Burnt Ends lite? New Western stall in Bukit Merah by chefs-turned-hawkers has $9.50 pork chop and $14.50 steak

Hands up if you've been trying your luck to reserve a table at modern barbecue restaurant Burnt Ends.

Keep them up if you've been unsuccessful thus far — the one-Michelin-starred restaurant is known for having a waiting list that can span months.

If you're tired of waiting (and alright with saving a few bucks), a newly-opened Western hawker stall, Jofa Grill, in Bukit Merah might be the answer.

Opened by Ong Jian Lin, 27, and Neo Jun Hao, 28, the stall isn't run by your run-of-the-mill chefs.

Jian Lin was a chef at Burnt Ends for three years while Jun Hao spent a number of years as a chef in the fine-dining scene, including a stint as a commis chef at the now-defunct three-Michelin-starred Joel Robuchon Restaurant.

With Burnt Ends' reputation as a top player when it comes to wood-fired cooking game, we were excited to find out that Jofa Grill's meats are cooked over charcoal and lychee wood.

So naturally, our expectations were raised as we made our way to the stall.

We'd definitely swipe right

Call us shallow but looks do matter.

On first impression, the food we ordered from Jofa Grill looked the part — from the charcoal grilled meats to the pasta.

Once we dug into the food and sampled everything from each plate, a recurring theme began to form. 

No doubt the looks were on point, but flavour-wise, the dishes were a bit of a hit-and-miss.

Let's play nice and start with the dishes we did enjoy.

The charcoal-grilled pork chop ($9.50) was the clear winner. 

The herb marinate and smoky tones were most pronounced with the pork chop and it had a good fat-to-meat ratio to match.

Seasoning-wise, nothing much to shout about but the quality of the meat spoke for itself.

By the end of our meal, the pork chop was probably the most polished plate and as they say, action speaks louder than words.

Another worthy shout-out was the charcoal-grilled chicken chop ($9.50).

One of my personal gripes when it comes to grilled meats is when it's overcooked and dry. I mean, as a trained chef, surely it can't be that difficult to get grilled meats right, but I digress.

Thankfully, Jofa Grill's chicken chop was rather juicy. Similar to the pork chop, it is lightly seasoned so don't expect a burst of flavours on these two dishes.

Of all the sides we ordered, the Jofa mashed potato ($3.50) stood out the most.

The Joël Robuchon-inspired mash got the thumbs up from all of us. Buttery and luscious, this was $3.50 well spent.

We'd even go as far as saying it'll be hard to find a mashed potato this good in any hawker setting!

But if you're not a big fan of potatoes, Jofa Bomba rice ($3) is a more than capable alternative to pair with your grilled meats.

It's simple yet scrumptious. The Bomba rice is great on its own but the different textures provided from the light sprinkle of shallots and fried anchovies really brought this dish up another level. 

Might want to give it a skip

Of all the dishes we ordered, what didn't quite hit the mark were their sides.

In particular, the cheesy nacho fries ($4.50) and Mac & Cheese ($3.50) fell well below our expectations.

I'm no cheese connoisseur myself but I'm not entirely sure how much of the sauce slathered onto the macaroni qualifies as cheese.

Ditto for the cheesy nacho fries. So you may want to give these sides a miss.

The choice of 'pasta' for their carbonara ($7.50) is mee pok which took us by surprise. Although it was cooked al dente, this East meets West combination didn't really do it for us.

While the generous amount of bacon bits was appreciated, the same couldn't be said about the sauce.

It felt a bit heavy on the cream and we'd probably give this pasta dish a miss on our next lunch visit. 

All in all, the Jofa Grill's menu had just a few more misses than hits. 

But this could be partly due to our tampered expectations prior to the meal.

Burnt Ends exists on a different stratosphere but if you're looking to munch on some modern Western grub in Bukit Merah, Jofa Grill is a decent enough shout.

Address: 165 Bukit Merah Central, #01-3683, S150165
Opening hours: 11:30am to 10:30pm. Open daily except Sunday

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amierul@asiaone.com