Charr’d The Hawker is one of those hawker stalls that we did not really think much about whilst walking around Golden Mile Food Centre — on first look, the stall does seem to look just like any western cuisine stall serving up local-style western cuisine at any hawker centre / coffeeshop / food court. That being said, we came across their social media profile one day, only to find out they they seem to be serving up charcoal-grilled western cuisine — the social media post illustrating the cooking process of their chicken chop over charcoal fire was something which we found particularly intriguing, and this became very much the reason behind our visit made to Charr’d The Hawker on a weekday. The newly-opened stall that is also Muslim-run is located along the same stretch of stalls at the lower floor of Golden Mile Food Centre where MaMa cakes - Authentic Hong Kong Dessert - 古早味香港甜品 is located; the stall being quite difficult to miss considering its rather minimalist signboard whilst the stall is also situated at a corner. Despite being newly-opened, it seems that some dishes have already been removed from the menu at Charr’d The Hawker; perhaps an attempt to streamline its operations — there are a few items on the menu which has been masked up by tape when we made our visit. That being said, the menu is being divided into categories dedicated to Starters, Mains (think chops and grills), Spaghetti and Extras (i.e. optional add-ons); a rather limited but decent selection of items that would suit the tastebuds of the masses.

Given how we were brought to Charr’d The Hawker for their charcoal-grilled items, it is needless to say that we had opted to go for the Chicken Chop which is being listed in the Mains section of the menu. There is some level of customisability for the Chicken Chop for their patrons here — patrons can choose to have either Garlic Butter Rice or Shoestring Fries to go alongside their chicken chop, while the chicken or sauces includes Black Pepper, Barbecue or Mushroom. We were also asked if we would like to have a Fried Bun to go alongside with the Chicken Chop, though this would be at an extra charge of $1 considering how this is an add-on from the Extra section of the menu — the Fried Bun being the same round bread roll that one would be served on their plates at establishments serving up old-school Hainanese-style western cuisine. For our order of the Chicken Chop, we went with the choice of Shoestring Fries and for the chicken chop to be drenched with their Mushroom sauce; it is noted that coleslaw comes served with the Chicken Chop by default. As excited as we should be, we decided to go straight for the slab of chicken here — served hot out of the charcoal grill, we already liked how it looks; the slab of chicken coming with noticeable char on the exterior. The slab of chicken was flavourful on its own; brined well, yet also carried quite an intense smoky note from the char-grill process; the meat was also tender and sufficiently juicy as well. The mushroom sauce comes sufficiently thick and was pretty flavourful on its own; came with some bits of button mushrooms for a bouncy bite. Meanwhile, we were pleasantly surprised by how the shoestring fries does come skin-on; these shoestring fries were well-seasoned with just the right level of saltish-ness whilst being sufficiently crisp. The coleslaw is also on-point; served chill, yet not too milky and delivered a good crunch which made it a refreshing respite from all the protein and starch.

Behind pretty much a one-man show (at least based on our observations during our visit), it seems that Charr’d The Hawker pretty much encapsulates the idea of being a hawkerpreneur in Singapore. Whilst they do not have an extensive menu to boast about, it seems that Charr’d The Hawker is very much a humble and down-to-earth operation that aspired to serve their patrons with their best; all that revolving around an offering that can be said as a enhanced version of what one can typically find elsewhere. Despite being the only one who is taking orders, receiving payments and preparing the food, the guy behind the counter is seemingly patient with his patrons — politely answering the patron’s queries and even providing some guidance should one be ever confused with the options that one can go for with their order. Sure; serving up char-grilled chops and grill over charcoal fire may not be a fresh idea — that being said, their offerings are actually pretty well-executed, with quite a fair bit of attention placed in the smaller details. For instance, the fries are only fried at the right time to ensure that the fries remain hot and crisp when the entire dish is ready to be served; the other elements on the plate that accompanies the chicken chop were also executed well enough not to compromise the overall experience of the dish. Prices of the Mains at Charr’d The Hawker ranges between $7.50 and $15; the only item that exceeds the price point of $10 being the Lamb Chop at $15. Meanwhile, the Spaghetti is priced from $5 to $10 — the lowest priced item being the Aglio Olio which comes without seafood / protein. With prices that are pretty relative to other stalls serving up western cuisine in a similar setting, Charr’d The Hawker does have an edge by offering something familiar yet with a slight touch of its own — a stall that is worth trying for those who are into charcoal-grilled local-style western fare!