From the woman who brought you quirky char siew bouquets and char siew necklaces via her home-based biz Char Seal (“extra char, sealed with love” is the explanation for the punny name), comes a full blown char siew store – and boy, you don’t wanna miss it.

Tucked in the quiet Havelock II shopping mall, which also houses popular bakery Bundt by the Backyard Bakers, Char Seal Bar isn’t actually a bar, but a cheery cafe where proprietress Ashley Cheng, 35 (right, pictured with her hubby Jasper), serves up the Chinese barbecued pork in modern ways with Japanese rice, Indomee noodles, mantou and fries.

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It started with a HBB

Like many store openings we’ve been covering lately, this one too begins with a successful home-based business. Since April last year, Ashley, an insurance agent, sold char siew on a pre order-only basis while pregnant with twins Anders and Anwil. "I have many mouths to feed," she laughs, adding that her husband felt her char siew was good enough to sell, so she decided to give it a shot.

Her recipe was cobbled together from YouTube videos and two months of trial and error. The bubbly mother of three, who cooks at home, also has an older son Anshel, five.

No seals here

Ashley’s HBB was previously covered by media for selling pieces of sweet pork in flower bouquets for Valentine’s and strung on a necklace for Mother’s Day. It did well enough that the lady boss decided to open a physical restaurant on November 22 to "capture those customers who don't want to pre-order".

An insurance agent of 14 years, Ashley says she can afford to step back a little from work to launch the store and hire staff. For now, she's training up a kitchen assistant while running the front of house, a role she's hoping to outsource, too.

So kawaii

The Instagrammable 25-seater space is a 10 minute walk from Chinatown MRT and cost $180,000 to set up.

The space is decked out in pinks, yellows, and blues courtesy of Ashley’s hubby Jasper Wong, 40, who owns an interior design company. It's comfy and cute, but definitely unusual for a char siew joint.

“I wanted something colorful because Covid is so sad,” Ashley says, lamenting: “People think it’s an ice cream place, so they don't really come in for lunch.” It’s a pity, because the meat’s great. But more on that later.

Yes, there’s booze

Drink offerings include gin, sake, wine, sangria and unique options like Sunbird Moutai White Ale ($16) and Lavender Earl Grey Blonde Ale ($13). There’s also The Unique Char Seal Pairing Experience ($39): a flight of six alcoholic drinks, paired with char siew dipped in six sauces.

For those staying dry, we recommend teas from local brand Roji, which come in unusual options like Milky Popcorn, Melona Manpuku and Koku Yuzu Kukicha ($3.90 each) that help cut through the richness of the fatty meat.

Look at those layers

Ashley’s Malaysian-style char siew is darker and fattier than the Singapore version, which is leaner and artificially coloured. She makes her meat the way she likes to eat it: extra charred and rather fatty, which starts with selecting cuts of Duroc pork belly from Spain from gourmet supplier Angliss.

These specimens boast alternating “crepe-like” layers of fat and lean meat that she claims makes the final product much less cloying. We’re doubtful at first, but she turns out to be right.

Kiwi juice marinade

After removing the topskin, the pork spends two days in a secret marinade of 16 ingredients, including dark soy sauce with red dates, superior light soy sauce (“you can’t get it here except directly through a supplier”), premium Shaoxing wine, and the juice of golden kiwis — the acidity in the latter softens the meat and imparts a natural sweetness. The atas ingredients also explain the higher price tag. Last, the marinated meat is steamed and roasted simultaneously in a combi oven for extra tenderness.

Thick cuts

The char siew in every dish is the same stuff, made fresh throughout the day. It comes with original sauce (more on sauces below.) No namby pamby slivers here, but proper cuts that look like thick squares of mini toast.

Currently, Ashley gets through 25kg of char siew a day, double what she sold during her HBB days, but still some way from her goal of 100kg. When we visit, Havelock II is unfortunately rather deserted, which Ashley says she liked at first as it allowed her to get used to running a restaurant without too much stress. However, fewer walk-in customers also means she now has to focus on drumming up business.

Char Seal Don, $12.90 (8 DAYS Pick!)

This char siew is delicious. Outstandingly smoky, beautifully tender, just sweet enough from the kiwi juice, with a lovely savoury lift from the soy sauces in the marinade. It tastes much less fatty than it actually is – so lean meat lovers might actually find it pleasant – but still fatty enough that we don’t have any delusions that we're eating something healthy. The crust is burnt to a cancerous-looking jet black, but we don’t care: it crumbles away in the mouth to add just the perfect touch of crunch and bitterness. There's a secret to getting the meat as smoky and tender as it is in the oven, Ashley admits, but won't reveal what it is.

The meat, good on its own, also makes for a yummy meal paired with Japanese short grain rice and a runny onsen egg, though given how artery clogging the pork is, we could do with the oily broccoli being grilled or blanched, not deep-fried. Eight slices of char siew (about 100g) might seem a bit little for big eaters, but because it’s fatty meat, it goes a long way. Additional char siew costs $8.90 per 100g (the minimum top up is 300g at $25).

Char Seal Special Noodle, $13.90

Comes with Indomee, egg, broccoli, tobiko, pork lard, and eight slices of char siew. We’d prefer traditional egg noodles, because the processed-tasting instant mee doesn't quite gel with the premium meat.

Char Seal Fries, $14.90

Shoestring fries dressed in truffle oil and covered in chopped char siew bits (about five pieces, or 60g), shredded parmesan, and a sweet sauce mixed with more truffle oil. We can smell the truffle, but can’t taste the cheese. The meat shines better served in thick slices.

All-Day Breakfast, $24 (8 DAYS Pick!)

A surprisingly delish option. Cut open the pillowy-soft, Instagrammable braided mantou buns, stuff in some lettuce and char siew (eight slices), top with a drizzle of sauce, and you’ve got a DIY char siew pau or a sweet riff on a kong bak pau.

The price is a little steep, but so are brunch plates at most cafes and at least the ‘bacon’ (char siew) here is made from scratch. Although we still prefer savoury bacon rather than sweet meat for breakfast, this is an unusual and fun twist that we enjoy.

Pork Rind, $5.90

A labour-intensive creation requiring the pork to be boiled for two hours, the skin removed, then the rind dehydrated for 14 hours and deep-fried in a seasoning mix including garlic powder and chilli. For all that effort, we really want to love it, but though it’s puffy and crispy and served in big pieces, it tastes a bit like styrofoam.

Signature House Sauces, $2 each

We like all six sauces. There’s the original sauce, which is thicker than typical, smoky but a touch too sweet. The truffle sauce boasts truffle oil and a lovely earthy scent, while the yuzu sauce, made with yuzu paste, finishes off in fragrant, tangy notes.

Meanwhile the garlic sauce, containing fresh and fried garlic, packs a brief, pungent punch.

The mala sauce, infused with mala spices, has an authentic heat, while the wasabi sauce is made of fresh grated horseradish with a spiciness you'll feel in your nose.

Bottom line

Look past the cute gelato parlour decor and you’ll be rewarded with impressive, just-fatty-enough barbecued pork imprinted with savoury and caramel notes, finished with some bitterness from an unabashedly charred crust. We're pleasantly surprised by how well the meat works in Japanese-style dons and mod brekkie plates — this is clearly char siew for millennials, served in a space designed to appeal to the younger crowd. Still, it’s solid char siew that’s worth the cafe prices.

The details

Char Seal Bar is at 2 Havelock Rd, Havelock II, #01-02, S059763. Open daily except Sun 11am - 10pm. More info via Facebook or Instagram.

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Photos: Aik Chen