Alright, with Chinese New Year just around the corner, let's talk about Bak Kwa.
Who doesn't like Bak Kwa? Well, I guess if you are a health nut, you probably want to steer clear of this. But for the rest of us, Chinese New Year is an excuse to indulge a few calories on this luxury snack.
But I have to admit that I have not thought about Bak Kwa very much. Come Chinese New Year and we probably get our Bak Kwa from the most convenient sources. But for those who really want to impress their mother-in-laws, perhaps you would brave the crowds to give her a special box of Bak Kua from Lim Chee Guan in Chinatown.
I think for many of us, the first thing we do to a box of Bak Kwa is to put it in the fridge and then heat it up in the microwave or oven toaster just before serving it to our guests. Imagine the shock I had when I was told that that is precisely what not to do!
Charcoal is still the only way to grill your Bak Kwa
Here then is the right way (according to the experts) to enjoy your Bak Kwa.
Bak Kua is best eaten after it has rested for at least 24 hours as it takes time for the meat to develop its flavour and texture right BBQing. A good Bak Kua can be kept on your kitchen table for around a week and should remain soft and tender. The experts don't advise you to chill the Bak Kwa and reheat it as it would lose its juices and turn dry. Also, even if you kept your Bak Kwa in the fridge, it should not turn white in colour. This is a sign that the Bak Kua has not been cooked enough such that the sugars did not adequately caramelise.
Now, a good Bak Kwa should be made from chilled pork, not frozen and never buy the minced version. It should be sliced meat as it retains the meat fibres which translates to better flavour when you chew on it.
Have you ever wondered what secret ingredients gives Bak Kwa its special taste? You won't believe it if I told you. But according to the guys at Kim Joo Guan, there are only three ingredients in Bak Kwa. Pork, normal table sugar and your everyday fish sauce which you can pick up from the supermarket. Hard to imagine that fishsauce and sugar can produce that wonderful Bak Kwa flavour right? Oh yes, there is one more ingredient that a lot of stalls nowadays are omitting and that the the smoky flavour that you can only get if you grill the Bak Kwa over charcoal.
Bak Kwa $43 per kg
The latest player in the Bak Kwa market is Kim Joo Guan who have been supplying raw Bak Kwa to Lim Chee Guan for years. They are only recently decided to start selling their Bak Kwa direct to the public. But this is not going to be another Mei Zhen Xiang. The owners are positioning Kim Joo Guan to be a boutique Bak Kwa store where you can only expect the very best Bak Kwa. This is one of the reasons why they don't sell the minced pork version.
I taste tested both the freshly BBQed Bak Kwa and the ones that have been rested for a day and I have to admit that the one day old Bak Kwa really does have a better flavour and bite to it. This Bak Kwa is excellent. It's tender but has enough bite so that you can fully develop that savoury pork flavour. It is sliced slightly thicker than a lot of other Bak Kwa and so it retains it moisture very well. 4.5/5
Conclusion
Now that I know how a good Bak Kwa is supposed to taste like, how am I ever going to go back to enjoy the thin, minced pork, fridge to oven toaster variety again?
Special for ieatishootipost readers!Print out this coupon and present it to the shop to get a 100g jar of Pork Floss (original flavour, worth $5) free with every 1/2 kg of Bak Kwa purchased.
Conditions:
1. Valid till 31 Jan 2010
2. Promotion valid only on presentation of printed coupon. Not valid if you simply show it on your phone. They need the hardcopy for validation purposes.
3. Each coupon will entitle you to 100g jar of Pork Floss for every 1/2 kg of Bak Kwa. You can buy as many 1/2kg portions as you like. So if you buy 1kg of Bak Kwa, you will get two 100g jars of Pork Floss.
Kim Joo Guan 257 South Bridge Road
Singapore 058806
www.kimjooguan.com
62255257
This was an invited review
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28 comments:
tried this about 3 weeks back...nice smoky flavour from the charcoal...not too sweet...slices are a bit thick though
in my home, the bak kwa never makes it the fridge. It is just goes too fast ...into our stomaches!!
Yet to try this stall, but will do soon.
Tried this before and I must say its pretty good.
I find it much better than Mei Zheng Xiang in terms of the texture.
some bak kwa are pretty though, but this never fails to deliver
When I first tried it 2 weeks back, the texture was rather soft and I actually thought it was minced. Now that you say they only sell the non-minced version, I'm curious how they get that texture.
I usually toast it in the oven before serving. Thats because we keep them for weeks in the fridge. ; )
i love its smoky flavor, i realized that the whole ones are better than the small pre packed ones coz they last longer! hehehe! taking a large square will actually stop you from getting another as oppose to getting small pieces...i wish they had this here where i live, i always have to wait for someone to go to Singapore to indulge in this treat!
Thanks ieat, this is another one of those things we thought we were doing it right, storing it in the fridge to heat up, but not getting it correct to enjoy a good bak kwa. Small details for a fuller enjoyment of the food.
Try the one situated at Hong Lim if you are into sliced instead of minced.
Its has a slightly tougher bite to it.
Get the small bits that they sell. Will make a lot of long queues ba kwa taste like a waste of calories.
Anon, are u referring to Kim Hock Guan at Fook Hai Building?
Yes, I like theirs as it is thick sliced meat. They don't have minced. The trick to make it less tough is to lightly toast it.
Ieat, Kim Joo Guan is not the only player without minced Bak kwa but they are certainly the new kid on the block.
Two years ago I had a chance to taste Bak kwa that is "rested" a day and those hot off the grill IMHO the just grilled ones were fanstatic - tender, moist and full body flavour. Am already drooling as I write this.
chaozhouzi
i'd love to leave the bak kwa on the table for a day or two, but it won't last that long! either the ants or the family members (whichever / whoever is faster) will finish it off.
At least you can spray pesticide on the ants. Can't do much for family members unless you stash some under your pillow.
Hi Leslie,
Have u try the bak kua at Blk 448Clementi Ave 3, the stall that sell satay just beside the western food stall. Every year around this time, i would always make my way down to buy their bak kua. Taste wise is better than those branded bak kua. They sell chilli bak kua too. It's taste a bit more sweet, better than original bak kua, if u prefer sweet bbq pork. Once u down there, u will see the super long Q. For chilli favour, better buy early, cos it's the best seller.
shhhh, James! Good stuff are supposed to be kept a secret! The queue is already so long last Saturday and it's wayyy before CNY. I grew up eating bak kwa from that store and other stores seem to pale in comparison. The meat's tender though some may find it a bit too sweet. ;p Enjoy!
Went down to Kim Joo Guan after work yesterday. Frankly speaking, there were no customers... I was greeted by their staffs, and was told there is a promotion for 1/2kg Chilli Bak kua (small little pieces) at $18. But i bought the Slice pieces instead at $22.5 - 1/2kg & got a free pork floss. Though i haven't tested it yet. Will try it another day. I will compare between Kimjooguan or 财好(Clementi). See which one is nicer, before i put my money into one of them when the festival drawn nearer.
Look forward to your review James!
My Conclusion:
I prefer 财好 Bak Kua to kimjooguan. I have eaten, kimjooguan bak kua is thick and quite hard. The colour abit of dark. Clementi one, look much nicer in colour and thinner. So as usually this year i will Q up for that.
Wow this is so near my workplace.
Thanks for the heads up, James.
Not exactly a fan of bak kwa though, but I make an exception for CNY.
I liked both the Clementi store one & Kim Joo Guan's. a bit too sweet, despite my having a sweet tooth, but their slices really are a little thicker than what you get from other stores. not bad... my Mum already ordered a batch from them for CNY. not a fan of bak kwa but a must have for CNY
Just bought 5 pack of chilli bak kua + 1 pack of original favour bak kua from 财好 yesterday. The prices are as follow until Thursday (4th Feb) - Minced $38, Sliced - $40, Chilli - $40. Friday onward until 11th Feb (Closing Date until CNY over) Prices up by $2 for all type of bak kua.
Correction.
Chilli - $42.
Yup I had the opportunity to be at the right place at the right time to buy this.
Previously, I was at 财好 last Monday, but boss said not yet selling, only Friday then start.
So I settled for 10 pork satays to try. Pretty darn good!
Then, Friday came and I was lamenting the long queues after work, but luckily I got despatched to Clementi Central to run an errand and so I seized the opportunity to buy their bak kwa. Thankfully the queue was not forming, yet. Until my turn when I looked back and saw 5 people suddenly. This was at 2pm and they were going to sell till night time.
Bought 300g each of their Minced, Sliced and Chilli to take home. The prices James quoted are accurate. Came up to $36.
Shared with my colleagues in camp straight from the grill. All gave their thumbs up.
I usually don't indulge in bak kwa, but 财好 is really good.
I especially enjoyed their minced and chilli versions. I like bak kwa that is slightly soft to the bite, not too chewy that it sticks to the gums and in between my teeth.
2 weeks before CNY and I have already downed a good 10 pieces, I'd reckon. What diet?
Looks like I'll be buying from them once more closer to the season. Family enjoyed it too~
Totally agree with holydrummer, the satay and bak kwa is really good. So is the mutton soup in the same food centre.
Yes, if u mean the one beside the Oyster Omelete stall?
just came from lim chee guan and at 9am in the morning the line was horrifyingly long. about 1oo persons. will try to look at for this palce later
Weird. The bak kwa my Mum buys tastes much nicer after it has been to the freezer and heated up on a pan. *sweatdrop*
MOCHS, a lot of things do taste nicer after freezing and reheating. I have no idea why as well. But it happens, like pandan cake and cai tau kway.
My cai tau kway experience was crazy. I kept repeating the experiment to confirm it happened. Duper yummy after the fridge.
haha, i'm a big fan of bak kwa from Hong Kong, does 财好 (Clementi) sell it throughout the whole year? Can I buy it now?
Hello, I come across your blog when I'm searching for bak kwa. I'm going to Singapore next month & planning to try 财好 Bak Kwa at Clementi along with other well-known brand for Bak Kwa. Anyway, can you / someone please inform me whether 财好 sell Bak Kwa the whole year or just for CNY only ? What time do they open their shop?
Thank you.
I always get my bakwa from a sweet old couple in People's Park Market - the store's name is 美金香 Bee Kim Hiang. Can't recall the unit number but it's on the ground floor, on the side facing OG. They sell pork floss and bakwa of the sliced meat type, and the friendly ah peh does the barbeque on a charcoal stove at the side. I'm lucky enough to always get a piece fresh off the stove heeheehee.
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