The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test

Maureen
Maureen
February 09, 2013

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test Ratings

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Bee Kim Heng (sliced pork)

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Low Seng Kim Bak Kwa (sliced pork)

3. Sang Hock Guan (minced pork)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Sang Hock Guan (minced pork)

4. DenDeng House (Ayam BBQ)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: DenDeng House (Ayam BBQ)

5. Fragrance (Fortune Pig)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Fragrance (Fortune Pig)

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: DenDeng House (Beef Chilli)

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: New Peng Hiang (sliced pork)

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!

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Kim Hwa Guan (traditional dried minced meat)

9. Fragrance (chicken BBQ meat)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Fragrance (chicken BBQ meat)

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Friendly Vegetarian

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Xin Dong Fang (sliced pork)

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Chai Ho (sliced pork)

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Lim Chee Guan (sliced pork)

14. Kim Guan Guan (minced chilli pork)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Kim Guan Guan (minced chilli pork)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Kim Peng Hiang (royal chilli sliced pork)

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Kim Guan Guan (sliced pork)

17. Xin Dong Fang (chilli minced pork)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Xin Dong Fang (chilli minced pork)

18. Fragrance (sliced tender BBQ pork)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Fragrance (sliced tender BBQ pork)

19. Bee Cheng Hiang (chicken)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Bee Cheng Hiang (chicken)

20. Kim Hock Seng (BBQ Pork)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Kim Hock Seng (BBQ Pork)

21. Kim Peng Hiang (BBQ Chicken)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Kim Peng Hiang (BBQ Chicken)

22. Kim Guan Guan (sliced chilli pork)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Kim Guan Guan (sliced chilli pork)

23. Kim Joo Guan (chilli sliced pork)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Kim Joo Guan (chilli sliced pork)

24. Kim Hock Guan (sliced pork)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Kim Hock Guan (sliced pork)

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Bee Hock Guan (sliced pork)

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Kim Hwa Guan (chilli minced)

27. Lim Chee Guan (BBQ beef)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Lim Chee Guan (BBQ 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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Chai Ho (sliced chilli pork)

29. Lim Chee Guan (BBQ Chilli Pork)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Lim Chee Guan (BBQ Chilli Pork)

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Bee Cheng Hiang (sliced pork)

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Kim Hock Seng (chilli BBQ pork)

32. Tung Lok Pork Jerky (honey glazed)

How is it? Chewy but too much oil.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Tung Lok Pork Jerky (honey glazed)

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Sang Hock Guan (minced pork)

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.

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Kim Hock Guan (spicy BBQ pork)

35. Bee Cheng Hiang (chilli pork)

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

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Bee Cheng Hiang

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test: Participants Writing Reviews

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:

The Ultimate Bak Kwa Taste Test Results