This bowl may look slightly unassuming but don’t be fooled! I did my due diligence in researching on what was worth the eat here at @babachews & received intel that this X.O. Pork Belly Char Siew Rice Bowl ($19) was the crowd pleaser. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 True enough, my friend & I unanimously agreed that this was the better of the 2 mains that we tried! 😍
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Featuring homemade pork belly char siew 🐖, egg sunny side-up 🍳, fragrant Hainanese-style 'oil' rice 🍚 & premium X.O. sauce (spicy seafood sauce), this is what I call a ‘zhng-up’ (upgraded) version of the classic Roasted Char Siew Rice that we get at hawker centres 😋😋😋 - I had to explain to @hungryauds that this was the same as those char siew that donned a bright red coat, just less the colouring! 😂
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The highlight has got to be the char siew! 💕 With a nice lean-fat ratio, the char siew was juicy & tender, which gave an explosion of flavours especially when eaten with the special savoury-sweet glaze. 🤤🤤🤤 Although I would have liked it even more if the meats were more charred for the ultimate smoky flavours, this was certainly an enjoyable treat. 💯 Try it with the X.O. sauce to get a savoury seafood umami that cuts the sweetness of the caramelized pork glaze. 👏🏻
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I was wrong thinking that the Hainanese-style 'oil' rice would be the same as that of Hainanese Chicken Rice! 😂 Didn’t taste the same (to me if reminded me of the steamed rice in Fan Choy) but I quite liked this savoury version too! 😋😋😋 Very fragrant & fluffy & most importantly, it wasn’t greasy! 👍🏻 The sunny side-up & crunchy blanched greens 🥬 helped to cut any greasiness to make the overall taste profile a more balanced one.
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Would certainly recommend this for you to try! 💕