Lim Chee Guan's Bak Kwa 肉干 (Chinese Barbecued Pork Jerky)

Chinese New Year aka Lunar New Year (often referred to as CNY for short), is a season for feasting, catching up with family and friends, and a little gambling (c'mon we know that happens).The weeks preceding Chinese New Year (CNY) are usually filled with spring cleaning of homes, buying new outfits and buying Lunar New Year goodies to serve visitors and to give away as gifts. A favourite snack for CNY is Bak Kwa 肉干 (Chinese-style Barbecued Pork/Chinese Pork Jerky). Its this time of the year that the prices for Bak Kwa rises to ridiculous levels.

Lim Chee Guan is the favourite brand for many Singaporeans, my family included. As has become the tradition in Singapore, many people are willing to spend hours queuing outside the shop close to CNY to buy packets of Bak Kwa as gifts and for their own consumption. In addition to the long queues, these clients have to pay a higher price because of the rise in demand close to CNY.

I am against spending hours queuing to buy food that I can get all year round and at more reasonable prices than the insane prices charged for CNY. In addition, my family members and I find that the pork slices do not taste as good during CNY maybe because they were grilled in a hurry (with much less care) to ensure a faster turnaround.So I would usually only buy Bak Kwa when its not the CNY season. As you can see from the picture just above, there are times when there isn't a queue at all. :)

I am not a huge fan of Bak Kwa but I like Lim Chee Guan's Bak Kwa because the slices of pork are not too fatty, are reasonably tender and are fragrantly roasted with a hint of caramelization of the marinade. This is a Must-Try after the 15 days of CNY are over (ie. after 9 February 2009)!

Lim Chee Guan

203 New Bridge Road, Singapore 059429 Tel: +65 6227-8302

1 Park Road, #01-25 People's Park Complex, Singapore 059108 Tel: +65 6535-0927

PS: Thanks Ying for pointing out my typo error! I'd typed January instead of February by mistake!