Lunar New Year is just around the corner and it’s time to buy and order your favourite Bak Kwa if you haven’t already done so.  Bak kwa, commonly referred to as rou gan, is our all-time favourite CNY snack and essentially, it is a thin slice of barbecued pork characterized by its sweet, smoky, and savory taste.

We are not sure about you, but Bak Kwa is a snack that we crave all the time and not just during Lunar New Year. We really can eat it all year round!

Century Bak Kwa is a local artisanal bak kwa shop that offers charcoal-grilled Bak Kwa handmade using Spanish pork. Their Bak Kwa is marinated in house with precision, batch by batch, and grilled on charcoal on premise in small batches to ensure the consistency and quality.

Century Bak Kwa has perfected the craft of making Bak Kwa, turning it into not just a festive delicacy during Lunar New Year but a year-round treat for those who crave a slice of tradition, perfectly charred and packed with flavor.

Fans of Century Bak Kwa call it the Hermes of Bak Kwa, and that is the best testimony of where they stand in terms of taste and quality.

Unlike most Bak Kwa chains in Singapore that produce their Bak Kwa using machines, Century Bak Kwa is an independent shop and the handmade Bak Kwa is grilled at their shop in small batches.

The Bak Kwa slices are thick, juicy and tender. Other than the original flavour, they also offer an array of modern flavours including lychee, yuzu, pineapple, hawthorn and black truffle. Once you’ve tried their premium Bak Kwa, everything else pales in comparison.

And don’t miss out on their homemade Golden Pineapple Tarts—available in original, ondeh ondeh, prune, strawberry—which are super addictive. These are made using premium French butter, so every bite is luxurious, decadent and oh so satisfying. Totally worth the calories, we would say!

There may be no lack of brands out there offering CNY goodies, but Century Bak Kwa has won our hearts for their dedication to perfection. Apart from the taste, can we also say they have the best-looking packaging?

They nailed the aesthetics part, making their goodies an ideal gift for that someone special. Truly the best Bak Kwa in Singapore, and if you haven’t tried, you are missing out.

They have limited slots available from until the start of Lunar New Year, shop for your Bak Kwa online at Century Bak Kwa.

Century Bak Kwa
30 Dunlop St
Singapore 209358

This post was brought to you by Century Bak Kwa.

New Eastern Kim Tee—a traditional Bak Kwa shop in Serangoon Gardens—is now selling Bak Kwa Fries. The popular Bak Kwa shop has created the Bak Kwa Fries using its popular signature recipe.

Unlike their usual Bak Kwa slices which are made considerably thinner than most Bak Kwa that you get in Singapore, they have made the Bak Kwa Fries thicker, chunkier and juicer.

Forget about spam fries, you need to try this new Bak Kwa Fries!

Starting out from humble roots, turning his interest into passion and passion into a business, founder, Mr Teo Kim Tee began his own signature brand—New Eastern (Kim Tee) Dried and Minced Pork—back in 1976, setting up shop in the heart of Serangoon Gardens. They’ve remained at the same location ever since and have now grown to become a popular name among many.

Their bak kwa is unique in that it is made considerably thinner than most, allowing the complex smoky aromas and sweet, porky flavours to melt on the tongue. Priding themselves on producing bak kwa that is 100% hand-made, their products begin the traditional way, cooked in a charcoal oven before subsequently grilled over a charcoal stove.

Now, back to the Bak Kwa Fries. It is available at an introductory price of S$6 and they are freshly prepared at New Eastern Kim Tee at Serangoon Garden (22 Maju Ave) and Chinatown (22 Sago St).

And from 22 to 26 Dec 2020, New Eastern Kim Tee is offering free delivery with no minimum order for the Bak Kwa Fries!

New Eastern Kim Tee Bak Kwa
22 Maju Avenue
Serangoon Gardens
Singapore 556695
Tel: +65 6283 2829 / 9138 6665
Nearest Station: Serangoon

Read our post to find out how bak kwa is made at New Eastern Kim Tee.

When it comes to Chinese New Year, there are a few things that immediately spring to mind: Family reunions, hot pot dinners, red packets (ang pao) and of course, the green light to snack non-stop.

Filled with a multitude of pastries, cookies and sweet treats galore, no Chinese New Year celebration is complete without festive goodies. Period. Time to start stocking up, but in case you don’t know where to start, here is our list of 10 Chinese New Year Snacks that every Chinese household should have in 2019.

BAK KWA

Commonly known as rou gan or barbecued pork jerky, bak kwa is a must-have of any Lunar New Year celebration and a treat that can easily be found in most Chinese households during the festive season.

The barbecued snack stands out for its intense smoky flavours that are derived upon barbecuing the meat over charcoal and the sweet-savoury flavours that melts on the tongue.

PINEAPPLE TARTS

Made of rich, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth pastry, these bite-sized delights are topped with pineapple jam and baked. Some prefer the pineapple to be encased within the buttery pastry while others prefer the two separated, but what we can all agree upon is that this delight is addictive as heck.

Photo Credit: eatwhattonight

LOVE LETTERS

No, we aren’t referring to those romantic love letters in literature. Here, we’re talking about egg roll biscuits, which are also better known as love letters.

Made using wheat flour, sugar, butter, egg and some vanilla flavouring, love letters are extremely thin, crispy biscuit sheets that symbolise good fortune for the year ahead.

Photo Credit: AliExpress

BLACK MELON SEEDS

Though not the most convenient to eat, black melon seeds are one of the most addictive goodies to snack on especially when you chatting with relatives.

The Chinese character for seed also means children in Mandarin, so black melon seeds (or any other seed) typically signifies having lots of sons and grandsons in the year ahead.

Photo Credit: healthynibblesandbits

ALMOND COOKIES (OR ANY NUT COOKIE)

As do many treats that originate from China, almond cookies (or any other nut cookies) symbolise good luck and fortune. The nut, which is often found in the centre of the cookie, represents luck while the circular pastry beneath represents coins.

Well-loved for their melt-on-your-tongue pastry and the crunchy texture of the nut atop, a container of these in your house will surely bring a smile to your guests, kids and adults alike!

Photo Credit: liebherr

CASHEW NUTS

The Chinese believe that Cashew nuts would help one’s family prosper financially, as these nuts take on the shape of gold ingots from the olden days and hence represent wealth.

Packed with multiple health benefits such as boosting your immune system and lowering the risks of cardiovascular disease, it sure is easy to munch away and finish an entire bottle of cashew nuts in one sitting.

Photo Credit: savouriesandsweets

SPICY DRIED SHRIMP ROLLS

Also known as hae bee hiam, spicy dried shrimp rolls are one of those snacks that you either love or hate. Spicy dried shrimps are wrapped in a crisp, crunchy, golden-brown crust, bringing out a good bite which then reveals an aromatic fragrance from the dried shrimps within.

KUEH LAPIS

Originating from Indonesia, Kueh Lapis is essentially a multi-layered steamed butter cake. Though jam-packed with tons of calories, we reckon that this sweet treat is worth the exercise after. 

Photo Credit: bakeking

KUEH BANGKIT

A Chinese New Year favourite in both Singapore and Malaysia, kueh bangkit are also known to many as tapioca cookies or coconut cream cookies.

Made with tapioca flour and coconut cream, these cookies are light, airy, smooth and so addictive.

NIAN GAO

Sometimes directly translated to ‘Chinese New Year’s Cake’, nian gao is a glutinous rice cake and is a popular gift during the Lunar New Year due to its significance and meaning behind.

In Mandarin, the Chinese word nián is identical in sound to “year”, while the word ‘gao’ is identical in sound to “tall”. As such, eating nian gao symbolises raising oneself to greater heights year after year.

Bak kwa—also known to many as rou gan—is a snack that has gained worldwide popularity. What it is is essentially a thin sheet of barbecued pork that boasts sweet, smoky and savoury flavours.

An essential snack and one we see in almost every household during the Lunar New Year, many of us indulge in this sinful treat without fully knowing what goes into it and how it’s made. Ever wondered how bak kwa gets its signature smoky flavour, or how it achieves its thin yet robust structure? Here, we delve into how bak kwa is made—the traditional way.

MINCE OR SLICE, THEN MARINATED

Bak kwa exists in two forms—either it is made using minced pork or sliced pork. The type of pork that’s used varies as well. Generally, choosing meat with higher fat content results in more flavourful and succulent bak kwa whereas those with a lower fat content will probably taste just as good sans the excess grease.

The only key difference between sliced and minced bak kwa is the texture. Minced bak kwa is generally softer and easier to tear apart and bite into whereas its sliced counterpart often comes with a bit of chew.

The pork undergoes several hours of marination in a mixture of ingredients with the common culprits being sugar, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce and herbs and spices such as ground pepper—of course, this varies depending on who makes it.

SMOOTHENED OUT ONTO A SHEET

Once marinated, the flavourful mixture is spread out carefully onto a rattan sheet using a spatula or a roller to achieve the desired size and thickness.

ROASTED IN A CHARCOAL OVEN

After the meat has been marinated and smoothened out onto a rattan mesh, the individual slices are then placed inside an oven where they are cooked through and through. This process is also what imbues the smoky flavour into the meat.

This process usually takes slightly over an hour. After which, what you get is a bright red sheet of meat jerky that has been evenly dried, smoked and properly cooked.

GRILL IT OVER CHARCOAL FOR THE SMOKY AROMA

Alas, the final process would be grilling the meat over charcoal—the most crucial and essential step to ensure a that there is caramelisation of the meat jerky as well as a slight char around the edges, resulting in a more intensified smoky fragrance—the signature taste of a bak kwa.

The meat is flipped over several times over the charcoal so that it is evenly cooked, yielding the most succulent, juicy bak kwa pieces.

Ideally, the burnt bits are removed to make it more presentable (and less cancerous). Voila! fresh bak kwa is made.

Thank you to the good folks at New Eastern Kim Tee for giving us an insight on how traditional bak kwa is made.