88 Hong Kong Roast Meat Specialist @ Tyrwhitt Road - Legendary Sio Bak Has Re-Located And Up His Game

My favourite sio bak stall has moved again. Since I was first introduced to Martin's roasted meat stall when he was in Tampines, I have been following his movement when he moved to Johor, Malaysia and back in Singapore at Bukit Batok and Foch Road. 88 Hong Kong Roast Meat Specialist has now moved down the road to Qinan Building at Tyrwhitt Road.

Sio Bak 4.8/5

With his new location, a group of us organised a trip down to support his new opening. Of course we have to order his famed Roasted Pork Belly or Sio Bak. The beautiful layers of meat with its biscuity crackling skin is still as good as afar. Only one word to describe it, this is shiok!

Roasted Duck 4.5/5

An item that Martin has been able to improve with time is the Roasted Duck. The glistering skin was has a slight crispiness on top of the fat and juicy duck meat. The group of us all agreed that the roasted duck today was top notch. Looks like Martin has mastered another dish using his Apollo oven.

Char Siew 4.2/5

I still remembered that when I first tried Martin's char siew I did not like it. Over time he has improved on the roasting. Now the char siew has a nice coat of sweetness that is complemented by the bitterness of the exterior charred. Martin has purposely roasted in darker for that balance and aroma.

Soya Sauce Chicken 3.8/5 and Chicken Rice 4.5/5

With the relocation, Martin has also hired a new chef who used to work in a popular chicken rice chain to offer Soya Sauce Chicken and Chicken Rice on the menu. The soya sauce chicken is cooked to an enjoyable texture but I did not like the gooey sauce that is drenched over the chopped chicken. I thought it masked the appreciation of the nature flavours.

By the way, I would highly recommend to ask for the Chicken Rice instead of white rice even if you are having other roasted meat. The new chef cooks a plate of delicious and aromatic chicken rice infused with the essence of chicken, garlic and ginger. Not forgetting the tangy chilli sauce made by the new chef. It goes very well with the rice, chicken and even the sio bak.


88 Hong Kong Roast Meat Specialist
Qinan Building
153 Tyrwhitt Road
Singapore 207566
Nearest MRT: Lavender (EW Line), Bendemeer (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 8pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Lavender MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop at Lavender MRT station (Stop ID 01311). Take bus number 133 or 145. Alight 2 stops later. Walk to Tyrwhitt Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Lavender MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to Horne Road. Walk down Horne Road. Turn right onto Tyrwhitt Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

3) Alight at Bendemeer MRT station. Take Exit. Walk to the junction of Lavender Street and Kallang Bahru. Cross the road. Turn right and walk down Lavender Street. Turn left onto Trwhitt Road. Walk to destination. Journe time about 10 minutes. [Map]

Alter Ego @ Esplanade Mall - The Evil Twin Of A Poke Theory

Like the other naughty sister of A Poke Theory, Alter Ego at Esplanade Mall offers the opposite of healthy and clean eating. The menu at Alter Ego is ideal for your cheat day offering deep fried, butter, cheesy and greasy food items, that is best to wash down with a few bottles of craft beers.

Fried Chicken Skin 4.2/5

The Fried Chicken Skin ($8) is super addictive. I could not stop myself from going for more of the crispy chicken skin rubbed and fried with a southern spice mix. I really hope they will be sending this for takeaway.

Buffalo Wings 3.5/5

A delightful bar snack to go with a bottle of beers is the Buffalo Wings ($14). The wings are brined, twice-baked and then tossed in a spicy and tangy buffalo sauce, served with house-made ranch at the side.

Loaded Taters 4/5

I was puzzled with the name of the dish. Loaded Taters ($13), what exactly is it? The crispy tater tots turned out to be mini hash brown doused mercilessly in a spicy jalapeno cheese sauce, maple-glazed bacon and sour cream. If you are up for challenge, you can splash some hot sauce to give i a fiery kick.

Pizza Fries 3/5

The Pizza Fries ($14) is your ultimate sinful dish. There are layers of fries, smoky pepperoni, three cheese sauce with house-made bacon ketchup at the side. It is too much for me to handle.

Grilled Cheese with Braised Beef Short Rib 4.2/5

A highly recommended item on the menu will be the Grilled Cheese ($11) with Braised Beef Short Rib filling (addition of $3). Diners will have a choice of gruyere or taleggio cheese to go between the two slices of artisanal white loaves. Dunk the parcel of toasted sandwich into the homemade tomato dip for an elevated enjoyment with all the flavours coming together.

Chilli Cheese Dog 4.5/5

The Chlli Cheese Dog ($14) was rather a dark horse on the menu. The grilled cheddar sausages is topped with their flavourful sweet and spicy house-made beef mince which was mind blowing. The is finished with sour cream and melted cheddar cheese, stuffed in a buttery griddled bun.

Green Goddess (Vegan) 4.5/5

The evil twin does have its good side too as it does offer a eat clean menu with pre-set 5 poke bowls. We tried both the Green Goddess ($13) and Umami Omega ($16). The Green Goddess comes with avocado poke on nutty brown rice, served with fresh ingredients, premium of kimchi and Peruvian pomegranate topped with alfafa sprouts. This is a perfect for the vegan eater.

Umami Omega 4.5/5

For those that loves salmon and spicy, the Umami Omega is the perfect choice. It comes with spicy garlic sesame salmon on our signature sushi rice, served with fresh ingredients and premiums of lime avocado and kale chips, topped with ikura, alfafa sprouts.

Having eaten at both A Poke Theory and Alter Ego, I would prefer the evil twin for the larger menu, bold and rich flavours. Even the poke bowls are more premium and tasty.

Noted: This is an invited tasting.


Alter Ego
Esplanade Mall
8 Raffles Avenue
#01-13D
Singapore 039802
Tel: +65 63279345
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Esplanade

Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu: 11am - 1am
Fri: 11am - 2am
Sat: 10am - 2am
Sun: 10am - 1am

Direction:
1) Alight at Esplanade MRT station. Take Exit B or D. Walk to Raffles Avenue. Cross the road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]