MOVED: Char Restaurant has moved to 363 Jalan Besar, Singapore 208994.

Angmoh cooking methods + Cantonese roast = Angmoh char siew!!! The boss’s brother owns a Chinese restaurant in Birmingham, England and is the consulting chef. The boss is a Vietnamese-born UK citizen (Singaporean PR now), and combines both angmoh method of sous vide and Chinese roasting techniques to cook the char siew.

I was apprehensive stepping into an empty restaurant, made more empty flanked by the bustling Lai Huat Sambal Pomfret and Tuckshop, but the char siew was FANTASTIC (char siew rice $9, or 100g for $5 with minimum of 300g). It had a stripe of fat running through the middle but didn’t feel fatty. It was very sweet (might be too sweet for some, so eat it with rice) and the burnt ends were superb, crisp and not overly charred. Super tender. WIN.

The roast crispy pork belly ($4 100g, with minimum 300g) was equally awesome! It was marinated in both Chinese (and not so Chinese) herbs and spices overnight and roasted at high heat to bubble the skin and keep the meat juicy and tender. The skin was crackling! And it didn’t taste oily or fatty at all. SHIOK!

The roast duck (1/4 duck $14, 1/2 duck $25, whole $48) was unique, different from Singapore’s version. It had a taste similar to pork lard, and a nice spice (clove?). I liked this because it was an innovation to a traditional dish, but it may not be for traditionalists.

Tip: Order the platter for $20.50, not stated on the menu. 

There are soups ($6 individual portions) too, and we three had the soup of the day, chicken and mushroom. WAH, it was very flavorful! Another win. 

For fiber, you can pick any vegetables to be fried in any style you want. We had spinach in shrimp paste ($10), which was a tad overcooked and limp.

We three were still hungry and ordered a steamed seabass (market price, $30 that day). But it was undercooked and we sent it back to the kitchen. The chef came out to apologize, saying that he didn’t want to re-steam it, wanted to give us a new fish, but that was the last one. GOT INTEGRITY! And seeing he was so handsome, we forgave his peccadillo.

For drinks, there are English beers and ciders. The service was outstanding and attentive, but perhaps it might be we were the only guests. The food was not only delicious but very thoughtful, even the sauce for the rice was heated for us. I really like this restaurant: there is sincerity and effort. Two days later, I returned a second time with Huccalily and two other friends and they all loved it too. Highly recommended. Including drinks, we spent about $70 for three persons.

Char Restaurant

393 Guillemard Road Singapore 399790
T: 6842 7759
Sun-Th: 11am-10pm, F-Sat: 11am-12am, closed Mon.
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Char Restaurant Menu
Rating: 3.788/5 stars

Written by A. Nathanael Ho.