For those whom have been following the happenings in the local F&B scene for a while, CH叉R (or otherwise known as Char) might be a name that some might have come across previously. Char, which first started out in Guillemard Road around a decade ago was an establishment that is well noted for their Char Siew and was also awarded with the Michelin plate in 2016 to 2018 — these folks had subsequently made their move from Guillemard Road to Jalan Besar; there was also one point of time where they also had operated out of a stall located at Timbre+ One North named Char Express, though that extension of the Char brand from their days at Jalan Besar was quite a short-lived one. Char might have closed down their restaurant operations at Jalan Besar in late 2023. That being said, these folks have made their comeback; albeit in the form of Char Express being located in the basement of CIMB Plaza at Raffles Place. Char Express occupies a unit right beside the dine-in area of Robochef, and is now run as a takeaway kiosk instead. With their range of meats being prominently displayed at the front of the stall, Char Express serves up four (4) different varieties of roasted meat at their kiosk at CIMB Plaza; namely the Signature Char Siew, Roast Duck, Roast Pork and Soy Sauce Chicken. The meats can be ordered in ala-carte portions either as half or whole birds for their Roast Duck and Soy Sauce Chicken, while the Char Siew and Roast Pork are sold ala-carte in a specified weight. Patrons can also opt for rice bowls; there is also an add-on that allows patron to opt for a set which comes with either Onsen Egg or Cold Spicy Cucumber and a drink of the patron’s choice from the dispenser behind the counter.

Having previously been to Char during their days at Guillemard Road, we had been impressed by both their Char Siew and Roast Pork that influenced our decision to order these two meats for our order of the Double Meats Rice Bowl during our visit to Char Express at CIMB Plaza. Unlike the iteration of Char Express that had existed at Timbre+ One North in 2017, the rice bowls in their current form are kept more simple; they had done away with extra elements like the tofu and fish skin — instead, the rice bowl simply features a bed of rice, the choice of meats that one had opted for, as well as stalks of Bok Choy. Those whom require mustard sauce and chili can request for them at the counter. One thing that Char has been describing about their Char Siew over the years is how their Char Siew is being prepared “using a combination of modern cooking science with traditional roasting” — the quality of the Char Siew has been kept fairly consistent from the first time that we had tried them all the way until now; employing the use of the sous-vide cooking method, the Char Siew here comes all melt-in-the-mouth and soft with all the fibres of the meat completely broken down. There isn’t much effort needed to chew past the sweet and sticky glaze that forms a slightly crusted layer on its surface; some might find the glaze a little too sweet for their liking, though this has always been the way that Char has served their Char Siew since their days at Guillemard Road. Their Roast Pork has also been pretty consistent to what we had experienced in our previous visits to Char; something that we had always liked about it was how it comes with a good ratio of lean meat to fatty parts that provides just enough bite whilst still being all juicy but not overly gelatinous.

The savouriness of the spice rub used was also exactly on point; gives it a good flavour without being overly salty, while the blistered skin was light and crackling crisp like how it should — the mustard sauce complimenting the meat especially well. The stalks of Bok Choy provides a slight crunch that provided a balance to the entire bowl, creating a more wholesome experience. Considering how they had just set up shop at CIMB Plaza and having operated only just for a couple of days, it does seem that Char Express does have some kinks to sort out when it comes to their POS system — the POS system does seem to be lacking of the option to add-on the drinks and the cold spicy cucumber as a set to the rice bowl, which got us to cancel that option since it was taking a little long for them to figure out what was going wrong with the system. While we do understand things like that do happen at newly-opened establishments, we thought it could have been better managed considering how Char Express does have experience in the running of a restaurant operation prior — something which should have been lesser of a struggle when compared to entirely new F&B establishments entering the local F&B scene for the first time. Prices of the rice bowls at Char start from $7.10 for a single type of meat; the Double Meats Rice Bowl which we have had is priced at $8.80 — no doubt slightly pricey for a roast meat rice bowl but well worth the price considering this isn’t the typical type of roast meats that one would be able to find in a hawker centre / coffeeshop stall. A good option for a quick lunch grab for those looking for something fancier, yet still wallet-friendly for a meal that costs under $10 in the Central Business District.