Bazuka Yakibuta has opened up their third, takeaway only outlet (or to put it more accurately, a hole in the wall) that's right next to Don Pies in the basement of One Raffles Place.

There isn't much that's Japanese about this rice bowl save for the short grain rice and the delightfully runny onsen egg, but I ain't complaining. The crackling roast pork, which I'm just going to call siew yoke, is pleasantly meaty and is satisfactorily seasoned with savory spices. As for the all important rind, it's charmingly crispy while the fat beneath is thoroughly cooked and is no less tasty than the meat.

As for the caramelized roast pork (a.k.a. char siew) there's a decent balance of fat and meat which is a critically important but commonly overlooked factor for good char siew and burgers, thereby enhancing the already fantastic flavors. It's tastefully tender, sublimely savory and even has a notable and very important smattering of sweetness.

To cement its true blue Singaporean status, there's some chili on the side. It's very, very mild and would be more accurately described as a mildly spicy prawn paste with chili in it. It complemented the roast meats excellently. As for the rice, it was drizzled with a stellar soy based sauce and when mixed into the rice throughly with the onsen egg, the otherwise cheerless carbs become one heck of an umami bomb. However, it could definitely do with more sauce just to up the shiok factor.

For a bowl of grub this good, its price tag of $10.90 is pretty justifiable and it's a bazooka loaded full of flavors just waiting to explode in your mouth. Hopefully you can request for more sauce on your rice, but no promises.

NOTE: this is not the Kent Ridge outlet. Instead, this is their new outlet in the basement of One Raffle Place.