The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test

Happy Chinese New Year! Have you guys started eating bak kwa?

Every year, my family will usually buy the famous bak kwa brands like Fragrance or Lim Chee Guan. After joining the Hungrygowhere team for The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test, I was shocked to see so many bak kwa brands in Singapore!

Man, we ate 35 different varieties of bak kwa, from the usual sliced pork, to spicy pork, chicken, beef and even vegetarian! All the packaging were removed from each kind of bak kwa, and they were cut into small pieces with a number attached to each.

At first I thought, 35 bak kwa should not be a problem lah! But I was wrong! By the 10th small piece of bak kwa, I was already feeling bak kwa overload. But thankfully, the good ones were really good. I love my bak kwa to have a balance and smokiness, with a little charred exterior and tender. Each of us were given a score sheet and we judge every piece of bak kwa based on fatty, chewy, fibrous, tender, sweet, savoury, smoky.

So presenting to you, THE ULTIMATE BAK KWA TASTE TEST!

1. Bee Kim Heng (sliced pork)

Blk 32 New Market Road, #01-1010 People’s Park Food Centre
How is it? Slightly tough but it is one of the better ones. Sweeter and quite fibrous.

2. Low Seng Kim Bak Kwa (sliced pork)

Blk 69 Geylang Bahru, #01-2865 Geylang Bahru Market and Food Centre
How is it? Caramel taste, sweet smelling but tastes bland.

3. Sang Hock Guan (minced pork)

Block 163, #01-446 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4
How is it? Gets really spicy after 4 secs.

4. DenDeng House (Ayam BBQ)

39 Geylang Serai, #00-19 Geylang Serai Malay Village
How is it? Tastes like pork, but hard and dry.

5. Fragrance (Fortune Pig)

How is it? Cutest design but too thin and dry.

6. DenDeng House (Beef Chilli)

39 Geylang Serai, #00-19 Geylang Serai Malay Village
How is it? Mild spicy, but it is a good change from usual pork bak kwa.

7. New Peng Hiang (sliced pork)

Available at all Sheng Siong outlets during the Chinese New Year period
How is it? Too thick, fats look compressed.

8. Kim Hwa Guan (traditional dried minced meat)

32 New Market Road, #01-1022 People’s Park Cooked Food Centre
How is it? Thinner than the rest, but in terms of smokiness and sweetness, it was alright. Not bad!

9. Fragrance (chicken BBQ meat)

How is it? Thin but chewy, tastes like satay.

10. Friendly Vegetarian

Block 421, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, #01-1165
How is it? Too chewy like rubber. But this is good alternative for vegetarians.

11. Xin Dong Fang (sliced pork)

#01-08 Orchid Hotel, 1 Tras Link
How is it? Not very fat nor tender. Perhaps need to fine tune still.

12. Chai Ho (sliced pork)

448 Clementi Avenue 3, #01-10 Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre
How is it? Hard to bite, and tasted like bacon.

13. Lim Chee Guan (sliced pork)

203 New Bridge Road #01-203
How is it? Super smoky bak kwa, either you love it or you hate it.

14. Kim Guan Guan (minced chilli pork)

223 River Valley Rd
How is it? The spiciness slowly kicks in!

15. Kim Peng Hiang (royal chilli sliced pork)

100 Eu Tong Sen Street, #01-K4 Pearl’s Centre
How is it? Thick, chewy and weird aftertaste

16. Kim Guan Guan (sliced pork)

223 River Valley Road
How is it? Pretty red colour, slightly spicy and can be better if it is fatty enough.

17. Xin Dong Fang (chilli minced pork)

#01-08 Orchid Hotel, 1 Tras Link
How is it? Spicy, thinness make it dry.

18. Fragrance (sliced tender BBQ pork)

How is it? Skin is hard and it tasted like cuttlefish for some reason.

19. Bee Cheng Hiang (chicken)

How is it? Well glazed, with lots of fats. Abit too sweet.

20. Kim Hock Seng (BBQ Pork)

32 Keong Saik Road
How is it? Looks like the meat wasn’t mixed properly.

21. Kim Peng Hiang (BBQ Chicken)

100 Eu Tong Sen Street, #01-K4 Pearl’s Centre
How is it? Too sweet, too oily.

22. Kim Guan Guan (sliced chilli pork)

223 River Valley Road
How is it? Chewy but hard to tear, like overnight food.

23. Kim Joo Guan (chilli sliced pork)

257 South Bridge Road
How is it? Tasted like mutton satay.

24. Kim Hock Guan (sliced pork)

150 South Bridge Road, #01-02 Fook Hai Building
How is it? Aiyo, thick and hard!

25. Bee Hock Guan (sliced pork)

Available at all NTUC Fairprice outlets during the CNY period
How is it? Aiyo, this one dry like grass.

26. Kim Hwa Guan (chilli minced)

32 New Market Road, #01-1022 People’s Park Cooked Food Centre
How is it? Nice charcoal taste, each piece is smoky and sweet.

27. Lim Chee Guan (BBQ beef)

How is it? So black, obvious it is beef. Prefers Dendeng’s beef.

28. Chai Ho (sliced chilli pork)

448 Clementi Avenue 3, #01-10 Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre
How is it? Slight spicy and darker, like bacon.

29. Lim Chee Guan (BBQ Chilli Pork)

How is it? Thin, dark, fatty and smoky.

30. Bee Cheng Hiang (sliced pork)

189 New Bridge Road
How is it? Though it is a little dry, it is pretty sweet and smoky.

31. Kim Hock Seng (chilli BBQ pork)

32 Keong Saik Road
How is it? Spiciest bak kwa ever, I ate this the first and it kills my taste bud.

32. Tung Lok Pork Jerky (honey glazed)

How is it? Chewy but too much oil.

33. Sang Hock Guan (minced pork)

Block 163, #01-446 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4
How is it? So so lor, got a little bit of wasabi.

34. Kim Hock Guan (spicy BBQ pork)

150 South Bridge Road, #01-02 Fook Hai Building
How is it? Sweet then spicy already. Marination can be better.

35. Bee Cheng Hiang (chilli pork)

How is it? First bite is sweet, the spiciness slowly kicks in. But it is bearable.

There you have it, 35 bak kwa flavours! I guess you will have a hard time searching for the best, so here are some of my recommendations:

Maureen

Born into a family of enthusiastic foodies, Maureen has always loved all things culinary, especially the local cuisine here in Singapore. With a life-long fascination with the rapidly evolving food scene in Singapore, she started this website in 2007 to explore and celebrate all types of local Singapore dishes and to share her love of travel and food with the world. With 4 years of experience as a journalist and producer, she has a wealth of experience in food writing, photography and styling.