The Dead Cockroach: Soon Heng Hong Kong Style Charcoal Roast @ Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre

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Soon Heng Hong Kong Style Charcoal Roast at Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre serves the usual roasts like char siew, roasted pork (siew yok/sio bak), roasted duck and roasted chicken.

As I was craving for roasted pork, I ordered the char siew and roasted pork combo with rice ($4). While the auntie was preparing my order, my gaze fell upon the rolls of pig's skin in the window. How could I resist the temptation not to get some?

The overall cost came up to $5 so that makes the pig's skin only a dollar.

The rice on my plate is like a small mountain topped with generous portion of char siew, roasted pork and pig's skin slathered with sauce.

The thinly sliced char siew is on the lean side with no visible fats but thankfully still tender and moist. I would have preferred a chunkier cut though. I cannot really taste its flavor as it was covered with sauce.

The roasted pork has a good proportion of fat and lean meat. As I took the first bite, I am surprised by the crunch reverberating within my mouth. It has been ages since I last had roasted pork that comes with such crackling skin. It's music to my ears!

As for the pig's skin, it is bursting with the flavors of the braising sauce while the texture is not overly soft. Those who prefer their pig's skin to have some firmness will like this. The flavor of the sauce is likable but I would prefer it not to be thickened with starch.

The chili sauce they provided is not the sambal kind but chicken rice chili. Not that I mind as chicken rice chili always have a place in my heart. One thing to take note is that their chicken rice chili is much more sour than the usual.

My only gripe is that there is no accompanying soup. My throat was feeling a little dry from the rice but I could not go to get myself a drink as any unattended food in this food centre is an open invitation for the commando-trained mynahs to move in for the kill.

I am sure there are better roasts out there but Soon Heng's is still pretty satisfying nonetheless.