Charcoal BBQ & Grill Food Review

So when it comes to food, you've gotta understand that I'm extremely critical. Nothing short of superb meals will satisfy my senses. Here it is then, my very first post on a food review. I will be critiquing the meals itself and not the restaurant as that wouldn't be very fair. (Unless I have an appetite to gobble up the whole menu!)

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So as to avoid overcrowded and fully booked restaurants on Mother's Day itself, me and brother decided to do lunch with mom and grandma a day in advance; And after much deliberation, we'd decided on Charcoal. (Charcoal is a local BBQ and grill place here in Brunei) Honestly, I've never really been a fan of Charcoal. I've heard time and before that this place serves up one of the better lamb chops in town. (Which is debatable) But we decided we'd give some of their other items on the menu a chance. If you've ever been to Charcoal you'll be familiar with the image above. If I'm not mistaken its deep fried wonton skin, complementary every time you dine in there. Which is good, because they really do take a considerable amount of time to prepare your food.

I'm a fan of Charcoal's sparkling juices. At B$3.00 a pop, it doesn't really burn a hole in your wallet as well. Its a great thirst quencher and something to cool your tongue with after you've had something really hot from their menu.

This above image is why I keep coming back over and over again to Charcoal. Its a Creamy Pesto Linguine topped with Smoked Salmon. You get to choose your own combination of pasta type, sauce and also the topping. The creamy pesto sauce is brilliant if you like the strong smell of basil leafs and the linguine just soaks up all that goodness! On top of that, Charcoal really gives a generous serving of smoked salmon. The salmon is just right, not too salty and still has that bounce when you munch down on it. By far my favorite dish on their menu. (Which is ironic as this meal is neither BBQ'd not grilled!) Verdict: 9/10

This next one is called the "Texan 1/2 chicken", served with sides of mashed potatoes and grilled veggies. The 1/2 chicken here is grilled to perfection, where the meat just tears right off the bones and its still juicy all the way to the inside. Unfortunately this is where the good ends. On the description in the menu, it says the chicken was marinated with mustard, honey and BBQ sauce; but I do not even taste a single hint of mustard or honey. On top of that, the chicken was way too salty! This makes it supremely hard to taste the other flavors. Verdict: 5/10

Our final dish was the "Pineapple mint lamb" cooked to medium rare. When it comes to lamb, I'm extremely critical. This may be due to the fact that my mom cooks up one helluva lamb chop. (Now I may be a bit biased here but those that have tried my mom's grilled lamb chops will concur) I ordered this particular lamb dish cooked to medium rare, but as i sank my knife onto the meat, I found it to be still too overcooked! (Can i order it to be "bloody" next time?) One positive I can say about this dish is the sauce; Its very zesty and chock full of herbs. But this sauce didn't translate well onto the lamb. Perhaps it wasn't marinated quite long enough. Verdict: 3.5/10

All in all, the food was pretty disappointing. Price wise was ok, but a bit on the high side. Will I come back here again? Sure, but maybe just for the pasta! Well what's really important at the end of the day was the quality time you spend with your loved ones. And me and brother were very grateful we get to spend time over lunch with mom and grandma. Too often, people complain about things they do not have, whereas instead, be grateful for the things you do have.

Ever had any experience dining in Charcoal yourself? Feel free to drop me a comment below to tell me about it!