If you think that the Chinese characters 碳烤黑叉燒 on the signboard is the stall's name, then you are very much mistaken.
This stall have several outlets located around Singapore such as at Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Bukit Merah, Clementi, Kovan, New Upper Changi, Tanglin Halt, Upper Bukit Timah and Yishun.
When I first come across the outlet at Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre, I tried looking them up on the internet with this name but did not managed to find anything at all.
The real stall name - 老廣黑味道 (Taste The Kwang's Black) - is found on the side menu panel instead. As the name is not in a prominent location nor particularly eye catching, it is easy to overlook. It actually took me a few days to discover the name from the photo I took.
As my sole purpose for coming to this stall is to try their charcoal roasted char siew, I decided to have their char siew wanton noodle ($4).
My order had char siew, boiled wanton and the obligatory greens on top of a mound of mee kia (thin noodle) with a small bowl of soup served on the side.
For the price, the portion seems adequate and value for money.
Count your blessings if your wanton noodle stall bothers to roast their own char siew in a cauldron over gas fire. Many stalls took the easy way out by dyeing pork with red coloring and calling it char siew.
However, we all know that charcoal roasted char siew is something of a different league not commonly available and that one could only dream of.
This explains why I am so excited when I first saw the words "charcoal" and "char siew" together on the signboard. I thought I had hit char siew jackpot!
Unfortunately, as I stared at the so-called "charcoal-roasted" char siew on my plate, the realization that it was not the tender and juicy kind with marbling that I hankered for woke me from that beautiful dream.
On the contrary, it is tough and chewy which reminded me very much of cured (waxed) meat.
I tasted no sweet marinade nor the caramelization of the basting sauce on the exterior and there is definitely no char to speak of.
I have no liking for cured meat of any kind such as lup cheong (Chinese sausage), lup yuk (preserved pork belly) and lup ngap (preserved duck). I simply could not appreciate the unique smell and texture associated with cured meats which - I do not understand why - is found on this char siew.
Well, not implying that the char siew here is bad but it just does not appeal to me.
Utterly disappointed with the char siew, I turned to the noodle next but was dismayed to find no sauces underneath when I tried to toss it.
As I tried to loosen what I thought was a lump of noodle with the chopsticks, I noticed the strands separates easily without clumping which is only possible when the noodle has been tossed in oil.
I took a small bite to confirm my suspicions and indeed, the aroma of fragrant oil wafted to my nose. Not only were the noodle sufficiently oiled, they were nicely seasoned as well.
It seems like the stall does the tossing of noodle in the sauces for you except for the sambal and pickled green chili which they left by the side for you to mix yourself.
Obviously, I do not know what goes into the secret concoction but I like the simple taste of the invisible sauce coating the noodle.
However, mixing in the sambal and green pickled chili further enhances its taste profile. Do ask for more of the sambal - it is very umami!
Sadly, there is no sign of any crispy pork lard.
To give credit where credit is due, I would say they are competent in the noodle department from the sauce to blanching the noodle to a springy tender bite. I could eat this plain without any ingredients at all!
I guess they have redeemed themselves for the disappointing char siew with the superb noodle!
While rejoicing over the delicious noodle, I paid no attention to the three boiled wantons. When I casually pop one into my mouth, I thought it tasted like siew mai.
I quickly "dissected" a second wanton which revealed a full prawn (albeit a small one) tightly wrapped within. Any traces of minced pork is quite minimal.
Nothing spectacular here but I like the element of surprise (wanton tasting like siew mai).
As for the soup, it has a very comforting and homely flavor.
Apart from the char siew which you can have with either rice or noodle, other items on the menu included braised pork knuckle noodle, mushroom chicken feet noodle, and soy sauce chicken rice/noodle. They also have the usual wanton and dumpling soup.
CHARCOAL ROASTED BLACK CHAR SIEW 老廣黑味道
Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre
Blk 448 Clementi Ave 3
#01-15
Singapore 120448
Business Hours
Mon - Sun: 9am - 10pm
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/PgArdRezmDHNksRQ9
Blk 448 Clementi Ave 3
#01-15
Singapore 120448
Business Hours
Mon - Sun: 9am - 10pm
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/PgArdRezmDHNksRQ9
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