Charcos

Charcos
608 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5

~~89 Marine Parade Central~~

603 Clementi West Street 1 #01-43

http://www.charcos.com.sg/

Skip the Mains, Go for the Salad Bar
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 2
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 1
Value For Money: 6
Spent about SGD $8 per person.

.....

Heard about Charcos through an acquaintance, and having been here a few times and tried nearly everything on the menu, thought I'll put some thoughts down.

Service: Self-Service. Do help yourself to the BBQ Sauce! Oddly enough, the Charcos franchise overseas actually specializes in Chicken, but this stall in Singapore seems to have got it the other way around.
It's Halal, so you can bring your Muslim friends here. I would definitely recommend this place for the salads, but not anything else.

Must Tries!
Most of the Salads in the Salad Bar. Made fresh daily, it's served in pretty big portions, whether you order it alone, or with a Main.

Charcos is unusual in that the Salads and Sides far outweigh its Mains in both taste and quality. My favorites in order would be:
- Egg Salad
- Potato Salad
- Caesar Salad
- Greek Salad
- Tuna Pasta Salad
- Potato Creme
- Chicken Avocado Salad
- Coleslaw

The only main at Charcos which I feel is a Must-Try would be the Rack of Lamb Ribs. Covered in excellent BBQ sauce, its slightly spicy, tangy and tasty enough that you would lick your fingers when done. However, the meat doesn't fall off the bone.

So-So.....
Close behind are the Chicken Schnitzel and Kebab Meat (Lamb / Chicken). Passable as mains, not too oily, cooked just nicely, with good taste.

The Chicken Schnitzel is a little bit better than your average coffee shop chicken cutlet due to the extra seasoning that goes in. Not something I would travel all the way here for though. Their Seafood Salad and Pineapple Fritter is OK as well.

Don't Try!
In my opinion, it would be best to miss these completely:
- Roast Chicken: Horrible. Dry, and overcooked. Accompanying sauce is sour.
- Portuguese Chicken: Nice spices, but dry just like the Roast Chicken.
- Roast Peas: Overcooked, and not really fresh.
- Roast Potatoes Cubes: Hard, overcooked..... Terrible.

.....