I originally went to Geylang Bahru for dinner, but when I arrived, the food centre was closed for general cleaning. At first, it was a little bit inconvenient because I already had my mind set on having dinner there. But then again, I understand why these things need to happen.
Big hawker centres usually have scheduled closures for a few days so they can do a more thorough cleaning of the whole place. It may interrupt our dinner plans sometimes, but I actually appreciate it because it means the management is putting in effort to maintain the cleanliness and quality of the food centre. So even though my original plan didn’t happen, I wasn’t really annoyed by it.
Good thing there were still smaller food places nearby, so I decided to walk around and see what else I could have for dinner. That was how I ended up at Haoyouji.
Among the options around the area, Haoyouji caught my attention because of the roasted meats displayed at the counter. The roasted duck, roasted pork, and char siew were all hanging beautifully under the warm lights, looking glossy, smoky, and very appetizing. Sometimes the display itself is already enough to convince me, especially when the roasted meat looks like it has been prepared with care.
They also serve other dishes that are cooked upon order, but for me, the roasted meats looked like the main attraction. Many customers were ordering them too, so I thought it was a safe and good choice for dinner.
I chose the Roasted Meat Char Siew Rice.
Since I already had chicken during lunch, I wanted something different for dinner. The combination of roasted pork and char siew felt perfect for that craving. It gives you two different kinds of satisfaction in one plate. The roasted pork brings that savory, meaty, and slightly crispy bite, while the char siew gives a sweeter, stickier, and more caramelized flavor.
I really enjoyed switching between the two meats with every spoonful of rice. One bite would be more savory and roasted, then the next bite would be sweet and saucy from the char siew. That alternating flavor made the meal more enjoyable because it didn’t feel boring at all.
The sauce over the rice also helped bring everything together. It added that glossy, slightly sweet and savory coating that made the plain rice much more flavorful. I always think rice dishes like this work best when the sauce touches the rice just enough, so every spoonful has some flavor without becoming too wet.
Another thing that made the meal better was the pickled green chili on the side. I really like adding a little bit of chili when eating roasted meat rice because the tangy flavor cuts through the richness of the meat. That combination of savory roasted pork, sweet char siew, warm rice, and tangy pickled chili was really satisfying.
The only small issue for me was the vegetable portion. There was a bit of steamed vegetable on the plate, but I wished there was more of it. The bright green vegetable added a nice fresh balance to the dish, so having a bigger portion would have made the meal feel more complete. Maybe next time I should order a separate vegetable dish too, so I can make the dinner more satisfying and slightly healthier. LOL.
Overall, my unexpected dinner at Haoyouji turned out to be a nice one. What started as a small change of plan became a simple but enjoyable roasted meat meal. The roasted pork and char siew combination was flavorful, satisfying, and definitely worth trying again.
