Food Review: Char | Modern roast pork along Guillemard Road
The Place When I heard that a roast meat eatery has opened in Guillemard Road, I imagined it to be a traditional coffee shop setting. Not for Char, which looks every bit like a modern eatery. Opened not long ago, it is already slowly gaining its reputation as a specialty roast meat eatery.
The interior is nothing like old fashioned coffee shop, in fact it feels like a modern café which specialises in roast meat.
*Char Restaurant has since relocated to 363 Jalan Besar, Singapore 208994
The Food The main draw was no doubt the roast meat, which was what I happened to crave for. Prices are not cheap if you compare it to the familiar roast meat stall at the hawker centre. In fact, there is minimum order by grams for the roast pork belly and char siew.
A surprise on the menu: ciders!
There were so many options on the menu that we were a little indecisive on which meat to try. So when in doubt, go for everything! We had the Triple Roast ($20.50), where we chose the roast duck, roast pork belly and char siew. My favourite was undoubtedly the char siew, with its tender sliced meat and home made sauce. The pork belly was quite awesome as well, tender and evenly sliced with its crispy belly skin. The weakest link in my opinion was the roast duck, which was not as flavourful and tasty as the other two.
The Shredded Duck Noodle ($10) was damn good! I could almost finish the whole bowl, love the super tasty thick soup with the thinly sliced roast duck. The texture of the noodle was very fine and chewy as well, slurps!
If there is one dish to avoid, that would be the Egg Fried Rice ($5). I could not help comparing this version to the one from Din Tai Feng, which was why I ended up quite disappointed. The fried rice was too greasy, which also lacked a strong fragrant taste.
Rants If only the price is less pricey, we would rate Char as the most value for money roast meat specialty shop around. Let’s not overlook the fact that there is the Old Airport Road hawker centre in the vicinity.
Will I Return Again? This is definitely a cosy, comfy and quality eatery to bring your parents to try. Order the right dishes and refrain from over ordering, it should not burst the budget too much!
*Char Restaurant has since relocated to 363 Jalan Besar, Singapore 208994
TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4/5
Hole in the pocket: 4/5
Ambience: 3/5
Overall Experience: 4/5
Char
393 Guillemard Road
Singapore 399790
Tel: +65 6842 7759
Opening Hours:
Tuesday – Sunday
11am – 2.30pm, 6-10pm
Rant here!