Wang BBQ and Grill: No need to go to Johor for Lok Lok!
Those of you who have been religiously crossing the Causeway and heading to Malaysia whenever your lok lok (skewered meats and vegetables, served either boiled or deep-fried) cravings hit, we’ve got good news for you. We’ve found the best lok lok in Singapore at Wang BBQ & Grill, located in Chomp Chomp, Serangoon Gardens!
To be fair, there’s been an influx of places offering lok lok in Singapore in the recent years. There’s Zao Lek Lok Lok at Paya Lebar Kovan Community Centre, Malaysia Local Delights Restaurant at Tanjong Katong Road, Chuan Le Xiang Lok Lok in Jurong, and more. That having been said, Wang BBQ and Grill was one of the first few lok lok stalls to open shop back in 2013. Since then, they’ve won over legions of die-hard fans with the secret sauce that their lok lok is charcoal-grilled in.
When we visited, the owner was not present, but we were greeted by his mother, Susan, a petite, sprightly lady who was hard at work taking orders from customers. In the spirit of full disclosure, she warns each customer that they’ll have to wait for 45 minutes. Why does it take so long to cook a single order of lok lok? That’s because the process involves coating the chosen skewers in their homemade sauce and either laboriously grilling these skewers over a charcoal grill, or deep frying them.
Whilst a 45-minute wait can be slightly off-putting to those who are hungry and want to dig into their food immediately, Susan is quick to point out that Wang BBQ and Grill’s skewers are worth the wait (“just ask any of the people who have tried our food before!”) When asked about their secret sauce, however, she dodges all our questions good-naturedly, and refuses to share a single detail about the ingredients used or the process by which the sauce is made. Fair enough – this sauce is what distinguishes them from their competitors, after all.
The menu at Wang BBQ & Grill consists of over 50 types of lok lok, from the traditional to the new-fangled. If you love your greens, you’ll appreciate that there are plenty of veggie-based lok lok available for you to choose from. There is a minimum order of 7 sticks; prices range from $1.20 to $2 per skewer. We went with the Cheesy Chicken Ham ($2), the Udon with Sliced Pork Belly ($1.50), the Enoki with Sliced Pork Belly ($1.50), the Baby Pea Sprouts with Sliced Pork Belly ($1.50), the Fried Wanton Skin with Bak Kwa ($1.50), the Cockles ($1.50), and the Carrot Shred with Sliced Pork Belly ($1.50).
Our top pick of the night was the Udon with Sliced Pork Belly; the udon had an extremely springy, bouncy texture and soaked up all the juices of the secret sauce extremely well. We also liked the Cheesy Chicken Ham (you can’t really go wrong with a combination of ham and gooey cheese, can you?), the Carrot Shred with Sliced Pork Belly (crunchy and sweet), the Fried Wanton Skin with Bak Kwa (addictively crispy, and sweet and savoury at the same time), and the Baby Pea Sprouts with Sliced Pork Belly (a welcome change from the typically heavy, jelak flavours of lok lok).
The ones that didn’t fare as well were the Enoki with Sliced Pork Belly (no specific complaints; this was just a tad boring in comparison to the other ones we tried) and the Cockles (although this was extremely flavourful, we didn’t enjoy the slightly chewy texture).
All orders are served with three different sauces including a Thai Sweet Chilli sauce, a Sesame sauce, and a Fiery Spicy Chilli sauce. We found the Thai Sweet Chilli sauce tasty enough, but rather forgettable. The Sesame Sauce was too sweet for our tastebuds, but we particularly liked the Fiery Spicy Chilli sauce, which was slightly zesty and had a strong, bitter aftertaste. If paired with other foods, you might find this chilli sauce too bland – but because you’re having it with the flavourful lok lok, it provides a nice balance without being overwhelmingly salty.
Wang BBQ and Grill operates from 5.30pm to 1.30am daily; to minimize your wait time, place your order immediately upon arriving at Chomp Chomp (you can slowly take your time to find a seat after that!) Whilst it might be more cost-effective to go to a lok lok buffet if you want to go all out and indulge, we’d still recommend you to head down to Wang BBQ and Grill to try some of their more innovative lok lok creations, which you won’t be able to find anywhere else.
