WITH 3 CHOICES OF SAUCE
REAGAN TAN’S restaurant group, Mc Wilson Corp., looks at different cultures through its various restaurants: Gringo Chicken & Ribs (Latin), Tokyo Bubble Tea (Japanese), Honeybon (desserts), Tatatito (Filipino), and Kaokee (Singapore). BusinessWorld went to a tasting at Kaokee’s branch at The Podium on April 17 to see how the group looks at Singaporean Food.
We started off with the egg tarts: extra creamy and runnier than we’re used to, as well as flakier (the crust was like a croissant). No complaints, here; if anything, they’re better than the standard.
Kaokee then brought out its Roast Hokkien Chicken, with aromatic flesh and a fragrant skin that packs a crispy zing.
We were given three choices for the Singaporean Crab: either in a chili sauce (as in Chili Crab), salted egg, or in garlic oil. The chili sauce wasn’t the fiery exercise it is in Singapore; if anything, this version is a bit too sweet (in a group interview, Mr. Tan admitted to adjusting tastes and spice levels to meet the Filipino palate). The garlic sauce was knife-sharp, and the salted egg version was excellently rich: add that to the almost silvery flesh of the crab and its own sweetish flesh, and you’ve got a good meal.
Something more prosaic is the Beef Shortribs with Black Pepper Sauce: it did, however, have an excellent char, in contrast to the sweetish sauce.
The restaurant had another surprise with the Char Kway Teow, wok-fried noodles with shrimp, squid, pork, and soy-based sauce. Frankly, we were inclined to think this dish was going to be boring, but it was a more than pleasant surprise that this dish seemed to be the most complex: it achieved that smoky flavor one can only get from a wok, and had a light airy consistency, as if still being tossed in a wok while inside your mouth (it’s also one of Mr. Tan’s favorites).
Then there was the Hainanese Chicken: succulent, juicy, and tasting almost pure. It is Mr. Tan’s baby. During the COVID 19 pandemic, with his restaurants shuttered, Mr. Tan practiced over and over again how to make Hainanese Chicken at home until he perfected the recipe. He then sold the chicken dish to neighbors, giving him a lifeline during the crisis. After travel restrictions were lifted, he and his team flew to Singapore to research the perfect chicken. This gave him the start for Kaokee, which opened in 2024.
The branch at The Podium is Kaokee’s third. It first opened at Belamy House in Makati in 2024, followed by The Corner House in San Juan.
As a local chain dabbling in foreign cuisine, Mr. Tan said in a group interview that all his restaurants tell a story. “A restaurant for me is telling stories. Doon ko na–eexpress iyong creativity (that’s how I express my creativity),” he said.
According to him, Kaokee roughly translates to “Stall 9” in Hokkien: that’s the number of the stall where he had the best Hainanese Chicken during his research trip in Singapore. Kaokee’s story, then, according to him, is the journey for the food: “The different hawkers, the different chefs, that we met along the way,” he said.
Hungry customers can expect more from Mc Wilson Corp. in the near future. They are opening more branches of Tatatito, with a forthcoming one in Mandaluyong in July. Mr. Tan is also cooking up something a bit more chef-driven, with a concept centered around the chef’s specialty, pies. — Joseph L. Garcia
