Wee Nam Kee Makati, Philippines

You must have heard of Wee Nam Kee opening in Makati City on November 15. How could you not? It has been all over the internet. And although I have also read of service nightmare stories on Wee Nam Kee's first week at the Ayala Triangle Gardens, and although I kind of know better than dining at a restaurant that had just opened, I was too excited to find out how good Wee Nam Kee's Hainanese Chicken Rice is. After all, they are known especially for their steamed chicken.

All you diners should know that "soft opening" practically means "we are open to try out our avoidable errors on you, paying guinea pigs!" That is true 90% of the time regardless of establishment.

(Bon Chon, meanwhile, is proof that the remaining 10% exists. Bon Chon came to the rescue that afternoon. It was wise of us to hop to Bon Chon after Wee Nam Kee, but I'll tell you more about that in a different blog entry.)

So, Wee Nam Kee. C and I didn't have to wait long for a table. We were lucky that there was an empty table for two despite the urban legend about unbelievable long lines similar to those at Crystal Jade in Greenhills, which I haven't gone back to. At Wee Nam Kee, we only had to wait for the table to be cleared, which took no more than 2 minutes. For a Saturday afternoon, however, the place was still kind of full. I can imagine the huge crowd during lunch and dinner.

We ordered one Personal Set of their steamed chicken at Php 168 and one Pork Asado Rice, which was really Barbecue Pork Rice on the menu and under a different name yet again in the image caption.

I wanted to get the Cereal Prawns, but at Php 375 for four pieces, I felt it was too much for an afternoon food trip.

(Cereal Prawns photo from Wee Nam Kee Philippines' Facebook page.)

Then the horror began.

The server wantonly placed two pairs of spoon and fork on two rumpled pieces of bathroom tissue on our table. One pair was right smack in the middle, while the other pair was facing the lone empty chair. We waited for them to notice and fix the flatware until we've given up and fixed them ourselves.

After several minutes, we were served our glasses of water. Again, just wantonly placed on the table. One glass had a dirty bottom, leaving sauce marks everywhere. Am I in a carinderia?

While waiting for our food, I people watched. One waiter was kneeling on the floor fixing another customer's bill on the chair in front of us and right next to the door. Some female servers smiled, others didn't. Some male servers had their shirts tucked, others didn't.

After 30 minutes (yes, 30 minutes!) and following up on our orders twice, the server told us they've run out of pork asado.

You've got to be kidding, I thought. I knew I couldn't do anything about it but I had to let them know of their mistake. You don't come up to a customer half an hour later to say her order's not available, and expect her to order anew and wait again.

What? For another 30 minutes without the certainty of getting my food by then? No way. Besides, they haven't even served our steamed chicken yet! Jesus.

I was delirious. I was hungry.

After the server realized I will not be appeased and "replace" my order, he finally left to follow up for the third time on our chicken rice. It arrived shortly, and we ended up sharing the poor thing.


I have to admit, Wee Nam Kee's steamed chicken is flavorful, tender and juicy. The sauce it is lying on is fantastic. I could've happily gorged on more of it if not for their terrible service.

The problem, I think, wasn't lack of manpower because they had a number of servers. Too many for such a small place, in fact, that they gathered around the cashier most of the time not knowing what to do.

The problems really were poor management and lack of training. There were so many servers but they didn't even get to clean and organize the place since they themselves were a mess. Most likely, they weren't properly told what to do. There was no one directing the floor.

Even more devastating was the kitchen manager not doing his or her job well, if at all. It is somebody's job to make sure all dishes come out on time and go to the right tables. We were almost served the wrong food two or three times.

It is also the manager's job to monitor how many servings of each dish they still have left, taking note of supplies they are close to run out of. The kitchen should also be vigilant in informing what ingredient they're running low on.

This isn't a fast food joint where you can kick back and wiggle your toes after a customer has ordered. Managing a Jollibee, or a McDonald's for that matter, is totally different from managing a real restaurant with a full kitchen.

It's a shame for awful service to overshadow good food, but a restaurant is in the business of food and service. Those two are part and parcel of running the establishment.

I will go back to Wee Nam Kee, that's for sure, but not any time soon. Maybe after a month or two, they would have gotten their act together. If not, it could be better to just order food to-go.

I would like to point out that the prices on Wee Nam Kee's menu are inclusive of VAT, which is good because it saves you from doing the computation yourself and from the surprise of seeing just how much 12% could add up to. The prices, however, are still subject to a 5% service charge.

No, I didn't leave a tip.

Be wary, however, of the food photos on the menu. They are far from the actual dishes, especially in size.

By the way, for smoking guests, they do have tables outside, but when someone at the al fresco tables asked for an ashtray, I heard the server say they didn't have any. I think it would be good practice for smokers to bring around one of those portable lidded ashtrays if we really want to take this littering/garbage problem seriously. These are available in various colors and designs. Nonetheless, a restaurant with al fresco tables and no ashtray lacks foresight, unless they decide to place a "no smoking" sign out there.

Wee Nam Kee's first branch in the Philippines is located at the restaurant strip inside Ayala Triangle Gardens bounded by Ayala Avenue, Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue in Makati City. You can visit their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/WeeNamKeePH or call (02) 846-8924.