Char Siew | Ziggy

Char siew are thick strips of pork, usually about 1 to 2 feet long, sweetened and roasted in a cooking furnace, preferably over charcoal. They are cut into slices and served. Usually available with roast duck and roast pork (roasted pork with a cripsy skin in top). They are also sometimes available with chcicken rice, and always available in wanton noodle stalls in Singapore.

I love char siews more than roast pork and roast duck, so I am very used to referring to roast meat stalls as char siew rice stalls. Char siew could well be the first word I uttered as a baby! There's a Cantonese insult, "it's better to give birth to a piece of char siew than you", my children may have to be at least of Jacky Chan proportion to avoid that! 🤣🤣

(Char Siew) Cantonese Roasted (Semb) 1.jpg

Wanton Noodles

Oct 2020

Oct 2024 Update

Wanton noodles so good, my friend from KL almost cried after eating it....

One of the best Char Siew in town! I was first wowed by the char siew, then I tried the noodles, it was excellent as well. Unspoiled by chilli, it is very nice to eat if you order it plain without chilli. Just enjoy the pure taste of the char siew and noodle. If only this stall is nearer my home, I’d visit this very often!

They have 2 stalls at opposite ends of the food centre, one run by Fatty Cheong, the other his son. One sells noodles, the other rice and noodle. Given a choice, I usually go for rice, but when faced with Fatty Cheong’s char siew, I wish I am some kind of mutant that can split into 2 and have both…

The cut of pork used for the char siew is from a part of the pig that "doesn’t see the sky", mind you, it sounds like it‘s from the part where the sun doesn’t shine. It’s not, it’s from the arm pits (leg pits as well? Do pigs have arms?). The char siews are cut thick and of good size, it is TENDER (with a ca…, ok, with capitals) and delicious.

The noodle is springy and has a nice crunchy bite to it, it is served without chilli, dry cut chilli is given when you opt for the chilli, what looks like sweet chilli sauce is provided should you want a pour. I went without any chilli, the sauce is a dark and sweetish char siew based sauce, it supplements the noodle very well.

I brought a friend of mine from KL, who claims to have not eaten wanton noodle here since the age of 15 as he didn't like what was given to him, to assure him that wanton noodles in Singapore are not all bad. He was impressed, almost in tears when he tried it. Then started talking about Fatty Cheong to all our other buddies. For a period of time, I had to bring them all here... not too bad a task really, everyone has been more than impressed, a few even dabao back for the family after trying!

For Fatty Cheong, I’d say the noodles give me a lot more pleasure than the rice, and I generally prefer rice to noodles. The char siew had the same tenderness, I had it with the Chinese sausage as they ran out of roast pork, the sausage was a bit meh.

The gravy they use for the rice has a very intense dang gui (a kind of ginseng) taste, which I cannot appreciate, this was the part that made the difference, so it would be the noodles here for me.

Having closed his Cantonese Private Kitchen stall nearby and returning to the noodle stall, Fatty Cheong has started a few new dishes. He now sells curry chicken rice, and char siew rice, with egg, at the noodle stall. The curry noodle is pretty decent, have yet to try the char siew rice with egg as I just discovered that.

Fatty Cheong practices martial arts, and frequently visits his ancestral town in China where the famed Cai Li Fo wushu style originated. He should call himself kung fu panda! Also an avid dancer, lion dancer that is, this he has been doing since young. I originally wrote this part of the write up in his other stall which has since closed.

*see Cantonese Delight here

There is a Fatty Cheong at Redhill market serving both rice and noodles, it is operated by the elder brother. Taste wise, it’s similar, the roast meat’s skin is a bit on the tough side but you’ll crack at it real good, just a bit tough.

Sadly, Fatty Cheong has recently passed away from a year long with with illness. His stalls are now well managed by his wife and children. We all miss him....

*In Singapore an order of wanton noodle always comes with both char siew and wanton.

I think wanton noodle in Singapore should be split into 2 schools: the chilli school, and the traditional school. The chilli school WTN are fantastic for their chilli, which is the "Singapore style WTN"; the traditional ones in South East Asia would strive to serve up either very good noodles or char siew (in Malaysia, it is more appropriately name char siew noodle....).

Fatty Cheong

6 Jalan Bukit Merah, #01-05 and 01-120, ABC Brickworks, s150006

1130am – 830pm, closed Thu

https://abcfattycheong.getz.co/

https://www.facebook.com/fatty.cheong

Roast Meat

Jul 2020

Excellent roast meats! Related to Foo Kin at Killiney.

If I were to choose to eat roast meat at just one place for a stayover in Singapore, this would be it! Exceptional char siew and almost perfect roast meat. I remember hearing about this new stall at Old Airport Food Centre, a place I frequent; but before I could check it out, the Q for this snakes longer than a python on growth hormones…. As far as I could remember, they started out with a bang.

RoastPardise

Their rice was fragrant, with a shallotty and garlicky aroma, very palatable. Every order comes with a small plate of thick and sweet char siew sauce. I loved this as a boy (the uncle at the char siew rice stall near my home would always give me a small bowl of CS sauce to go with my rice), thick and sweet; pour it onto the rice, and I’m a boy enjoying his char siew rice again, even the rice was just like before! I love this place.

The char siew here is more than wonderful, it’s a sticky chewy chunk of goodness, with lots of charred bits. These charred bits are fantastic to bite into. Like a mini sugar ball, a fragrant sweetness would burst inside your mouth as you bite onto it. I is a tasty sweet, not the yucky artificial sweet. The burning of the char siew also creates a great thick coating of rubbery crisp, with tender meat within. Mildly sweet and very umami, all the pieces are cut thick, long and chunky so we can close our eyes and enjoy each piece of char siew for quite a while… yes, close your eyes and enjoy it!

The roast pork, or siew yoke has very crispy soft skin, and with the same tender and tasty meat as the char siew. Pieces are cut slightly thinner than the char siew so you may not have too much time to enjoy it, but it is beautiful too.

No doubt the best char siew siew yoke combo I have tasted since my boyhood!

Foo Kin

The owners of this place had gone on to set up Foo Kin along Killiney Road. A slightly bigger and more sophisticated menu there, slightly different in terms of delivery and presentation, nice décor and atmosphere; but same nice tasty char siew and siew yoke, adding to that the roast duck. Same same but different…..

Foo Kin

Price at Foo Kin is double that of Roast Paradise, the food a bit more refined. The char siew not charred but more sticky chewy. The rice has the brilliant char siew sauce mixed in, evenly mixed, much better than a DIY....? The roast duck available is nice, with herbs that bring out its fragrance. You’ll feel that it’s just about worth the premium to have it at a nice cool place with a more refined taste, even if it’s about double the price of the hawker centre.

Take a pick which you want to visit, both serve excellent roast meat. The one at Old Airport, you can only get char siew and roast meat, but you'll get to taste good stuff from other humble hawkers, note that they close quite early at around 630-7pm. Foo Kin is more dinner friendly, same excellent roast, but you do get to try the chef from paradise's other excellent dishes. Both are beyond excellent for their roast meats!

Roast Paradise

51 Old Airport Road, #01-121 Old Airport Road Food Centre, s390051

10am – 630pm, closed on Mon

Foo Kin

111 Killiney Road, s239553

11am - 915pm, takeaway orders 10am - 730pm

https://www.facebook.com/Roastparadisesg/

https://www.facebook.com/fookkinsg/

https://charsiew.com/

YouKee

Roast meats

Review: Dec 2020

Originally from Johor Bahru, they have expanded into Singapore to delight us with some really authentic Malaysian food!

They serve all kinds of roasts. Whole roast piglet, roast meat, roast duck and char siew, plus various Cantonese or Suzhou dishes.

The roast duck here is simply incredible, almost as good as those in errr… London. I am ashamed to say that I have not really tasted roast duck in Hong Kong, it is usually roast goose when I’m there. Ya, actually comparable to the better roast ducks in Beijing too. Juicy, succulent, crispy skin, with fats dripping, it is very impressive! Every mouthful is a joy, this is now the place I will recommend people for roast duck in Singapore. Price is decent too, $6.50 for a plate of char siew and roast duck rice with duck drum stick.

The char siew is something very different. As I was eating, I noticed something hanging behind the serving window display and thought they serve some kind of grilled or roasted chicken wings. Upon closer inspection, I realised that they were the char siews, the char siews are roasted in short sections, allowing the whole serving to be crunchy and crispy, and you will definitely get a few piece of the wonderful burnt ends.

Each slice or piece of char siew is crunchy and crispy throughout on the outside, the meat tender on the inside; the whole piece of char siew seems to have more crispy parts than tender portions. Each bite is one big crunch, then the tenderness comes right at the end. This repeats itself again until you get just crisp towards the end section of the char siew. If you are a lover of the burnt end of char siews, you’ll love this! Doesn’t have the burnt taste, just nice crunch, not hard like the usual burnt ends. Otherwise, the body of char siew itself is deliciously tender, melt in your mouth with a thick tasty outer layer.

The roast chicken is pretty succulent, taste wise it’s normal. The roast pork comes with beautifully crispy skin, tender meat, fat content on the high side but like the char siew, it’s a roast meat lover’s paradise.

The noodle is served without chilli and in a generous portion of dark sauce, which is sweet and tasty like char siew sauce. $10 for the triple which is pricier than usual.

Best place to come for roast meats, a roast heaven, 2 thumbs up! Now I wish I'm one of those born with a 6th thumb so that I can give them 3, or 4 thumbs up....

You Kee XO Restaurant Singapore

43 Joo Chiat Place, s427767

Daily 1030am – 8pm

http://youkeexo.com/

https://www.facebook.com/youkeexosg/

OldAirport

Roast Meat

Jan 2023

Delightful roasted delight, superb roast meat siew yoke, best free soup attached!

Situated just behind Old Airport Road Hawker Centre, Mui Thiang Kee is a coffee shop with a few notable stalls. Stalls with long Qs here is a common sight, quite unexpected for a shop that feels lazy and quiet. One is this roast meat stall.

The roast meat or siew yoke here is fantastic, lightly roasted crispy skin, crunchy and light to the bite with a tasty and tender meat, it is one of the best around, not easy to find a better one.

The char siew is quite excellent too, nicely roasted and full of flavour, it is definitely ranked as one of the better ones in town, top quality stuff. One thing to note, char siew is always the last item out of the oven here, it is usually only ready around noon, don't come too early if you want some char siews!

The roast duck here is fragrant and tender, very succulent, very easy to enjoy, and also one of the better roast ducks around. Every time I come here, I cannot leave out any of the 3 items available and order all 3!

The gravy that comes with the rice is appetising too. Tasty and fragrant, it goes very well with the roasts and rice. Each order also comes with a good amount of flavoured spring onions, this is lovely, eat them slowly!

Finally, the free soup that comes with each order is top notch! They sell various types of soup as a meal, and I assume the free soup would be one of these. I was given the old cucumber soup and it was the best free soup ever! Undoubtedly from the same broth that is sold as a meal, excellent!

If soup is included in the equation, this place has to be the best all round roast in Singapore!

Old Airport Road Roasted Delight @ Mui Thiang Kee Eating House

34 Cassia Crescent, s390034

11am – 7pm

Alex

Char Siew, Roast Duck

Dec 2021

Very nice roast duck with decent char siew! Very good wanton noodles too!

I was introduced to this place by a char siew loving friend from KL, he likes this place so much he has a favourite seat here, not reserved.... Since then, I realised a few others know of this place too. Popular!

The many times I have been here, I had gone for the char siew and roast meat, which is pretty decent, especially when eaten with their noodles. The noodles here come with a delicious sauce too.

Their char siew and roast meat though decent, can be considered pretty average, nothing spectacular. They also have roasted pork ribs, which has a very nice taste reminiscent of the great Toh Kee pork ribs, which was by far the best (sadly, they have retired their roast meat business). Sweet and umami, taste wise it is quite good, however, texture and the cut chosen is not the best. Not too meaty and slightly tough, I am comparing it with the best I had tasted, so might be unfair here.

Only in my most recent visit, I decided to try their roast duck, I was stunned… it is no wonder another friend questioned when I did not ask for their roast duck! The duck is tender and scrumptious, full of ducky fragrance and succulent meat. All those wasted visits! One of the best roast ducks in Singapore!

When eating here, the table right in front of the stall is probably the best, when the doors to the building opens, you can feel some of the cool air from the lobby… my friend’s secret…. shhhh

Alex is a nice place to visit for a good Cantonese roast, highly recommend the roast duck, and the other roasts are very good too.

*In Singapore an order of wanton noodle always comes with both char siew and wanton.

I think wanton noodle in Singapore should be split into 2 schools: the chilli school, and the traditional school. The chilli school WTN are fantastic for their chilli, which is the "Singapore style WTN"; the traditional ones in South East Asia would strive to serve up either very good noodles or char siew, which in Singapore is usually the star of WTN (in Malaysia, it is more appropriately name char siew noodle....).

Alex’s Eating House

87 Beach Road, #01-01 Chye Sing Building, s189695

Daily 9am – 6pm

88Roast

Roast Meat

May 2021

There is the smell of charcoal in the air when I was queueing up at the Tyrwhitt branch. No shouts of fire, should be the roast meat…. A friend of mine loves this, I thought I tried it before without being impressed, got to give it another go.

Tyrwhitt Branch

Lavender Branch

My Char Siew and Roast Pork order came with the meat almost entirely covering the rice, good start. The charcoal smell was strong here, eat it I must… The gravy that covered the rice and meat was slightly sweet and tasty. They were quite generous with it so the rice option is nice and saucy.

Char siew came in lovely chunky pieces, nice, tender and tasty, very tasty, and very tender too; slightly sweet, with a bit of a charcoal taste. It is one of the better char siews around. The crust of the char siew was slightly tough in a good way. It gave the char siew a texture that was a pleasure…

The roast meat was also nice and tender, with a crunchy top skin, very crunchy. It was a nice soft crunch that fit well with the very tender and juicy meat. To top it up, they’re cut into nice chunky pieces too. In order to enjoy big chunky pieces of a roast meat, it has to be tender else it’d be hard and dry, not an issue here!

The roast duck, however, was more ordinary. Nothing much to dwell on here, just go for the double roast.

You have the option to go for noodles or rice.

The noodle here was pretty good too. Strong yellow in colour, it was springy and bouncy, mixed with some of the nice gravy, it is not a bad option. I think the roasts would go better with rice though, but this is a personal preference.

Peak hours will see a good Q at all their outlets, there is a reason for that. Recommended!

*In Singapore an order of wanton noodle always comes with both char siew and wanton.

88 HK Roast Meat Specialist

308 Lavender Street, s338814, 800am – 1030pm

153 Tyrwhitt Road, s207566, 9am – 330pm

301 Ubi Ave 1, #01-247, s400301 , 10am – 730pm

https://www.facebook.com/88-Hong-Kong-Roast-Meat-Specialist-1676968165892481/

Roast Meat

Oct 2022

Operated by the former chef of the famous Toh Kee whose owners retired. Food here has all the footprints of Toh Kee!

I wasn't too impressed when I walked past and saw this stall trying to copy what Toh Kee used to offer, thinking they were trying to be like them at a stall just a few feet away from the Old Toh Kee. Then the chef came out and I recognised him as the chef from Toh Kee previously... immediately I gave this a try.

Ordered my favourite at Toh Kee (I was quite upset when I heard the news of Toh Kee's closure, was a big fan), char siew with pork ribs, adding the roast duck for a write up. Toh Kee's pork ribs were the best and nothing comes close, until now...

O Ji's pork ribs is reminiscent of Toh Kee's, unfortunately, there is a slight difference. To be fair, Toh Kee's ribs were so good, at 85% of it, it is still by far the best! Succulent, extremely tasty with crunchy and sweet outer layer, it has the unique Toh Kee taste, but not quite there. It's like for a moment it hits 100% of its taste, then it quickly fades, there is just something missing. Despite it ebing slightly off the pace from the original Toh Kee both in terms of taste and texture, O Ji is still the place to go if you were a fan of Toh Kee's prok ribs.

Similarly for the char siew, O Ji use the same part of the pork, with the same spice and roast. Chopped into thick slices of good size, it is thoroughly enjoyable and again, almost exactly like TK's char siew.

I never liked TK's roast duck, it is the same here. The roast pork here is also very much like TK's, they are decent but I won't be missing it.... tasty enough, the skin crunchy but a bit tough, they're not the best in town.

At TK, there was no doubt my combo of choice was char siew with pork ribs, same here at O Ji, which we can safely say is Toh Kee 2.

I will always come back here, no doubt about that too!

O Kee Roast Delight 98

32 New Market Road, #01-1014, S050032

930am – 6pm, closed on Mon

HappyWord

Roast Meat

Jun 2021

Back in the late 80’s, erm…. “before the days I was born”, this was the char siew place for me, I had to visit at least once a week, and no one could convince me that this isn’t the world's best char siew rice stall. The stall was closer to the market and their customers would occupy the entire row of seats along that stretch. What made them popular was the char siew sauce they’d provide in a ketchup squeeze bottle, their cabbage and the peanut soup. Then they slowly stopped providing the sauce…

The owner would still give me some sauce quietly from inside the stall, being the shy person, I didn’t ask in subsequent visits. This, and the major renovations to the market around then, meant I stopped going for a while. When I returned once, I didn’t see the stall and was a little lost…

Today, I happened to be in the area and decided to look around and I found them! Now run by the third generation, they’ve started selling chicken, and noodles too.

I’d have to admit that the main reason I loved this place was the sauce, the unborn me was at an age that most people didn’t know how to appreciate quality. This time, I was worried I might be disappointed. I was pleasantly surprised!

They still have the cabbage and soup, the char siew sauce has now become a pour onto the rice instead of the self-service option. The sauce was still delicious, sweet and tasty after all these years, just like the boss…

The roast pork had nice crispy skin with deliciously tender and juicy meat, salted just right. The char siew was similarly tender and delicious, slightly on the sweet side, which char siew was supposed to be traditionally. Mixed with the sauce on rice, each bite brought back wonderful memories, and joy to the taste buds.

The thing with memories like this is that things are usually not as good as what one remembers, in this case, i find that the food here is now better instead! Rice is more fragrant, and the meat used seems to be more tender, generally one step up from before!

On another day, I ordered a white chicken too, the chicken was nice and tender. The chicken rice was fragrant and nice too, went very well with the char siew sauce. This was exactly how I was brought up to enjoy a good char siew rice!

There are many char siew rice stall around that gives you a sauce or gravy to go with their products, most are just passable option as a sauce to “not let the food be too dry”. The sauce here is magnifique, I have not come across any that can compare. The roast meats and chicken are of high quality too.

Happy World Roast

7 Empress Road

#01-107 Empress Road Market & Food Centre, s260007

8am – 5pm, closed on Fri

https://www.facebook.com/HappyWorldRoast/

LPC

Roast

Oct 2022

Tasty accompanying gravy with the char siew, and tastier fried doufu!

It’s a trip down nostalgia coming to Alexandra Hawker, a place we used to gather in my school days as our group of friends stay around that area.

I remember eating at mostly 2 stalls here at the car park corner, and I was very glad to see both are still around! Lau Phua Chay is one, took photo of the stall and showed it to my friends, funnily, no one could remember the look but all agree it’s the same one! A chat with the operators confirmed that they have been around since then…

Looking at the accolades plastered, I can see that we were quite tasteful then… lol. I was asked, and urged to try their fried doufu with my order, somehow, I didn’t think it was an upsell, $1 more then.

The fried doufu was indeed brilliant, probably the best thing on offer here! Tasty with a good texture and bite, it has speckles of condiments in it, delicious.

Char siew was nice and tasty, very tender, sliced thinly and limp with tenderness. Roast pork likewise, easy to like. The roast duck is also cut quite thin, making it tender and succulent. The star of this place would be the gravy, generous in portion, with a hint of garlic, it lights up every bite and makes it very enjoyable.

All in all, very nice, one of the stalls to look forward to when here at Alexandra Hawker Centre.

Lau Phua Chay Authentic Roasted Delights 97

120 Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-20 Alexandra Village Food Centre, s150120

1030am – 7pm, closed on Mon

https://web.facebook.com/LauPhuaChayAlexandra/?_rdc=1&_rdr

NanXiang

Roast Meat, Chicken Rice

Jun 2020

Best Char Siew + White Chicken Combo in town!

This is one of the few famous Roast meat and Chicken rice places around the Katong area since the late 60’s and 70’s. Used to be manned by the owner during lunch and the brother in the evenings, now the owner runs both sessions, passing it down to his son Jimmy.

I was drawn to this shop first by the char siew and siew yoke, and I always liked it. One day I decided to give the chicken a try and I never turned back! I went from char siew/siew yoke (“chonng forr” or angry in Cantonese) to first the trinity of char siew/siew yoke/steamed chicken to just char siew and chicken.

The duck on offer is nothing special here. The roast chicken is never my favourite but it is succulent and the skin crispy enough.

The steamed chicken, however, is quite exceptional. Juicy and tender; doused in a bit of their sauce, its texture and taste makes it one of the best chickens in town. Forget the big 4 chicken rice chains, this one is up there with them!

The roast meat or siew yoke, is crispy but the meat tends to be a little on the dry side, it is decent and when I’m greedy, I’d go for the triple. I avoid this mainly coz I don’t want to be too greedy as I age (I have a body to maintain, you know…), and it’s more economical, one got to save some money for old age, you know….

The char siew here is top bin. Tender and juicy, they get the right cut of meat, and they cut them just nice, thick enough to satisfy the clientele yet not too thick to cost his boss….. I always prefer thick cut char siews, it’s the only way to serve them! Taste wise, it is not as sweet as some other excellent char siews in town, but has a slight hint of garlic that gives it which special ommph that makes it slightly special from the others. They definitely use good part of the pig for their char siews.

Before I forget, the rice on offer here is good quality too. Fragrant and tasty, there is a bit of a raw element to it, one of those things that gets to you subtly. Reminds me slightly of mom’s chicken rice (the only thing she knows how to cook well…). I have been asked on many occasions if I wanted the chicken rice or white rice, that’s when it subconsciously hit me that I want their chicken rice; as the smell and taste of their chicken rice would float into my subconscious and I’d go for the chicken rice without much hesitation.

Char Siew orders are topped with their char siew sauce, which is sweet is nice, as a kid I used to love it. It is not as sweet as some I tried and is a good compliment sauce for the rice.

I believe Nan Xiang has the best Char Siew/Steamed chicken combo rice in town. They are good at both, can’t claim sole top for either, but this combo, I haven’t come across a better one than them.

NanXiang Chicken Rice

271 Tanjong Katong Road, s437054

Daily 8am – 2pm, 4pm - 730pm, closed every Tue

MeiMei

Roast Meat

Feb 2021

Rumour had it that this was operated by the sister of the famed Kay Lee Roast. While doing this, I went to have a look at their facebook, and rumour is confirmed…. It is proudly announced here.

I have been here a few times before, a friend of mine likes this place a lot. Today, I was here at the right time, 5 minutes to the roasts being ready. Da Jie (I’d respectfully call her “Big Sister”) Mei Mei (Younger sister, that’s what she calls herself, right?) was busy and I thought I sensed a tinge of annoyance when I asked if they were ready for business, turned out she was friendly and happy, maybe coz I was her first customer for the day.

Above photos taken from Mei Mei's website

The meat is roasted at the stall, so I got some freshly cooked char siew roast pork rice, sauce was poured into the rice without asking (she prepared my dish while I was seated). No complaints as the sauce was sweet and umami. Both the char siew and the roast pork were nice and tender; not very fatty too, very easy to like. The roast pork has good crispy skin and tender meat, beautifully roasted.

One thing about Da Jie Mei Mei is that she didn’t bother with presentation, very practical. Her food didn’t need to look good, she let the taste do the talking, and they speak loud.

I gather from my short chat with her that this place is very busy from 11 onwards, as she said she would finish her stock within 2 hours and that’s when she close for the day. I have been here on weekends and have not seen long Qs, so maybe weekends are better if you’re not one who loves the crowd….

Mei Mei Roast

3014 Ubi Road 1, #01-308, s408702

Daily 10am – 1/2pm (until sold out)

https://www.facebook.com/meimeiroast

LonnJiag

Char Siew Rice/Noodles

Aug 2021

As I watched Zhang Shifu prepare my roast meats plus chicken rice, I notice he drizzled some magic sauce onto my rice before topping it up with the char siew, roast pork and soy sauce chicken.

I found out what I initially suspected to be addictive opioid was sesame oil and cooked soy sauce mix. It gave the rice a brilliant kick, my eyes lit up so much on first bite I wondered if I was a x’mas ornament…

The roast meat had crunchy skin and tender meat, it was good on the taste side but I find the skin a bit tough. The soy sauce chicken was tender and tasty, boiled to perfection and well marinated. The char siew… was wonderful. Tender and just with a slight hint of surface crisp, almost the entire slice is filled with the gentle crisp of the outer layer. With moist and tender meat within, it was wonderful biting onto the crispy outer layer followed by the wonderful tenderness within.

(Char Siew) Cantonese Roasted (Semb) 4.jpg

(Char Siew) Cantonese Roasted (Semb) 8.jpg

(Char Siew) Cantonese Roasted (Semb) 6.jpg

Zhang Shifu has two types of char siew, suspect he saw my well maintained body and the decision was made to give me the “skinny” version. He had a few rolls of char siew hanging made with meat from the pork belly with more fat content, so better to tell him your preference unless you have a chiselled body like mine….

With the magic drizzle, I am sure the noodles are just as tasty, I shall return!

(Char Siew) Cantonese Roasted (Semb) 2.jpg

(Char Siew) Cantonese Roasted (Semb) 14.jpg

One of the nicest char siew rice I’ve eaten, only regret after trying is that this place is too far from home!

Long Jiang Roasted Delights (Cantonese Roasted on signboard)

590 Upper Thomson Road, #01-03 Sembawang Hills Food Centre, s574419

9am – 6pm, closed on Wed

Hock Soon

Char Siew

Oct 2023

Extremely tasty char siew, fantastic roast pork and duck

Run by brothers Hock and Soon, this is a happy stall, you go on slightly miserable as they always have a bit of a Q, but you'll start to be happy when your order is taken.

Elder brother Hock is chatty and jovial, sweating from the heat, he would sometimes chat but always in happy mode as he takes your order. He is also the one that cooks your noodle. Younger brother Soon is always behind the window chopping away, wearing a white cap while Hock always wear a black one. They're just funny. When you start eating, you'll be happier!

Noodles are nice and springy, I always prefer the rice here as the char siew sauce is fantastic, this always must be soaked into the rice! For the sake of writing this, I "sacrificed' myself and tried their noodles. Not only was the noodle good, it went well with the char siew sauce too! I loved it, really, but I'd probably still have it with rice next time....

Quality of the char siew was top notch, tender, succulent and deliciousest. This is the benchmark for what is considered a very good char siew. Nice soft texture, juicy with a good bite, cut in big pieces and not tough to the bite, and extremely tasty. Sweet and savoury, the taste lingers in you for hours, it iwas that good.

The roast pork was equally savoury, it's skin crunchy, just a slight amount of fats under the skin. It was perfect for the slightly health conscious person who wants the good stuff.

The roast duck was cut thick too, but it was tender enough I didn't find it tough or dry. The fact that Soon dared to slice his duck thick was testament to how they are confident of their duck. It was tasty enough to give me the thrills.

To be honest, besides the wonderful char siew sauce which was amongst, if not the best, the food items, though fantastic, I had seen better ones. However, if their food is what I would have to eat for the rest of my life, taking away the same old boring sentiment, I'd be a very very happy man!

This place doesn't really have an English name, and they have a few translated ones from their payee details, as either Hock Soon or Fu Shun.... So it's a challenge giving them a name. Just watch out for the green signboard!

*In Singapore an order of wanton noodle always comes with both char siew and wanton.

Fu Shun Shao La Mian Jia

1 Kadayanallur Street, #01-71 Maxwell Food Centre, s069184

1130am – 4pm, closed on Mon