Char 叉 – Very reasonably priced Cantonese restaurant; don’t forget their 叉燒

Char 叉

393 Guillemard Road, near Dakota MRT

It was a huge craving on roasts that brought S and I to try this restaurant – Char. Located at the quieter part of Singapore, Dakota; it’s just a 5min walk down along the idyllic (even so in the hot sun as there’re lots of shady trees) Geylang River from Dakota MRT exit A. Quiet on the outside and surroundings but really packed within, this restaurant must be quite famous.

Having been starved for the past 12 hours without the right share for breakfast, we binged and regretted at some choices but were satisfied on the whole.

The egg fried rice, very economically priced at $5, was actually prepared from two bowls of rice. Kudos to the quality despite the gigantic serving as the fried rice was not oily to begin with, and most importantly infused with wok hei fragrance.

The triple roast ordered ($25) was surprisingly and delightfully bountiful as the famished stomachs growl! Their signature char siew shouldn’t be missed! Roasted to an addictive crisp, these chunky tender pork slices are almost inseparable from the intertwined fragrant fats. Its taste – slightly similar to the largely popular Bak Kwa with a more intense roast.

Topped off with a layer of crispy skin, the tender juicy roast duck was well made indeed!

The soy sauce chicken, already spot on with its tender meat, was made even more delectable with a thick glaze of aromatic, dark soy sauce!

Though credit has to be given to the fat, springy pieces of kway teow and the substantial pieces of tender beef chunks, I thought this plate of beef hor fun would have been wiped out if the chef went easy on the oil. Should have remembered to request for less oil! $12.

And this beancurd casserole with siu yok was pretty good but not as outstanding as the roasts we thought. $16.

Now we know the strengths of this restaurant, indubitably in the memorable roasts. Try not to over order like what we have done as portions over here are huge and hearty, and so we say very reasonably priced! However, if it can go slightly easier on the oil content for most dishes, this would have been an excellent restaurant.

Verdict: A good restaurant.