Tien Lai Rice Stall: Damn good sauce, Damn good pork

Never a big fan of pork, I'm seldom attracted to dishes starring pigs as the leading role. BBQ pork, or char siew, is a different matter altogether. That unique sweet sauce soaked into the meat and then nicely charred around the edges. Ooh, that crunchy feeling combined with the taste is to die for.

Of course, there are many preferences the way char siew is done. Some like it soft and fatty cuts while others, like me, prefer them lean and nicely charred and of course there are those in the middle who like a good crunch with a nice rim of fat. One thing is for sure though, and that is it has got to have a damn good sauce (better sweet than salty in my opinion) and it has to be charred just right.



Luckily for me, I had the opportunity to feast upon a good plate of char siew, roast duck and roast pork. This stall located at Taman Jurong Food Centre was recommended by my good buddy David and it's char siew is comparable to Fatty Cheong's. If you are doubting it's authencity, check this out, the person before us (damnit, us again) ordered 30 packets of roasted chicken rice from them. It wasn't char siew they ordered, but that has gotta hint of something good right?

Over here you have a choice of fatty or lean cuts. The char siew we ordered was nicely sweetened with a slight char around the edges while the texture is slightly harder than Fatty Cheong's. Unlike Fatty Cheong's this one is also thinly sliced to compensate for the firmer bite. The roast duck was quite well done with a nice smokey flavour trapped in the skin and both dabbed with a little he bi hiam chilli will send you over the roof. Of course, what's more orgasmic than that is the sauce they use. Splashed over a plate of white rice, the dark sauce was such a delish that I would have finished the plate of rice by itself if there were more of the sauce. Umami will be the word to describe it as the thick and richly flavoured sauce surpassed even that of Alexandra Village's duck rice sauce!



The roast pork I find average but there's something which amazed or intrigued
me more. That is, they serve skin from the pig's head. Eeeeeeeew, yeah I know exactly what you are thinking. Perhaps this is the norm in roast meat stalls but I haven't heard of it before so please spare me your reprimands alright?

There's isn't much of a vie for taste in the skin as it's only mostly salty and it's quite chewy. People who like QQ (chewy) stuff will like it for I think I'll give it a pass.

Address:
Tien Lai Rice Stall
Taman Jurong Food Centre
#02-66

Thick and tender goes together: Fatty Cheong Char Siew!

How do you like your Char Siew? Some people like them fatty, some people like them lean. Some people like them slightly charred while others like them boiled. Some people like them thinly chopped while some like them thick. And some people like them sweet while some like them a little more on the savoury side.

Well, let's just say I'm the kind who likes my char siew lean with a little fat, slightly charred, cut around 1cm thick and shhhweeeeeeeeet! Even so, I find it hard to find char siew which I really like. Until *drum rolls* I found! *drum rolls again* Fatty Cheong!



Hey, this Fatty Cheong guy, I must say he really know how to make his char siew man. It's thick! It's lean! And it's superbly tender! Well, of course they have the fatty cuts as well but I ordered the lean kind.



Oh man, looking at such a thick piece of meat you'd expect it to be tough like a rock. But surprise surprise, the meat is super duper tender. It's actually not like you're eating char siew but rather a thick piece of well roasted pork meat with charring at the edges to give it that crunch accompanied by a savoury and slightly sweet sauce. Dude, it's in a class of it's own!

Plus, the chilli is very good too. Just the right level of saltiness and hotness and enough dried shrimps to make it fragrant.

Man, this is one char siew you guys HAVE TO try. Uhhh, don't give me the excuse now that you don't know how to get there, I placed the address below already!



Address:
Fatty Cheong
ABC Market (Behind Ikea Alexandra road)
#01-120