Incredible Roasted Meat: “I would travel here just for these succulent Roasted Wings”
I’m a simple man when it comes to hawker food. When I’m not particularly craving for anything, a humble packet of chicken, char siew, or roasted pork with rice is my go-to. Hence, I can quite confidently say that I’m able to tell if a roasted meat stall is good just by looking at its offerings. Fortunately, Incredible Roasted Meat checks all the boxes.
The stall has been around for about 20 years and a husband-and-wife duo runs the operations.
They’re tucked away in an old coffeeshop in the cosy neighbourhood estate of Lavender. However, with Michelin-starred Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle and the frozen-in-time breakfast spot Heap Seng Leong just around the corner, it’s a lesser-known gem in the area.
We arrived right at the stroke of noon on a swelteringly hot weekday, thinking the place would be packed as we heard it would be. However, there wasn’t much of a queue—if at all—which was great for us, but quite lamentable for the husband-and-wife hawkers helming the stall, if one thinks deeper about it.
What I tried
Being the carnivores we were, we wanted to try everything, so we ordered the Mixed Platter (S$15) for two.
This item wasn’t actually on their menu, which only showed the rice and noodle options. As such, we shamelessly asked if there was a sampling platter of sorts, and were glad we did.
The platter came with not one, not two, but seven different types of meat!
First up, the Roasted Duck (S$5 with rice/noodles).
Personally, I tend to avoid ordering duck when having roasted meats. For, if not cooked right, eating it can be quite a jaw workout as the meat is either dry, tough, unpleasantly chewy, or all the above.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case for their Roasted Duck at Incredible Roasted Meat. The skin was juicy and the meat had some moisture and a decent bite to it. Having that said, the best had yet to come.
We went for the Chinese Sausage (S$4 – S$5 with rice/noodles) next and was mindblown. Unlike most other dishes where the lup cheong is only a supporting actor, it was a standout here.
To begin with, it was firm yet tender. Its natural savoury notes perfectly complemented the decadent black sauce which coated the meat. I’d never had lup cheong like this and you can imagine how life-changing a moment it was for me. My dining companion agreed too.
Keeping up with the streak, we tried the barbequed Chicken Wing (S$4 with rice/noodles) next. We had heard raved reviews of this item in particular and were looking forward to it the most.
To our great satisfaction, it lived up to its fame. Meaty and juicy, the wings had a smokey char to them, but that wasn’t all.
They also had a distinct honey-like sweetness from their glossy, caramelised glaze that permeated every bite we took. I certainly enjoyed every last bit of it, all the way up to the crispy wingtip.
We then moved on to the Pork Ribs (S$4 with rice/noodles), which we didn’t know was something they offered until I scrutinised the menu. We had thought it was chicken at first due to just how soft the meat was!
Succulent and decadent, it was unlike any pork ribs I’d had before indeed. It was also at this point we suspected that their sauce was the magic key to everything.
Next up was the Roasted Pork (S$4 with rice/noodles).
The siew yoke had only a slight crisp to its golden-brown skin. While there was a good amount of fat that provided much umami flavour and juice, we agreed it measured up to be only on the higher end of the ‘average’ category.
Similarly, the Char Siew (S$4 with rice/noodles) was pretty ordinary with nothing much to shout about in our humble opinion.
Personally, I felt that its texture leaned towards the tougher side of life. The saving grace was, once again, the same aforementioned sweet and luscious black sauce that accompanied it.
Nevertheless, we ended off strong with the Oyster Sauce Chicken (S$4 – S$5 with rice/noodles).
Silky smooth and supremely juicy, it was rich in umami. I loved how the skin added a tinge of saltiness to the overall flavour profile for an extra kick.
Like most roasted meat stalls, Incredible Roasted Meat offers chicken-flavoured rice too. But since they are Incredible Roasted Meat and not Incredible Chicken Rice, I’d say keep your expectations low for this one. I felt the rice could be oilier which would have made it much more flavourful.
On the other hand, the noodles were delish. They didn’t possess an alkaline taste that’s usually characteristic of egg noodles, which was a huge plus. Furthermore, they remained pleasantly springy even after we left them out for a while, and were also able to soak up the lip-coating gravy very well.
Final thoughts
After our meaty feast, my dining companion and I decided to rank our favourites. It was a unanimous vote for Incredible Roasted Meat’s Chicken Wing as number 1. So was it for the Sausage as number 2.
For number 3, we concurred that it was a tie between the Pork Ribs and Oyster Sauce Chicken. Hopefully, this will help all of you who are planning to give this hawker gem a try!
Expected damage: S$4 – S$7 per pax
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