Food Court v 2.0: Hole in the Wall
For decades, kiosks and offerings in food courts started becoming predictable. Express versions of established chains, the lutong bahay kiosks, and the same old franchises populate the food courts along the metropolis. Hole in the Wall was able to breathe new life into what a food court is, and showed us how much more it could be. It plays host to a handful of unique and interesting food concepts, and attracts hundreds of diners in its visually appealing interiors. It highly appeals to the Instagram-generation by placing thought to make every little corner of the dining area picture-worthy.
The concepts may be divided into 3 clusters: Hot Meals (Bad Bird, Kwong’s Provisions, and Phobobo), Quick Serve/On the Go Dishes (Liberation Shawarma, Mister Delicious), and Dessert/Drinks (Spruce, Green Cheese, Tiny Duchess and Scout’s Honor).
1. BAD BIRD
Who knew that deep fried chicken can create such a hype? Evidently one of the popular stalls, Bad Bird was able to successfully generate enough interest towards its umami fried chicken. Its chicken is served in two pieces, and packaged in a main plate. One can choose among three main plates, the Waffle Plate, the Corn and Coleslaw Plate, or the Dirty Rice Plate.
The Waffle Plate (P290) comes with 2 pieces of sweet potato waffles, topped with miso butter and maple syrup; while the Dirty Rice Plate (P320) comes with its spiced fried rice.
CORN AND COLESLAW PLATE (P330)
We opted for the Corn and Coleslaw Plate which featured an innovative corn on a cob dressed in bonito flakes, togarishi (red chili peppers), and the always welcome Kewpie dressing. I’m not a fan of corn on a cob, but I thought that the concept was interesting enough to give it a try. Sadly, it simply didn’t work for me. It took only a few kernels of corn to convince me of this. The kimchi coleslaw was also a snoozer; that I regretted opting for this plate. For the chicken, we opted to get a combination of both Safe and Spicy variants. Fortunately, both delivered in terms of taste, as it was packed with flavor from its skin to its meat. Opt for the Safe variant, because the spicy variants simply mask the umami flavor of the chicken. You can add P15 for gravy, but you won’t need it anyway.
WEDGE SALAD (P130)
Lucky for us, we opted to order the Wedge Salad, which came with bacon, bleu cheese, kani strips, crushed tempura batter bits, and a lovely sesame dressing. This appetizer was colorful as it was delightful. The flavors were wonderfully harmonized by the sweet sesame dressing which came with subtle tangy hints. A complaint I have would be how the lettuce strips were still bunched together; which made it a bit inconvenient to eat.
Overall, I’d love to order another round of its Wedge Salad, and try its Waffles, and Dirty Rice. The chicken pieces were really delicious, but I’m not enough of a fan to endure another queue for it.
2. PHOBOBO
PHO BO (P360)
The Pho Bo was the obvious order from Phobobo; and it had everything that a classic pho possesses. It had the usual flat noodles, beansprouts, beef strips, Sriracha, hoisin/oyster sauce, and the wedge of lime; but the determining consideration would be its broth. The broth is of the oilier sort, but doesn’t skimp on the natural beef flavor we look for in broths. Phobobo’s Pho Bo seems to be of the same standard as that of Ba Noi’s Pho Bo. Both are delicious, but pale in comparison to the now defunct Le Petite Camille’s in Greenbelt 5.
3. KWONG’S PROVISIONS
Despite Kwong’s Provisions’ limited menu choices, a thorough deliberation process is sure to occur. It has a couple of rice dishes, a handful of noodles dishes, and a short list of other mains. You would be tempted to go for Asian favorites like the Chili Crab with Mantao and be teased with curiosity by the quirkiness of the other dishes.
LAZY CHILI CRAB WITH MANTAO (P195)
Being a big fan of Tao Yuan’s Singaporean Chili Crab with Mantao, I couldn’t help but be drawn to this dish. Its sauce may lack a bit of heat, but it’s definitely not a bad alternative to Tao Yuan’s. The Mantao was spot-on; and tasted wonderfully with the chili crab sauce. The only difference is the absence of the actual crab pieces. Honestly though, who needs the crab meat if the sauce is this wonderful?
PORK CHEEK ASADO RICE BOWL (P210)
Everytime I pass by Hong Kong International Airport, I make sure to drop by for Café de Coral’s Asado Rice. Perhaps it’s me being sentimental since it was the first meal I’ve had in foreign shores; but it definitely never fails to satisfy me and my entire family. I couldn’t help but reminisce on this familiar memory when I saw the Pork Cheek Asado Rice Bowl on the menu. Without much thought, I ordered it and earnestly hoped I wouldn’t be dissatisfied. Amazingly, this dish more than delivered. The rice is the sticky kind, similar to that of Koshikihari rice; and topped by paper thin strips of fried egg. The asado strips were tender and exuded a lovely smoky and sweet flavor. These were further glazed by its delectably sweet sauce which kept the meat from being dry.
BACON DANDAN MIAN (P220)
I ordered this dish for two reasons. Firstly, I am a fan of Dandan Mian. Secondly, I’m curious to see how the bacon plays out in the dish. The result? I get to enjoy a beautifully plated Bacon Dandan Mian that was painful to mix through. The peanut sauce is thick, but not oily. The bacon came in the form of honey-glazed bacon chunks which was simply tossed as an ingredient of the noodle dish. The Dandan Mian tasted basically the same as what you can enjoy from Chinese restaurants such as Crystal Jade; but the sweet bacon bits help cure the suya commonly experienced from the dish.
So far, Kwong’s Provisions has consistently delivered stellar quality dishes at affordable prices. It’s the stall in Hole in the Wall that gives you the most value for your money. It's definitely a winner in my book.
4. SCOUT’S HONOR
Scout’s Honor has the most interesting (and widest) food display in the entire food court. The main stars of the kiosk would be its craft cookies which look too pretty to eat. Honestly, they look more like art works than cookies! They pair up their crazy creations with an extensive selection from their Milk Bar (I honestly didn’t know there were that many kinds of milk!) The ordering process was a bit difficult because to order its sets/boxes, you would have to choose cookies of the same ‘category’.
In the end, my friends and I decided to get Matcha Sesame (green tea+white chocolate+milk chocolate+black sesame), Samoas Dreams (coconut + caramel+ salt + dark chocolate) , Red Velvet, and Cookie Inception (cookie in a cookie in a cookie).
I found the cookies of Scout’s Honor too sweet to eat. Perhaps, they’re best enjoyed with milk because I didn’t enjoy finishing my share. They were definitely picture-worthy, but not worth a second time.
