Kaokee Singaporean Kitchen: The Hottest Singaporean Restaurant in Makati City Right Now!

Singaporean cuisine is one of my all-time favorite cuisines, along with Malaysian and Thai (and Filipino, of course). Pre-pandemic, I would travel to Singapore yearly for a conference and to do a massive food trip. So when I go home, I would always look forward to my next trip to the Lion City or find a Singaporean restaurant here in the Philippines.

The problem is it’s hard to find a good Singaporean food restaurant here. Many restaurants claim to serve Singaporean food. Although their food is tasty, it’s not authentic. So I would settle for Singaporean food chains that have entered the Philippine market, such as Hawker Chan, Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice, and Ya Kun Kaya Toast. Still, the options are limited.

Thankfully, a new Singaporean restaurant opened up near my neighborhood in Makati City—Kaokee Singaporean Kitchen. From the group behind Gringo and Tatatito, Kaokee serves Singaporean classics such as Hainanese Chicken Rice and Zi Char dishes (zi char refers to Chinese home-style dishes or meals that are cooked upon order). It’s located in The Belamy House along Jupiter Street.

What I like about Kaokee is that it tries to be authentic while adjusting to the Filipino palette. The result is Singaporean food that’s shiok (tasty or delicious in Singlish)!

Inside Kaokee Singapore Kitchen. They have 2 floors so don’t worry about losing seats!

Let’s talk about the food we’ve tried so far, starting with the Singaporean Fishball Soup, which is a classic hawker dish. It has bouncy fish balls and slices of fish, swimming in a warm fish-based broth.

Singaporean Fishball Soup (Regular: PHP230; Sharing: PHP475)

Of course, we tried the Hainanese Chicken, which is Singapore’s national dish. It’s tender and juicy, and possibly one of the best ones I tried here in the Philippines. The sauces are delicious as well: The chili is spicy and tangy, the dark soy sauce (or hoisin?) is sweet, and the ginger dip has nice ginger and salty flavors. This dish is easily one of my favorites!

Hainanese Chicken (Solo Set: PHP380; Half: PHP580; Whole: PHP980)

Another favorite is the Salted Egg Squid. It’s made of thick slices of squid that’s perfectly crisp and covered with a nice salted egg flavor!

Salted Egg Squid (Regular: PHP385; Sharing: PHP768)

Kaokee also serves claypot rice. We tried the Chicken & Mushroom Claypot Rice, which has tender chicken and a super smoky taste!

Chicken & Mushroom Claypot Rice (PHP425)

To balance our feast, we got the 3 Kinds Egg with Braised Polunchay (Chinese spinach). It has slices of century eggs and what appears to be an egg drop. But I’m not sure what’s the third kind of egg. LOL.

3 Kinds Egg with Braised *Polunchay* (PHP285)

Anyway, it’s creamy, tasty, and has cloves of roasted garlic. The veggies, which is bokchoy since they ran out of polunchay, are crisp. (By the way, the chef was kind enough to allow our request to replace the polunchay with bokchoy. But I heard from a friend that they weren’t allowed to do so. So I guess it’s really case to case.)

To wash down our Singaporean feast, I had the Cold Teh (Tea), which is creamy, foamy, rightly sweet, and super refreshing especially in the summer heat.

I’ve also tried some dishes that I find average, such as the Hokkien Roast Chicken and Roast Pork Belly. But overall, I think Kaokee Singaporean Kitchen makes amazing Singaporean food. As I draft this article, I’m drooling as I recall everything we ate. I can’t wait to go back and try other dishes, such as their stir-fried noodles (like Char Kway Teow and Hokkien Mee) and desserts (like Chendol). Needless to say, I highly recommend Kaokee to you!

Have you tried Kaokee Singaporean Kitchen? What dish above have you tried or would like to try? Comment below!

Address: The Belamy House, Jupiter St., Bel-Air, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines | Operating Hours: Monday-Thursday, 10AM-10PM; Friday-Saturday, 10AM-11PM; Sunday, 8AM-10PM | Contact No.: 0991-3008000 | Facebook | Instagram