Dining Snippets: Jekmeng (BKK) x Fukui Omakase x Steak and Frice
JEKMENG
After visiting the Mahanakhon Sky Tower, my friends and I decided to grab lunch in its vibrant and modern food court. Its electric vibe mirrors popular mall food courts in Manila like Public Eatery and The Grid – and houses a variety of food concepts.
I decided to queue where the crowd was – and Jekmeng had a snaking lunch queue building up. It identified its Hainanese Chicken Rice Combo as its special, so I ordered that with immense anticipation.
HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE (THB115)
The Hainanese Chicken Rice Combo came with more than the usual roasted and steamed versions as it also came with Gibblets and Roast Pork. I’m really not a fan of internal organs – so all I took was a tiny bite of the gibblet for the experience; but stealthily left it unfinished on the side of my plate. For the rest though – it was unfortunately underwhelming. It wasn’t even a great Hainanese chicken rendition – what made it more disappointing was the queue I had to be on to get it. This was a prime example that ‘follow the crowd’ is not always right. Fortunately, their Chrysanthemum tea was great! The clear soup it came with had a strong coriander flavor – which I don’t mind- but was an interesting choice, given at how divisive the said ingredient is.
Jekmeng
Date of Visit: February 6, 2024 with Kerwin Chua, Mase Constantino and Randolf Constantino
𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗜 𝗧𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘 𝗛𝗨𝗕 𝗠𝗔𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗞𝗛𝗢𝗡 𝗖𝗨𝗕𝗘, Mahanakhon CUBE, 1st Floor, 114 Narathiwas Road, Silom, Bang Rak, Bangkok
FUKUI OMAKASE
If dining in Fukui Omakase, I highly recommend opting to sit in the William Watson area – as interiors are sleeker and more sophisticated. They allow you to cross-order between the two concepts – but admittedly, they don’t really mesh well together.
SET F TEISHOKU (P980)
My friends and I opted to order our own Teishoku – and to my surprise, it’s one of the most stacked teishokus I’ve ever had – to be honest, a bit too much for one hungry person to finish. The Teishoku I ordered centered on a generous serving of a decent Salmon Miso Shioyaki and comes served with a cup of Japanese rice, 3 slices of assorted sashimi (tuna, salmon and shrimp), a small cup of potato salad, mixed tempura and interestingly, a cup of nikujaga – a beef vegetable stew – that’s not commonly served in most teishokus here. Overall, each component was prepared well and came with good quality ingredients – none of them were memorable; but honestly, it’s hard to beat the value-for-money you get from this set.
Fukui Omakase
Date of Visit: December 30, 2023 with Jeric Badion, Samantha Bautista and Giselle Sy Lim
JSO Building, Katipunan Ave, Project 4, Quezon City, 1800 Metro Manila
STEAK AND FRICE
I tried Steak and Frice in its early days – way before it was included in the Michelin Selected list – and I’m happy to see that the items I’ve tried a couple of years back are still present in today’s menu.
ONION FLOWER AND DAD’S BASKETBALL SAUCE (P470)
We ordered the Onion Flower as our starter – and as fan of Outback Steakhouse’s Typhoon Bloom, this definitely brought a lot of nostalgia. I’m not a fan of the sauce – it felt too ketchup forward for me; but the deep-fried onions were perfectly seasoned that you won’t need to add anything to them anymore.
TRUFFLE CREAM AND CORN MAFALDINE (P550)
The Truffle Cream and Corn Mafaldine wasn’t for me. I prefer my noodles to exhibit a hard chew – but it was simply too undercooked for my liking. I know that ‘corn’ is literally in the dish’s name – but it felt too overpowering for me – it also didn’t taste like a natural match for a truffle cream pasta dish.
PAN SEARED SALMON AND HERB BUTTER (P1170)
The Pan-Seared Salmon comes with a hefty serving of the S&F rice and S&F fries (the same ones that come with the steak) which make it perfect for sharing. It had a lot of promise especially as it’s seasoned perfectly; it was just served a tad bit overcooked.
US RIBEYE (P3980) and SAUTEED GARLIC MUSHROOMS (P475)
I’m happy to report that the star-of-the-show, the US Ribeye (14oz) delivered. It was an excellent piece of steak that comes with its S&F rice and S&F fries (and yes, to sweeten the deal, it comes with a complimentary refill of each). I loved that despite being their cheapest option for steak, it’s enough to delight already (but yes, they do have wagyu options in case you wish to have a more indulgent meal)! The S&F rice is the restaurant’s take on steak fried rice, but honestly, I found myself drawn towards their fries – sure, they taste like Mcdonald’s fries – but truthfully speaking, aren’t Mcdo’s fries one of the best in the Metro? We paired our steak with an order of the Sauteed Garlic Mushrooms which were mind-blowingly delicious.
Steak and Frice
Date of Visit: February 10, 2024 with Wilson Chua, Lily Chua, Jared Chua, Stephanie Chua and Jem Chua
LGF Central Square, 30th St, cor 5th Ave, BGC
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