the Burger that me and my brother ate tasted like insecticide it tasted really funny it tasted like Chemical sprayed
not very good at Clementi. View all comments by Shane
hey go check out western chow at blk 134 lorong ah soo. they just started up about a month and a half ago so they’ve got a smaller menu but the food there is great. i recommend the chicken chop and the ribeye steak! they are really great. go give it a shot i assure you will not be disappointed. View all comments by andrea
Best value western food in Singapore. Just look at it.. there is no competition! View all comments by Foodie
erm, i feel that botak jones is just so-so lo.. Not that fantastic like some people have thought. I tried the fish and chips in the amk branch and it tastes horrible lo… May be that is the reason why he closed his branch in amk ave 5. I passed by there recently and saw some renovation going on. If i am not wrong, Charco chicken from Australia, Perth is taking over the stall. :) ( I saw the banner hanging along amk ave 5) Can’t wait for its opening.. I tried it when i was in Perth and I love it.. Especially the Charcoal chicken, lamb ribs and its salad.. Slurp.. :) View all comments by blurzhu
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