KL Shao Roast – Cantonese Sio Bak & Char Siew in the East

Hidden at a quiet corner in Katong Plaza is KL Shao Roast, a stand-alone store famous for their roast meats! It started in June 2016, when the owner Pearl left the corporate sector and decided to pursue her calling as a hawker.

The title KL – Kuala Lumpur – Shao Roast was inspired by Pearl’s stay in Kuala Lumpur, where she first learnt the craft of roasting char siew! After various attempts to refine the recipe along with other roast meats, we now see on our plates the roast meats that is the result of Pearl’s hard work.

On our day of visit, we ordered the 3 meats with noodles ($6.50), which came with egg noodles, vegetables, bite-sized portions of glistening roast pork char siew and soy sauce chicken, as well as a small bowl of soup with wantons.

There was a slight crunch on the roast pork before giving way to the slightly dry meat. Personally, I’d prefer the roast meat to have a bit more fats, but my health conscious friend like that the layers of meat are leaner and good with chilli.

While we are all too familiar with the taste of char siew, KL Shao Roast delivers a uniquely tasting char siew which may surprise diners. Underlying this simple-looking Char Siew is a complexity of flavours – an initial overly sweet and flowery sensation which is preceded by a subtle charred taste.

The chicken was pretty decent and pairs well with the chilli with a strong garlic aftertaste. Slurp on their perfectly al-dente noodles tossed in their homemade sambal chilli and lard for a combustion of flavours, the noodles retain a firm bite and springy texture!

The meat filling in the wanton was nicely moist and slightly peppery.

Because of the recent video post on KL Shao Roast, queues are expected and each customer is only limited to 200g of meat as they want to serve more customers to avoid disappointment.