El Brasa: Halal-friendly hawker Samyang pasta, charcoal burgers w juicy pulled beef & crispy mentaiko fries
The newly-opened Bukit Batok West Hawker Centre is another food win for the Westies! I covered its opening and visited it on its first day of operations a couple of weeks back. During that trip, El Brasa stood out; the interesting menu items had drawn me to it.
The vendor, Mr Lim, has years of hawker experience in Chinese cuisine but ventured into serving halal Western hawker food, hoping to provide the dishes at affordable prices to appeal to the younger generation. The stall is currently in the process of applying for a halal certification.
El Brasa is said to have been popular even from its soft launch when the hawker centre opened. Customer favourites include the Signature Chicken Chop (S$7.90) and Grilled Salmon (S$13.90) but I decided to go for some of the more unique bestsellers.
What I tried at El Brasa
I had already chosen a few dishes based on my gut feeling before the arrival, so I was delighted to hear that they were the most recommended ones.
We started off our feast with the Mentaiko Fries (S$5). El Brasa is best known for its fries, which are deep-fried in small batches for the best quality.
Our fries, taken from the freshest batch, were drizzled with Japanese mayonnaise and orange-pink mentaiko sauce and sprinkled with a seaweed topping. Unable to resist temptation, we each stabbed a fork into the pile of potatoes once my camera had eaten its fill.
On their own, the fries were glorious. Fried a deep golden, the thick-cut strips were soft and fluffy on the inside and lightly crisp on the outside without being too greasy. With the toppings, it was an addictive medley of potato and creamy fish roe sauce with umami from the nori flakes and salt. Even I, who doesn’t like an overload of mayonnaise, found it enjoyable, though a tad indulgent in big bites.
Our second dish was El Brasa’s Samyang Prawn Pasta (S$8.50) inspired by the viral buldak carbonara instant noodles, studded with shiitake mushrooms and topped with 4 prawns.
My first bite of the fragrant noodles with sauce was heaven in pasta form. The al dente spaghetti picked up the spicy cream sauce in its crevices as it twirled, resulting in the richest and most flavourful bite. While not instantly spicy, the heat of the chilli hit the back of my throat after each mouthful.
My friend commented that the pasta sauce tasted more like a gochugaru cream sauce rather than like the original instant noodle dish, and I agreed. Nonetheless, it was delicious!
Though the prawns weren’t gigantic, they were still larger than the shrimps I am used to seeing in cheap hawker pasta. Furthermore, each had been meticulously deshelled without wasting even the bits at the tail. This made eating them simpler as I just had to pop each piece in my mouth to savour the bouncy and ocean-fresh flesh.
The shiitake mushrooms added savoury-sweet earthy notes to the spicy pasta. It wasn’t a combination I expected, but still one that worked well. I also enjoyed the chewiness of each slice, though some were slightly tougher than others.
Finally, we tried the Pulled Beef Burger (S$12.90) with El Brasa’s signature pulled beef and a side of fries.
The black charcoal burger buns topped with sesame seeds were quite the sight. Flavour-wise, there wasn’t much to comment about; the charcoal seemed to be there solely for presentation. They were soft enough but not as fluffy as I’d hoped, though still alright overall.
Inside, there was a mayonnaise spread, lettuce, pulled beef and caramelised onions.
The pulled beef was so amazing that I wished I could order a whole plate alone. Still dripping with gravy, the beefy shreds were perfectly soft after being slow-cooked for hours. When I say that the meat was so addictively juicy and tender that I couldn’t stop eating it, I mean it wholeheartedly. It shone even without the help of the buns and additional toppings!
To my surprise, the caramelized onions weren’t sweet. Instead, they tasted sharp and savoury, possibly due to the type of onions they used. This, however, was a great complement to the beef.
Final Thoughts
Well, colour me impressed. That was a decent meal! I daresay you could claim these dishes were from a restaurant and I’d genuinely believe it. Crispy fries, tender pulled beef, flavourful pasta with sauce – what could be better than this?
My friend fell in love with the Samyang Pasta at first bite. While it might not have tasted exactly like Samyang instant noodles, she found it wonderfully spicy and creamy. This alongside the pulled beef was my favourite, though the buns were just average in my opinion.
Since El Brasa is a stone’s throw away from my area, I’ll bring my friends and family here for lunch or dinner in the future!
Expected damage: S$8.50 – S$13.50 per pax
Order Delivery: Deliveroo
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