Wednesday 20 July 2016

[CLOSED] Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint – The Legendary Dark Char Siew [MEDIA INVITE]

Kay Lee Roast Meat @ Tanjong Katong

In October 2014, Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint ('Kay Lee') was bought over by Public Listed Aztech Group for $4 million (About $2 million for the property). With such significant price, all eyes has been on how Kay Lee will be able to perform after the takeover. Since then, the single store Kay Lee has expanded to seven (7) outlets island wide.

The Roast Duck on display

Kay Lee is known for its legendary Dark Char Siew. While I never tried Kay Lee Char Siew before, LD is very familiar with it as the original Kay Lee in Paya Lebar was nearby her previous workplace. This review is specifically for Kay Lee Tanjong Katong outlet.

The combi plate here comes with the Signature Roast Duck and Crackling Roast Pork priced at $44 for large platter. The serving is supposed to be good for six persons.

Combi Platter - Large with Sauce

While people will think that the roast meat are supposed to be the main attraction of Kay Lee, LD said the liquid gold (the dark sauce with the meat) is actually the main star here. Of course she is right. The balance of sweet and savoury sauce is perfect and it really kick start your appetite. Once you mix it with the rice you can polish up the rice even without the meat. OISHIII!!

Though the Char Siew looks burnt on the exterior, it was not bitter due to the sweetness from the honey. The meat is tender and succulent, however we all find the meat was a bit lean for our liking. We like our Char Siew fatter.

Combi Platter - Large (Different Angle)

The roast duck was juicy and tasty. The skin is slightly crispy and the dark meat close to the bone is better compare to the breast meat. Meanwhile the roast pork lacks of its signature crispiness. There was only a faint of crackling sound when you bit through the skin. To be fair, it was close to 8PM when we tried roast pork, probably it has gone soggy.

Wanton Noodle

As a roast meat joint, the common alternative dishes on the menu will be Wanton Noodle $5 and Shrimp Dumpling Noodle $5. The noodles are cooked to al-dente, soft yet with springy texture to it. The wanton has a nice crunch to with followed with the aromatic sesame oil. While the shrimp dumpling has a good texture combination between the shrimp and black fungus. The gravy on the noodle was decent, however I decided to add the char siew sauce into it just to pump up the flavour.

Shrimp Dumpling Noodle

Kay Lee savoury meat roll (Ngo Hiang - $6.90) was served at the start. It has a nice crisp exterior paired with moist fillings and crispy chestnut. The dipping sauce on the side is sweet and tangy, a good companion for the meat roll.

Kay Lee savoury meat roll
Hand Model: 
https://www.instagram.com/i_post_for_love/

Kay Lee also offer a range of double boiled soup. We sampled their Salted Vegetables and duck soup ($4.50). The broth has a light green in colour from the salted vegetables. It is salty filled with the essence of the duck and a notch or two kick from the ginger. While the soup is good, it can be better if you can taste sweet and sour from the sour plum. There is a current promotion at this outlet, any single roast meat with rice plus double boil soup is priced at $6.90. You can add $1 for any drinks (except for honey plum drink).

Salted Vegetables and duck soup

The set-up of the shop in Tanjong Katong is more geared towards functional rather than aesthetic. The roast meat are displayed on the outside. You place your order when you get into the restaurant, make payment and collect your order. It is a self-service system.

Honey Plum,  Homemade Barley, Red Roselle Tea & Ice Citrus

Drawing from LD past experience at the original Kay Lee, she found that a chunk the old touch was missing. Though the signature sauce and char siew are still very good, the rest of the dishes do not give us the WOW factor. Hopefully this can be improve to give other Kay Lee loyal customers a more consistent Kay Lee roast meat dining experience. Cheers!!

Thank you very much to Purple Eats and Kay Lee Team for the tasting invitation. 

Food & Drink: 6.75/10
Value: 6.75/10
Service: n/a (tasting invitation)
Ambiance: 6.5/10
Budget per Person: $0 - $10

Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint
283 Tanjong Katong Road
Singapore 437066

T: +65 6594 2204
IG: @Kayleeroastmeatjoint
OH:
Mon – Fri: 12.00 – 21.00
Sat, Sun & PH: 11.00 – 21.00

Information on other outlet is available online.
Please note that the menu, price and promotion between outlet might vary.

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