Big 6

"The camera pans the cocktail glass, behind a blind of plastic plants; I found the lady with the fat diamond ring. Then you know I can't remember a damn thing... " Okay, if you recognize these lyrics, then you'd know this was from Set Adrift on Memory Bliss by PM Dawn. For some reason, those words came to mind while I was brunching at Big 6 with JuJu. No, there was no lady with a fat diamond ring and I do remember what I ate, but there were Stucco walls adorned with fake plastic plants. Completing the 70's look of the place, there was vinyl booth seating complete with more plastic flowers. Brought back memories I tell ya. The only thing missing was the cigarette vending machine at the front. I guess some things have changed... Anyways, JuJu sent out a FB message asking if there were any takers for brunch and of course I volunteered. The reason we chose Big 6 was partly due to my curiousity since I drive by the place a lot and the fact someone emailed me encouraging me to try it out.

Part diner (which has never been reno'd) and part dive, this place better have good food because nobody is coming here for the ambiance. JuJu went for the 2 Egg Breakfast with Pancakes. The eggs were prepared perfectly over-easy as he requested while bacon was crisp and the sausage was fried up nicely (I think it was literally fried). However, the pancakes were not very good. They were chewy and dry. They looked nice though. For myself, I had the Eggs Benedict and it was both good and bad on one plate. First off, the eggs were poached nicely with a runny yolk. The large slices of ham (in place of back bacon) were meaty and not dry while the English muffin was crispy. I also liked the pan fried potatoes. They were crisp and golden on the outside while soft on the inside. Now for the bad news... The salty cheese-like sauce trying to pose as a Hollandaise was terrible.

While we were there, I noticed that their menu was quite large and diverse. Seeing how we only tried 2 items for breakfast, I returned on another day for a quick lunch. And when I say quick lunch, I mean less than 20 minutes. I hastily decided on the Freight-liner Burger which consisted of 2 home-made patties with 2 slices of cheese, 2 fried eggs, grilled onions, tomato and lettuce served with fresh cut fries. This behemoth could not be eaten whole and I resorted to fork and knifing it. I really liked the ripe tomatoes and crisp lettuce. Moreover, the burger patties were really moist and tender. Although I would classify them more of a steakette than burger patty. I also enjoyed the fries. Although slightly oil-logged, they were hot, crisp and potatoey.

Lastly, I really wanted to try their Chinese food and got a Sweet 'n Sour Pork & Fried Prawns Combo that came with fried rice. The rice was chewy and exhibited a great deal of wok heat with nice caramelization. They could've eased up on the salt though. Surprisingly, the sweet 'n sour pork was rock solid. The chunks of meat were moist and juicy while the sauce had a good balance of vinegar and sugar. The fried prawns were okay, they could've been crispier. As part of the combo, it included a cup of soup which appeared to be Chicken Vegetable Rice? What it actually resembled was congee with chicken and veggies. It was bland and lukewarm. Despite this, the pancakes and the Hollandaise sauce, I would return to Big 6. The prices are low, the portions are good and the service is honest. I'll just steer clear of certain items.

The Good:
- Cheap
- Good portions
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- It's a complete dive (but I don't mind)
- Need to pick the right items