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Botak Jones – Damn Good Food!

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“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 — 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

Swanky Franky
SGD9 for set meal (includes chips & coleslaw)

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!

The Double Botak, with Cheese & Whoopass Con Carne

The Double Botak, with Cheese & Whoopass Con Carne
SGD9 for set meal (includes chips & coleslaw) + $1 for Cheese + $2.50 for Whoopass Con Carne

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 to be delightfully tender.

Air Flown NZ Ribeye Steak

Air Flown NZ Ribeye Steak (medium rare, served with chips & coleslaw)
SGD13 for 200 grams

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?

Loud slogans

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, etc. We actually spotted the boss himself at the coffee shop. But he may have been just a random botak (bald) dude.

Botak Jones
Various locations
www.botakjones.com

News updates

February 3, 2007: My list of Best (& Worst) Restaurants in Singapore for 2006
- Winner of “Best Hawker Stall”

For more on Sparklette:

About the Author

Veron Ang is the founder and chief editor of Sparklette. She lives in Singapore and has dined and traveled across the world. She also runs Sparklette Studio, a web design and WordPress development firm. If you'd like to connect with her, head on over to the contact page or follow her personal updates on Twitter: @VeronSG.

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19 responses

Leave your comment

py
August 24, 2006

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. :)
Reply
jkaiser
August 24, 2006

the fries is damn good, especially when we were doing reservist in camp at tuas in june :D
Reply
Veron
August 25, 2006

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.
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andrew
September 4, 2006

hey, can i have the address for the stall? will certainly like to try it out~!
Reply
Veron
September 4, 2006

hey andrew, i have posted the address and telephone number above.
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paul
September 6, 2006

hi! thanks for the tip . have not been to botak but will be making a trip with some friends soon.
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Veron
September 6, 2006

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.
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Leon
December 21, 2006

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.
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Veron
December 22, 2006

Wow, sorry to hear about your bad experience! I guess with heightened popularity service always goes down, for some reason.
Reply
serene
April 10, 2007

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……………
Reply
Agagooga
April 28, 2007

They’re opening an outlet at Depot Road this Saturday!
Reply
Thomas
May 19, 2007

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…
Reply
Veron
May 19, 2007

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.
Reply
fakhrur
June 8, 2007

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!
Reply
Shane
July 13, 2007

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.
Reply
andrea
September 22, 2007

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.
Reply
Foodie
November 8, 2007

Best value western food in Singapore. Just look at it.. there is no competition!
Reply
blurzhu
January 4, 2008

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.. :)
Reply
MR.MRS.M.J.GANDHI
September 5, 2009

Sir,yesterday (4-9-2009) visited your branch at orchard. For your information we are the frequent eaters in this branch from the day you open.
Yesterday your staff at the cashier (Mdm.Sam) was really pleasing and touched our hearts.We are elderly person who was in the `Q` bur on seeing us see immideitly tell us to sit and send the waiter to take our order.She really pleased by her good behaviour.The credit goes to your good supervision. Not only that (we observed), whenever she is free, she goes to the guest and ask how was the food and this makes us very pleasing there.
Tour to you outlet at Tampines, we once visited there, it was horrible. Only one guy was active (a tall guy) the girl was extremely lazy. All the staff at orchard are very active. The food was extremely well cooked. We noticed a big size chinese CHEF was really doing his good job.We need this type
of people to boost your name. Please send our appreciation to MDM. SAM.
Thanki you. God bless you good people and good food.
Reply