Lunch at Golden Mile, back at the Taiwanese braised stall. Braised pork cheek set + pork rib, $10.50 total ($8 + $2.50). 😋👍🏼

What was on the plate:

Braised pork cheek: dark mahogany pieces glossed in the reduced master sauce, the cheek’s gelatinous edges visible
Pork rib add-on: the bone-in piece tucked in with the same lacquer
Two lava-yolk braised eggs: halved, the sunset-orange molten centres
Blanched greens: under and around the meat
Black fungus / braised mushroom pieces: through the pile
Chilli sauce on the side: the sharp counterpoint

Pork cheek is the cut that separates braising stalls from the merely competent. The cheek is a hard-working muscle threaded with collagen, which means two things: braised too short it’s tough, braised right it turns into the most gelatinous, silky piece in the whole pig. The slow soy-and-five-spice braise this stall runs (the same master stock as their belly set, which we’ve eaten before) is exactly the treatment the cut wants. Where belly gives you fat-against-lean, cheek gives you wobble all the way through.

The master stock here keeps proving itself: soy, rock sugar, five-spice, ginger and whatever years of re-use have layered into it, reduced to the point it coats the meat like a glaze rather than pooling as gravy.

The lava eggs remain the side to order: soft-set whites, molten yolks, the braise flavour seeping just into the outer layer. Two per set is generous; most stalls ration one.

The $2.50 rib add-on is worth it for the variety: the rib meat pulls off the bone in shreds, a rougher texture against the cheek’s silk.

At $10.50 this runs above the basic braised-rice tier, but pork cheek rarely shows up at hawker prices at all. The same cut in a restaurant zi char runs $16-$22.

Overall: 4.5 / 5. 😋👍🏼 The cheek’s collagen wobble was the standout, the lava eggs as reliable as ever. This stall is now the Golden Mile default order.

Original IG post