Xiong Kee Roast Meat : cheap and not bad

We were supposed to go for the other stall in another coffee shop on the same block but was attracted by the long queue at this stall so we decided to try it. My dining companion joined the queue and waited for about 15 minutes to order. He ordered Char Siew & Roast Meat Rice for $4.00 and the Roast Duck & Roast Meat Rice for $4.50. He said, "It is less than $10 for all these. So cheap." I first came across Xiong Kee Roast Meat when they opened in a coffee shop at Sin Ming. It did not last for too long, closed down a little while later. A couple that sharing our table also said, "This is so cheap. The portion is a lot." They ordered a plate of Char Siew Rice and a plate of Roast Meat Rice at $3.00 each.

The Roast Meat just happened to be out of the roaster so it still retained its crispiness and it did not compromise its tenderness. My dining companion said, "It is crispy but a little bland and not salty enough." He also said, "The Roast Duck is just so so." I did not like the Char Siew, it was too lean and too tough and I actually left it unfinished. 

The texture of the rice was a little mushy. The radish soup was good though.

Tian Cheng Charcoal Roasted at the other coffee shop in the same block is supposed to be as good. It is highly recommended by a FB friend.

XIONG KEE ROAST MEAT
Block 81 Whampoa Drive SINGAPORE 320081

Mei Mei Roast : the alternative to Kay Lee Roast Meat

Madam Lee Kui In, 56, better known by her nickname, Mei Mei (妹妹), which means younger sister, is the younger sister of the founder of famous Kay Lee Roast Meat that sold their recipe for $4 million to Aztech Group in 2014. She used to work for Kay Lee Roast Meat for a good 15 years before starting this stall with her husband at the canteen in an industrial building more than a decade ago, serving old style Cantonese roast meats. 

I was there on the last day of 2018 for lunch. There was a regular customer came by to take away and another customer ordered half a roasted duck and $10 worth of roasted meat with 2 plates of rice. As it is not difficult to tell from their uniforms that these regular customers are wearing that they are mostly the mechanics working in the machine shops nearby. While ordering, I caught sight of an Apollo oven right behind the stall. I ordered a single serving of a roasted duck, roast pork and char siew ($7.00) with a plate of rice ($0.50). The friendly assistant asked, "Any soup?" and I went with a Lotus Root Soup ($4).

The Char Siew tasted like those from Kay Lee Roast Meat though not quite the same, it was nicely charred, not as dark in color, also not as sweet and sticky. It was actually quite good but my dining companion said, "After eating the Char Siew from Roast Paradise, most of the others just seemed so mediocre."

The duck came with a thin layer of skin, the meat did not have gamey taste and tasted quite flavorful. The roast pork had a good proportion of fat and lean meat, it tasted moist and with a slightly crisp skin.

The Lotus Root Soup consists of slices of lotus root, pork ribs with rice beans.

This was my first time came across these beans and actually wondered what are these. My dining companion said, "It looks like rice but tasted like beans." I posted the picture online and was told these are the rice beans, the Chinese name is 赤小豆, it supposed to have certain nutritional aspects. 

This stall is a good alternative to the Kay Lee Roast Meat as their standard is going south after setting up the central kitchen and opening of more outlets. I remember talking to KF Seetoh about their declining standard after the acquisition by Aztech Group and he said, "They should just stick to do what they are best in doing."

MEI MEI ROAST

Block 3014 Ubi Road 1 #01-308 SINGAPORE 408702

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 5.00 pm (Mon to Fri) / 11.00 am to 3.00 pm (Sun & Public Holiday)

Ming Mun 名门 : the authentic Hong Kong taste

Chef Rex Lam, 42, the founder, came to Singapore from Hong Kong about 3 months ago and brought along his recipe as well as 18 years of experience in roasted meat. The recipe has been adjusted to better suit the taste buds of the locals. The stall has been around for a while but they have been really low key and so, even though it is near to where I stay but I know nothing about them until someone posted it on Facebook.

They are likely to be the only hawker stall that is known for serving Roast Goose, they imported the frozen goose from Hungary as those from China are not approved. It is only available by ordering in advance and on certain days, particularly on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It was reported recently in the newspaper that half of their roasted goose costs $128 as there is an increase in the price of frozen goose, from the initial $80 to $150 per bird, to actually justify it. The availability of Roast Goose is quite indefinite as the source of supply is not reliable for now.

The roast goose was not available when We were there on a Sunday for lunch. We decided to go with a quarter Roast Duck ($13.00) with Char Siew ($4.00) for 2 pax together with 2 plates of rice ($0.50 cents each). I ordered the Roasted Pork too, but they did not get the order as I could not communicate well in Cantonese when I ordered through Chef Lam. As it is self-service, I waited there for it to be served. When Chef Lam handed the plate of roasted meat to me, he said, "慢慢食" in Cantonese, which means "enjoy your meal."

The skin was slightly crisp with a slight smokiness and still retained its moisture within, it was so tender and juicy. My dining companion got pretty excited over it. He exclaimed, "It tasted just like what I had eaten in Hong Kong." It has a pretty authentic taste as Chef Lam insists on using a classic blend of spices and herbs as the marinade, providing a savory flavor and not as sweet as some of the others roasted ducks in Singapore. 

The Char Siew was really good, and its standard is even close to Roast Paradise which is known for their amazingly good Char Siew. It had a perfect lean-to-fat ratio and nicely caramelized with charred edges but still tender within.

As a frequent traveler to Hong Kong, I can attest that this is one of the closest choices that you can get without flying to Hong Kong.

MING MUN 名门

Block 159 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 SINGAPORE 560159

Operating Hours: 10.00 am to 9.00 pm (Daily)

Roast Paradise : Reasonably good char siew

The owners, Randall Gan and Kai Koh, both in their 20s, decided to give up their jobs at the integrated resorts and took a significant pay cuts to pursue their dream. This led them Famous Seremban Favourites, the shop of Kai's Uncle, one of the top roast shops at Petaling Jaya in Kuala Lumpur (KL) where they were trained to roast KL style roasted meat for about 4 months prior to starting this stall for a few months now.

They start their day as early as 5.00 am in order to have their first batch to be out by 11.00 am. Their char siew is a classic KL style, which has been intensely marinated and well caramelised to give it a distinct sweetness with a sticky texture and charred edges using the part in between the pig's shoulder and belly, near the armpit, which is supposedly more tender. It was then served in chunky pieces, the outer layer was nicely caramelised for a slightly crisper texture with a distinct smoky flavor and not comprising its tenderness. The texture was slightly fatter but it was perfectly roasted so you could not quite taste the fat-ishness of the meat but an excellent mouthfeel instead.

I was there close to 1 pm and they left with just a bit of char siew to go. I decided to have an upsized Hakka Noodle with char siew for $4.50. Hakka Noodle is not as common here as compared to KL, in fact, this is the first time that i came across it. 

I was given the choice to choose between the leaner or the fatter part for the char siew and i decided to have a half fat and half lean. It is served with pork oil, though similar but not the lard oil with a dash of sesame and onion oils with a handful of savoury minced meat. 

The mee pok was cooked to a rather soft texture, not quite al dente but much softer though not mushy. 

You could refer to their price list to decide what to order. Even though their operating time is till 4.00 pm but they usually sold out by lunch. 

As 2015 is coming to an end, i am in the midst to list the best food that i ate this year and this is definitely amongst those memorable food that i had.

UPDATE: i revisited the stall and they left the last batch of char siew which happened to be from the part at the both ends of the meat, it was a bit too charred and slightly too hard and i did not enjoy as much as compared to the first visit. They was only left roasted meat at 12 pm on a Sunday.

ROAST PARADISE

51 Old Airport Road #01-122 Old Airport Road Food Centre SINGAPORE 390051

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 4.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)