Mabuhay, Bonifacio!

This is not exactly a food review. I chanced upon this Filipino restaurant a few weeks ago when I was in between breaks for an event. As it was a morning to night event, my iPhone was running out of juice and I was desperately looking for somewhere to charge my phone so that it will last me till the end of the night.  

Saw this quiet restaurant in one of the shophouses along Kreta Ayer Road called Bonifacio. It was 20 minutes before they were opened for dinner. The first thing I asked the service staff was, "Do you have a powerpoint which I can charge my phone?" Without hesitation, he replied of course but he had to put me in one corner as I was not dining. I replied of course I was dining there at the same time! I was pleasantly surprised he actually allowed me to use their electricity even if I was not going to dine there. Talk about good first impressions.

It was cosy ambience inside, slightly dim and comfortable, away from the sweltering heat outside. It is considered a mid-class restaurant for Filipinos and locals to hang out in, I guess. 

Their main aim was to provide authentic Filipino cuisine, a place for Filipinos to savour their favourite pinoy food, just like how they taste back home.

Named after the Father of the Philippine Revolution, Bonifacio (the guy in the poster) epitomises this revolutionary spirit in the way their dishes are created and served. All the dishes are specially created and designed by their talented Chef from Manila, Kerry Von Chan.

I like their vibrant looking menu, which should kick up an appetite. However, I was not exactly very hungry that day, so I did not order the main dishes whose portions looked big.

Sago't Gulaman - this is a cold beverage dessert with sago, pearls and jelly. It was like a sweeter version of our local Cheng Tng but the pearls were not the chewy type.

Balintawak - this is a starter, Grilled Chicken marinated in Annato Oil wrapped in Grilled Eggplant and Bokchoy with Tomatoes.  I quite love this, the combined taste of nicely grilled chicken and eggplant and crunchy veggies together with a dash of the cream, was strangely quite addictive. Yummy!

Pork Barbecue - Grilled Skewered Pork served with chilli vinegar.  This is another Pinoy grilled favourite. The taste was fragrant from the pork and dipping it with the chilli vinegar was appetising. However the meat was a little too tough for my liking, but still acceptable.

 Garlic Rice - tried this and it went well with the above chicken and pork.

That was all I ordered as I could not possibly finish more food. I still like the Balintawak. I told myself I will go back again with more people to savour the other main dishes which I was dying to try.  I mentioned that this is not a food review because I did not order enough food to showcase the dishes sufficiently.  I came back home to search and read up more about this restaurant. Found some photos of the Bonifacio dishes from 2 bloggers.  These below photos are from the4moose and some dishes I would like to try the next time.

Tuna Sisig  (spicy tuna, chilli, raw egg, lime juice and soy sauce) served on a sizzling hot plate. I am drooling now.

Daing na Bangus (deep fried marinated milk fish served with mango tomato salsa).

 

Himagsikan, Mixed Grilled Seafood with Java Rice. This is another must-try I am going for. I wanted to order this but I knew my stomach was not up to seafood that night as it would be a long night attending an event. Please check out  the4moose for their review.

Bayan Ko - Eggplant Omelette with Minced Pork. I saw these photos from labexperimenta.  By now you would notice that in Filipino cuisine, they seem to like to use lots of pork and eggplant, which is fine with me, as I like pork and eggplant!

Katipuneros - Chicken and Pork Adobo served with Kang kong underneath.

Palitaw - Rice Patties covered with Sweet Grated Coconut, Sesame Seeds and Topped with Cheese.  This is a dessert which looked so good and sinful. I wanted to order this but I was told it was not available that day. Read labexperimenta for his review.

Hopefully I will be heading back there soon with more people to try more dishes as the prices are reasonable. If you're looking for a little excitement for your palate, try Bonifacio for a different experience.

BONIFACIO

35 Kreta Ayer Road

Singapore 089000

Tel: 6222 6676