It has been a while since we have heard about all the news about Char Siu Lang having opened a new location around the island — these folks have been making waves across Singapore ever since they had opened their first location in a coffeeshop at Jalan Bukit Merah several years ago; they had since expanded their operations with another location at Ang Mo Kio some time back, whilst also closing down their original stall at Jalan Bukit Merah since then. With that being said, the opening of their new location is definitely one that had pretty much set some excitement for the residents at Woodlands — their newest location is in the newly-renovated Maxim Stars coffeeshop that is situated the foot of Blk 326 Woodlands Street 32; located within the same coffeeshop would also be Aw’s Signature Minced Meat Noodle that had expanded their operations — the original location being situated at Tanglin Halt, while the notable Kiang Kiang Taiwan Teppanyaki can be found at the coffeeshop located at the block across from Maxim Stars Coffeeshop. Char Siu Lang does serve up pretty much the same offerings that they do from their Ang Mo Kio location (as well as that of their original location at Jalan Bukit Merah) — being an establishment that focuses on their roasted meats, Char Siu Lang serves a variety of roasted meats such as Char Siu, Roast Pork and Roast Chicken. All these can be served either in an Ala-carte format, or to be served with rice or noodles.

Given how we were pretty impressed by both their Roast Pork and Char Siu offerings the last time that we had given them a visit at their now-defunct Jalan Bukit Merah location, we decided to go for the Roast Pork Char Siu Noodle during our visit to their Woodlands location. We did not have a chance to give their Lava Egg a go the previous round since the item was unavailable back then; we found ourselves adding the Lava Egg to our order of the Roast Pork Char Siu Noodle — itself being a top-up of $1 on top of the original price of the Roast Pork Char Siu Noodle listed on the menu. It is interesting that the Roast Pork Char Siu Noodle served up at Char Siu Lang does come almost akin to the likes of a Hakka Noodle — while the use of egg noodles instead of Mee Pok deviates from what one would usually identify as Hakka Noodle, it does come with a portion of minced meat on the side that Hakka Noodles typically come with. The egg noodles do come springy; tossed in a savoury sauce that gave it sufficient flavour and a note of spiciness that should do just about fine for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness if chili has been opted. Patrons are able to specify on their preferred level of fattiness of the roast pork and Char Siu at Char Siu Lang; that being said, we were informed that they were only left with the lean Char Siu even despite us dropping by during lunch hours on a weekend. Whilst so, the lean Char Siu here would definitely hit the spot even for those whom are into fattier cuts of Char Siu — in fact, the fibres of the lean meat for the Char Siu has been broken down so much to the point that it is rather melt-in-the-mouth; does not require much bite to even chew apart.

The honey-glaze on the exterior is also adds a sticky and sweet note with a slight char that creates a bit of crunch without carrying any undesirable, burnt bitterness whilst at it — very close to the style of Char Siew that one can find at Malaysian-style establishments around. Whilst we are definitely missing of enjoying the goodness of fatty Char Siu in general, we definitely did not feel shortchanged by having to resort to the lean Char Siew here. The Roast Pork is also quite worthy of being mentioned; it definitely does come with a crackling skin on the top — the meat being tender and juicy without having felt too gelatinous nor lean, all that whilst the spice rub also did not feel particularly overwhelming nor overly salty as well. The Lava Egg in the meanwhile does seem to come with a creamy egg yolk that has soaked in the goodness of the savoury soy sauce that it was marinated in, though these definitely does not come with a flowy, molten egg yolk — still one that is worth the add for the soft whites and aptly savoury notes that it carries, providing a bit of a difference especially for those who can’t do without the braised eggs at usual Hong Kong-style roasted meat stalls. Prices of the individually-sized roast meats plus rice / noodle dishes at Char Siu Lang can be considered to be pretty competitively priced as compared to other establishments that serve similar fare at coffee shops / hawker centres / food courts — the prices start from $4.50 for Roast Chicken Rice / Noodle, while the items feature a mix of two (2) types of meats such as Char Siu Roast Pork Rice / Noodle, Char Siu Roast Chicken Rice / Noodle, and Roast Pork Chicken Rice / Noodle are all priced at $6. Considering their quality of roast meats against other stalls located in the same neighbourhood, Char Siu Lang is a spot that is definitely one that will gain popularity with the folks residing around its area in Woodlands!