Toast and Roast

October 2010

Continuing in my indefatigable quest to unearth all worthy char siew specimens for fellow aficionados wherever said dish may be, my latest discovery shall be documented as entry number 26 and will read as follows in the Ultimate Char Siew Compendium:

An important lesson learnt during my exhaustive studies on char siew: always conduct your research with like-minded dining companions. Anyone less than absolutely zealous can distract you from your mission, or worse, detract from the experience of swoon worthy char siew, if you are lucky enough to stumble on such an eatery. Thankfully I was in the company of two fellow enthusiasts when we visited Toast and Roast, because the char siew there, while not the best I’ve eaten, is nonetheless pretty good.

Advantage number one: its location in a quiet nook in SS2 with fairly ample parking. Advantage number two: a well-spoken proprietress with obvious management skills as the food arrived very promptly. Advantage number three: very fair prices that can encourage excessive eating, and advantage number four (and this is key): just-right char siew that is concurrently abundantly marbled and encased in caramelised skin that’s happily not excessively sweet. Normally I’d vehemently advise against ordering side dishes when eating char siew, but at Toast and Roast, the Hakka noodles crowned with minced meat and crumbs of crunchy fish skin work because the clean, crisp flavours of the noodles serve to flatter the flavour of the pork whilst simultaneously making the fat a little less overwhelming.

Toast and Roast is not a one-trick pony, and roast pork, dumplings and other dishes people a relatively modest menu. But in my opinion, why on earth would you want to waste time flirting with the stand-ins when the star of the show is yours for the taking? Fay Khoo