Last Sunday, my friend sent a 8-days-magazine link on Facebook about a new stall that recently opened for business at Ayer Rajah food centre; a place we occasionally visit for lunch.
Bowl Chap - a cheeky play of word for a local slang that's translated to "can't be bothered"; the stall name might not be exactly comforting for diners as i believe we would prefer to have a chef who CAN be bothered with what was served to us! Anyway, it can also refer to a chap who loves his bowls!
Whatever the case, it's easy to remember (just like my favourite Waa Cow) although the play of word can be a double-edged sword. For example, my friends would joke "Waa Cow, so expensive!" and if food at bowl chap fails to impress, the joke would be "the chef really bochup sia".
Guess that's why i am here; to ascertain if the operator couldn't be bothered. Oh well, i don't think a bochup chef would take the trouble to serve you koshihikari rice; said to super premium short grain Japanese rice.
And miso soup was also provided for free (self service) from the pot next to the collection point. My personal grouch is that the soup pot was a bit too high for shorties like me.
5-Spice Apple Braised Pork Belly Don - it's important to read the ingredients (if available) before ordering as i didn't and regretted my choice! Reason being i don't enjoy black fungus (often leave them untouched) and this don was filled with black fungus! Imagine the look on my face when i collected my order. Thankfully, my colleague was more than happy to take most of the black fungus!
Other than the black fungus, i was impressed with the overall appearance of the don that has a local twist; a serving of braised pork belly, a portion of black fungus with carrots and hijiki, a cluster of paprika-spiced crispy popiah skin, a perfect onsen egg in the middle and a bed of koshihikari rice drenched with braised sauce!
For a meat-lover, the main star was obviously the 5-spice apple braised pork belly and it sure didn't disappoint with a tender texture (said to be marinated overnight) and an appetising flavour that wasn't as sweet as expected.
The chef could have been more generous with the meat as i cleaned up the bowl feeling a little less than satisfying. Nonetheless, there's an option to add extra braised pork belly, at a charge if you are in need of more fats and protein.
I was given a piece of chicken from my colleague's chicken karaage with tonkatsu mayo don and thought it's really good with moist and juicy insides topped with a delish unique mayo-sauce dressing!
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Location
503 West Coast Drive,
#01-80, Ayer Rajah Food Centre,
Singapore 120503.
Facebook Page
Menu
As above.
Pricing
5-Spice Apple Braised Pork Belly Don - S$5.80
Pricing
5-Spice Apple Braised Pork Belly Don - S$5.80