Hey Hive!
Even though there are still people getting covid, it's basically being treated like a cold these days so thankfully almost everything is back to normal now! There are no more restrictions on dining these days and you don't even have to wear a mask anymore if you don't want to! It's a huge relief and this allows us to try out different food places again!
Anyway, we had some overseas friends visiting and the day they were set to fly off (which is New Years' Eve) we went to see them off at the airport but before that we had some lunch at JEWEL, the famous mall at Changi Airport with the biggest indoor waterfall in the world!
Other than the waterfall, JEWEL is basically a huge mall with lots of shops and restaurants. But since it is at the airport everything is a little bit pricier compared to the mainland. It is a nice mall though, and some locals come here just for the mall and shops even if they're not traveling.
Anyway, for lunch we decided to try out this restaurant called Kam's Roast since this was one of the more premium restaurants as I didn't want to spend too much on a light meal. We figured the food court would be quite crowded especially since it was a public holiday.
Kam's Roast began as a family legacy from 1942 when Mr Kam Shui Fai opened a restaurant in HK that became a destination for discerning diners worldwide. It specialises in Cantonese cuisine known as sīuméi or 燒味 kao wei in Chinese, which is basically meats roasted on spits or over an open wood fire. The roast meat tends to be coated with a saccharine marinade—usually honey or maltose sugar—before being fully cooked. It's one of my favourite cuisines/dishes and is my go-to order at a hawker centre.
Source: eatbook
I don't think I've heard of this restaurant before but apparently they were awarded 1 star in the Michelin Guide Hong Kong Macau since 2015! They even say so at the front of the restaurant under all the hanging meats which looked soo good! We've never tried a Michelin Star Restaurant before so this was going to a new experience.
Since this was at the airport, they allowed travelers to leave their luggage at the entrance of the restaurant instead of bringing them inside where it would take up space and block the walkways.
The restaurant itself looks nice and homey but it did seem a little cramped with the tables quite close together. Thankfully it was after the peak lunch hour so it wasn't crowded.
There were some booths on the right side of the restaurant which looked more comfortable but since those are mostly for 4 people we were shown to a table for 2 instead.
Here's the menu, which features their roasted meats like chicken, duck and pork of course.
They also have marinated dishes as well as different combinations if you want to try a little of everything, which is helpful when you don't have a huge party but still want some variety. But compared to hawker centers Kam's has different types of Char Siew from different breeds of pigs which I thought were quite unique. You can't find iberico char siew just anywhere.
You can also order a set with rice or noodles just like what you'd find in a normal hawker centre, but since this is in a Michelin-star restaurant on top of being at the airport the prices are easily doubled or triple what you'd find in the heartland. We gave into it though since we wanted to try it.
Sean ordered a rice set with roasted pork belly and BBQ pork char siu which looked pretty good, but the rice did look quite plain. We assumed it would come with some sauce at least but the cuts of meat were just sitting on plain white rice.
Unfortunately they didn't have a roast combination with the roasted duck. I assume that is their main specialty of meat or it must be the most expensive. So I ordered the roast pork belly and roast chicken noodle set instead. My favourite is the roast pork anyway so I was fine with that.
The noodles also looked a bit too dry, without much gravy if at all, which is also a little disappointing since I'm used to it coming with some sauce at the bottom even though it's "dry" noodle. The meat did look promising though at least.
Upon further inspection I did find a little sauce but it's still not as flavourful as I would've liked or tried at different hawker stalls. Typically dry noodles would come with some mixture of soy sauce and oyster sauce or sesame oil at the bottom along with chili but this was just plain ol' noodles.
The meats did look and taste really good though! The pork belly was nice and crispy, the meat was juicy, the BBQ pork had a nice soft and chewy texture and the marinade was sweet and a little savoury. The roast chicken was nice and smooth too and had just a little soy sauce taste.
The roast pork was definitely still my favourite but the BBQ char siew was right on par with it I think. I don't have much of a sweet tooth so I don't order it often but this one was definitely worth it.
Overall though I think we've definitely tasted better than this in hawker centres. I know it's not a fair comparison but seeing as this was a Michelin-star restaurant we had slightly higher expectations and were a little disappointed it was kinda average in the end. Maybe it was just a different style than we're used to but personally I wouldn't eat this again unless there was really nothing else at the airport which is unlikely since JEWEL is full of restaurants and food stalls not to mention the actual airport.
It was still an interesting experience though if only to cement our belief that we know what food we like best; budget food in hawker centres > expensive Michelin star restaurants any day. I'd say only if you're really craving the meats at the airport you can try Kam's Roast, if not there are plenty of other options for food at JEWEL.
Thanks so much for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
