Mad Charcoal — Restaurant in Singapore

I first heard of this place from a friend, as well as some reviews I read online that raved about it so I had high expectations going into this. We ordered the spiced chicken with aglio olio, and beef brisket with ratatouille, to go. As they were slicing my order on the board, my first thought was wow.. that's a lot of food. That made me super excited to get stuck in. First, the chicken ($10.50). It was well cooked, well marinated and tender. It came with an onion sauce which went well its smokey flavour. The aglio olio was extremely generous- the picture was taken after we'd tucked in, and it was still a tonne of pasta. All proteins came with a choice of side and salad, so this was a very complete meal which would pretty much guarantee that anyone would have their fill. The beef brisket was... incredible. I love smoked meats, and I've been to places such as Smokey's and Deckers. At these prices and portion size, I would argue that this has them all beat. The meat was ultra tender, still juicy despite being in a container for the duration of the journey home, and the fat was just unctuous, decadent, melting goodness. The intense smokines paired amazingly well with the crisp bark, leaving a lingering mouthful of spices and smoke long after you're done with that bite. It was perfectly seasoned, and came with a barbeque sauce where it's sweetness and slight tang really balanced the dish out well. The ratatouille it came with was seasoned well, had deep complex flavours with the right consistency. Its acidity provided the perfect contrast to the fatty brisket. Amazingly for the the amount they give, it only costs $12.90 (the picture of the brisket was after I snuck a slice or two). I've paid 3 times the amount for less than half the portion size for beef brisket elsewhere.

TLDR Conclusion: You'll find slightly higher than average prices for western food but make no mistake; you'll also find much, much better western food here. This would be food that could rival your average run-of-the-mill western food restaurants like Aston's and iSteaks imho, beat them hands down. Expect bold, robust, memorable flavours here. I really appreciate the chef's effort in the little touches that makes the food stand out such as the beautiful presentation of food, well-delivered side dishes, and most importantly- the amazing, smokey, mad charcoal which is where the soul of the food lies. I'll...

My bottom-line: unique and generally decent, but likely won’t travel for this.

Finally tried this after a couple of years hearing about it. And I feel… confused? I had the chicken chop + aglio olio as side. Was confused to see it presented with the aglio looking like the main, and the chicken chop as the side. In fact, I stood at the window for a couple seconds thinking my chop will be out shortly.

Taste-wise, I was impressed at how ‘gao’ the sauce on the chicken was. But, the flavor turned out to be incomplete, like all bass but no treble… I could only make out a mushroom and herby taste. I could guess why one of the earlier comments describing this as ‘Indian fusion taste’ (though I personally wouldn’t describe it this way). Aglio tasted… watery? Almost the opposite here - all treble and no bass, only garlic and dried herbs. For comparison, I would say the aglio served as side at Hot Tomato is much more flavorful.

Personally, I prefer my chicken chop with that classic char-grilled taste, and ideally with the skin slightly crispy. But the chop served here at Mad Charcoal visually looks like the duck breast sold at Cold Storage. It IS relatively juicy but the visual and mouthfeel is disappointing, as chicken chops go.

Lastly, the boss (or whoever that huge Chinese dude was) who took my order could have been a tad more cordial. I arrived at opening time; I smiled and said, “Hi, it’s my first time here” (in case I needed help with the non-descript menu) but there was no particular acknowledgement from him. Not a deal-breaker for me, but I’m not sure whether this helps...

Fantastic western food 👍 in this quaint little kopitiam near Yio Chu Kang MRT. Crowded during dinners with the office staff nearby.

Tastes abolutely heavenly but sadly portion size is so small for their fish 🐟 and burgers 🍔. Sadly only 1 side per main also.

I ordered their fish of the day. The fish was TINY 😩! It was delicious but I remember the $15.50 price tag 💸 is not really worth compared to their other dishes. Feel abit cheated. Their house salad 🥗 is yummy though- raisins 🍇, pistachios 🫛, tomatoes 🍅 and lettuce 🥬 all delicately tossed in a sweet acidic dressing.

My friend got the beef brisket 🐄🥩which was SO decadent and perfectly charred. The meat melts in your mouth and the skin is so crispy 🤤. SO WORTH! Even now I can still taste it in my mouth, drool-worthy! Their mashed potatoes 🥔 is also a little fragrant and large portion.

We also got their beef burger 🍔 which has such a tiny cut of meat its not even funny. They grill their buns too so the whole thing has the charred taste. The gooey cheese 🧀 covers only 30% of the meat and overall not worth.

Finally we ate their chicken 🐔🍗 which was very crunchy and juicy. But it was drowned in this carbonara(?) sauce which was too creamy for us already. We also got their toasted sweet potatoes 🍠 which had crispy skin and was toasty!

But by this point Im quite tired of the same smokey charred taste for all the meats. The portion sizes and prices also makes me a little sad 🥲. But overall the food is absolutely delicious with a persistent...