Mad Charcoal: Meet The Western Dong Po Pork

Updated: Jul 6, 2023

Tender, juicy pork belly that's a fusion of food flavours from the East and the West.

Pork belly has always been one of my favourite cuts of pork, but usually when it's crusted with crispy crackling — and the meat has to be tender and juicy. However, Mad Charcoal's grilled pork belly has turned out to be another delicious proposition that stood out to me recently. And I'm loving it!

Nestled in an industrial estate's non-airconditioned food court, Mad Charcoal has been claimed to serve up a range of delectably affordable Western grilled dishes, including pork, beef, lamb, chicken, duck, fish, as well as sausages.

On this first trip to this food stall, I've decided to try out what seems to be the most appealing dish to me on the menu — the grilled pork belly.

It's like a fusion pork dish

And it didn't disappoint at all. Grilled till the layer of fat is ready to melt when it comes into contact with my palate, the leaner portion of the pork belly was so tender and juicy that it literally fell apart when I poked a fork in it.

And, you certainly won't miss that intense smoky flavour, which the chef says is a result of smoking the meat with burning lychee wood chips.

Above: Juicy and tender grilled pork belly with a distinct smoky flavour

Interestingly, the grilled pork belly was served bathed in a sweet, dark sauce that tastes both sweet and umami — for sure, this added a unique layer of flavours to the grilled meat.

And yes, I guessed it, soy sauce is one of the key ingredients of this dark-coloured sauce, as the chef reveals. Together with that sprinkle of scallions on top of it, I can't help feeling that this is sort of an East-meets-West fusion dish.

It fact, this reminded me of a famous Chinese braised pork dish known as the "Dong Po Pork" (or "Dong Po Meat"), which is renowned for its tenderness, juiciness, and umami flavour, except that this is grilled instead of braised, has an intense smoky flavour, contains no Chinese yellow wine, and it's topped with scallions.

I truly enjoyed this dish, just that the sauce was a tad too sweet for my liking. So I believe that sparing the sugar would definitely move it nearer towards the perfect score.

The pasta's nondescript

As part of the set menu I selected, I was allowed to choose a side dish. And so I chose to pair the grilled pork belly with spaghetti aglio e olio, topped with a sous vide egg. Plus, to upgrade the pasta dish, I also added a scoop of bacon bits for an additional $3.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting this to be authentic aglio olio, but I'm sure that some pasta water will help free up the dry, entangled spaghetti for sure and give it a better texture.

Above: Spaghetti aglio e olio full of bacon bits, glistening from the runny sous vide egg

The chef was pretty generous with the bacon bits though, just that I would have preferred a more browned and crispier version of them. That, I'm sure, will add a lot more flavour to this pasta dish — and I've tried and tested this myself at home.

The saving grace was the sous vide egg on the pasta (runny eggs always make me happy!). But that probably doesn't speak volumes about the chef's culinary expertise.

Was it worth it?

I'd certainly revisit this place for the grilled pork belly. But I'll probably choose another side dish instead of the spaghetti aglio e olio.

Speaking of which, I really hope that Mad Charcoal can offer two side dishes instead of one. In my opinion, the spaghetti aglio e olio can be an add-on food item instead, while the rest of the side dishes can be offered in pairs and in smaller portions. And for customers who desire a small portion of pasta to go along with the meats, the chef can always serve easier-to-prepare cold pasta as one of the options for the side dishes.

In terms of the price point, I don't think that the offerings on the menu were cheap or affordable, given that this is only a food stall in a non-airconditioned food court located in an industrial area in the boondocks. But the grilled pork belly was well worth the price.

With my stomach's limited capacity, I can't yet pass a comprehensive judgment on all of the food items on the menu. But I'll be back for more. And when I return, I really hope that the chef will be less aloof and more smiley because that would probably make the food taste even better!

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