Bok’s Kitchen by Hidden Chefs: Attractive Cafe in Jurong West

We think that Bok’s Kitchen by Hidden Chefs in Boon Lay would be a good location for the next ministerial announcement on the COVID situation. Yes, we are interested in the infection rates and preventive measures. But what we really want to hear is that “Everything’s Gonna Be OK”. This wall at the BOK restaurant will serve as the perfect backdrop.

Block 216 Boon Lay Avenue is mainly a big multi-storey carpark serving this part of the Jurong West neighbourhood. On the ground floor of the building are a clinic and a few retail shops, of which Bok’s Kitchen by Hidden Chefs is one.

We found the simple and slightly industrial decor of Bok’s Kitchen to be rather appealing. It would not feel out of place even at Orchard Road. Probably a result of safe distancing rules, the tables are far apart, creating a light airy atmosphere. This air-conditioned cafe in Jurong West would be a convenient place to meet up for a quick meal with friends in the western part of Singapore.

Bok’s Kitchen by Hidden Chefs Menu

The Bok’s Kitchen menu is a straightforward one. Rice and bread bowls, pasta, fish & chips and burgers make up most of the items available. A supplemental menu introduces some local zhi char items into the mix. Prawn paste chicken (har chiong kai), prawn balls and carrot cake fries are available. Here are pictures of sample pages from the menu.

For my lonely quick lunch, I selected the char siew rice bowl ($9). No GST was added to the bill but service charge (10%) was. It was a good looking char siew rice bowl with the slices of pork neatly laid out and a sous vide egg on top. The rice was flavoured with a pleasant savoury sauce. The menu describes it as Italian spiced rice.

I must say I enjoyed the flavours in this char siew rice bowl. The smokey char siew, flavoured rice and soft egg combined very well. My only regret was that the char siew content was rather low. The slices were very thin.

Before leaving the restaurant, curiosity got the better of me and I was tempted to try at least one of the local items on the menu. I decided on the prawn rolls (hae zoh, $10) to take away. These were consumed later. They were well fried and very crispy but the contents were quite average.