Hawker Stall Sells Atas Wood-Fired Meat Platter With Tomahawk Steak For Festive Season

Sure, you can order grub from a restaurant or hotel for your Boxing Day or New Year’s Eve dinner. But if you’re looking for something a little less run-of-the-mill and better value for money — how about a gourmet platter from a hawker stall? Like this impressive selection of meats by the restaurant chefs-turned-hawkers behind Jofa Grill in Bukit Merah. It comes with a tomahawk steak, pork knuckle, whole grilled chicken and more — mostly cooked over wood fire. 

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Hawkers worked at Burnt Ends & Joël Robuchon Restaurant

Behind this modern Western food stall are Ong Jian Lin (left), 27, and Neo Jun Hao (right), 28. Jun Hao worked at the now-defunct three-Michelin-starred Joël Robuchon Restaurant in Resorts World Sentosa, while Jian Lin’s resume includes time at one-Michelin-starred Aussie barbecue temple Burnt Ends and steakhouse Butcher’s Block in Raffles Hotel.

The skills the duo picked up at the restaurants – especially using wood-fired grills – served them well when they ventured out as hawkers in September this year.

Woodfire-kissed elevated hawker fare for parties

As mentioned, their three-month-old hawker stall specialises in meats cooked over a smouldering bed of charcoal and lychee wood. The young hawkers decided to celebrate Jofa Grill’s first festive season with rather tempting platters.

Says Jun Hao, “We wanted a platter that’s value-for-money for our customers. Also, [we offered this because of] Jian Lin’s background at Burnt Ends – he’s used to cooking large-format portions of meat, like tomahawk steak and whole chicken. We can’t do this on a normal day in a hawker setting, but festive events give us an opportunity to showcase our skills. And it makes our jobs more fun, lah (laughs).”

He adds that these larger cuts can better show off the smokiness imparted by their cooking method: “Wood fire and charcoal tend to do better with bigger meats because we are able to cook it longer on the grill and flavour the meats more than usual. With our [everyday smaller] chicken chops, we can’t cook them as long because they would be overcooked.”

Jofa Luxury Platter, $238 (feeds six to eight pax)

Here’s what you can expect should you opt for the stall’s most expensive platter: an Australia-imported tomahawk steak (1.2 to 1.3kg rib-eye with its impressively long rib bone left intact; below) “cooked over wood and charcoal for 45 minutes”, a wood-smoked and flame-grilled chicken (also 1.2kg) and pork knuckle (1kg), cooked sous vide before it’s deep-fried till golden-brown.

These meats are paired with beef bourguignon (classic red wine French stew, portioned for four to six people), a five-sausage platter and hearty sides like seaweed fries, coleslaw, garlic bread, onion rings, crab tobiko mac & cheese and their buttery Joël Robuchon-inspired mashed potatoes (below). Sounds like a feast. It also comes with a 750ml bottle of Prosecco sparkling wine, fab for that celebratory toast on New Year’s Eve.

At $238, this is probably one of the fanciest hawker festive bundles out there – though we reckon it’s still cheaper than similarly-sized offerings from restaurants. Take note that the Christmas ham (which comes from a supplier) is an a la carte item ($28) and not included in any bundle.

Smaller platters from $98 if you’re on a budget

For cheaper platters, the Jofa Premium Platter (above) feeds five or six peeps for $138. The items are similar to the Luxury platter, minus the tomahawk steak and prosecco. There are also less sausages and sides.

For even smaller gatherings, try the Jofa Starter Platter for three to four ($98), which comes with only the pork knuckle, grilled chicken, three sausages, and some side dishes.

Orders available for delivery on 26 to 31 Dec

Orders must be made five days in advance via Jofa’s website, but it’s best to reserve your platter ASAP to avoid disappointment. Orders for Christmas weekend (Dec 23 to 25) are already fully booked, and we’re told that slots for Boxing Day (Dec 26) and New Year’s Eve (Dec 31) are filling up fast. Islandwide delivery fees are a flat $30 (more than usual due to “high demand for third-party delivery providers”), but you can save that cash by picking it up yourself from their kopitiam in Bukit Merah instead.

The platters will be available until January 10 (last orders on Jan 6), while stocks last.

The details

Order the platters from Jofa Grill here. Islandwide delivery (flat fee of $30) or self pick-up at #01-3683, 165 Bukit Merah Central, S150165. Last order for Boxing Day on Dec 22; New Year’s Eve on Dec 27. More info via Instagram.

Photos: Kelvin Chia, Jon Ho

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