Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice in Manila

Popular Hainanese chicken restaurant Wee Nam Kee from Singapore just opened it’s first overseas branch in Ayala Triangle Garden in Makati.

It was my first time to go to the new Ayala Triangle Garden and it was beautifully lighted at night specially with all the holiday decor.

The place was full with many patiently waiting outside for a seat.

This is our group of food tasters.

Since the restaurant was still on it’s soft opening it was understandable to have some service issues. This was the order our food came out.

We ordered 4 plates of chicken rice to share between 10 ladies. I really liked the chicken rice since it was very flavorful and can actually be eaten on it’s own. I hope it wasn’t loaded with chicken fat, salt and msg.

WNK chicken rice P40

This was a really tiny order of bbq pork or char siu. The pork was harder than I’m used to but the flavor wasn’t all that bad.

bbq pork P220

I really liked their cereal prawns much better than the ones at Tao Yuan which I found too oily. These prawns had the skin on and were a little bit sweet, a little spicy. The cereal was dry and yummy for munching or even as topping for the rice. The prawn head was really crisp and good too. Despite several cholesterol warnings from Jennie I ate 3 heads.

4 pcs.  cereal prawns P375

The salted fish fried rice was quite good too. It had enough bits of salted fish that you almost always get a piece with each spoonful. The best thing was it wasn’t oily unlike other Chinese restaurants.

salted fish fried rice P215

We liked this tofu dish that tasted like hot and sour soup. The tofu was soft and flavorful. There were small pieces of shrimp, young corn and mushroom.

seafood hot plate P295

Again the noodles were not oily and the flavor was good except for the beef that was too salty. We also ordered stir fried beef tenderloin Chinese style but I forgot to take a picture of it. The sauce was good but the beef was even saltier. Like it was soaked in brine overnight.

beef hor fun P265

The stir fried baby kai lan we had was really good and perfectly seasoned. But this sambal kang kong was incredibly salty and spicy. Too bad I liked the sambal flavor.

sambal kang kong P190

Yes, the Hainanese chicken came last when there was no more rice. There was a misunderstanding when the waiter said we didn’t order chicken. Strange but how can we not order their specialty, right?

Anyway we were glad it eventually got to our table. Better late than never! The chicken was soft and fragrant. I can’t really say this was the best I’ve eaten but it’s good.

steamed Hainanese chicken, large P888

The 3 sauces for Hainanese chicken were already on the table and you can get as much as you want. The ginger was dry and not oily like the traditional kind. I appreciated that but I found there was barely any ginger taste. It was so mild it could have been any paste. I had to put a lot of the sweet, thick soy sauce on the ginger. That I really liked.

Nice detail under the table for bag hangers.

Overall I liked that most of their food is not greasy.  I’m sure the food quality and service will still improve in time.

The atmosphere at Ayala Triangle Garden reminded me of New York. Nice huh?

Wee Nam Kee Menu
signature dishes, rice toppings, soups & dimsum
beef & pork, seafood, 2, rice, vegetables, dry noodles
noodles in soup, cold desserts, hot desserts

Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice
Restaurants at the Ayala Triangle Gardens
Makati Avenue, Makati City
telephone:  846-8924


Parking Options: (info from Our Awesome Planet)
1st Option: Park on Makati Ave., near the corner of Ayala beside the Makati Stock Exchange

2nd Option: Park in the Basement. The entrance is along Paseo de Roxas, right after you turn from Ayala