Look, I know @roastparadise has been slinging out highly acclaimed roast meats since…2016? 2017? Yes, they’ve been around for years, and it’s only in 2023 that I’ve finally cleared my calendar to sample their sustenance.⠀
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Their claim(s) to fame are their char siew (BBQ pork) & siew yoke (crispy roast pork), so it was only right that I get both greatest hits with rice ($5.50 a bowl). The rice was subtly flavoured, almost like a slightly bland chicken rice, and it’s definitely a slight upgrade on regular ol’ white rice. As for the meats, the char siew retained a surprisingly excellent texture & chew despite being chopped into small bits. The exterior of the char siew, which was lovingly lathered with copious amounts of char siew marinade, transformed into a crisp crust cocooning the fatty pork within. The charred exterior is crisp and it will stick to your teeth.⠀
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As for the pork itself, it was insanely fatty, and I could see it getting surfeiting after a couple of servings. Still, the meat was more than amply flavoured thanks to the char siew marinade penetrating deep into every meaty morsel, and the amount of fat was a tad overkill when it came to lubing up the mouthwatering meat. Unfortunately, the roast pork performed poorly. It was chopped into such thin slices that the crunch of the beautifully browned rind was wasted, and a porky musk permeated the fat on the pork. Bit of a shame really.⠀
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In all fairness though, at just $5.50 a bowl for both roast pork variants over rice, it’s quite an economical deal. Plus, Roast Paradise has got cabbage soup that you’re more than welcome to help yourself to. Roast Paradise might be sorta overhyped, but don’t let that distract from the fact that their char siew is mad decent.