After checking in, dropping our bags at Meritin Hotel at Jalan Padungan, we hit the old streets of Kuching right away 😁
Chop Guan Hock BBQ Pork boss 陳 was relak-ing one corner when we passed by his shop.
Despite interrupting his siesta without any prior arrangement, friendly boss 陳 generously shared his shop's history and processes.
The pork are marinated, spread on bamboo trays, and then smoked / slow grilled over charcoal in large ovens.
The grilled sheets of pork are then cut into squares.
The squares are finished off by grilling over charcoal before selling to customers.
This process is the same as that still used by traditional BBQ pork shops in Singapore such as Bee Chun Heng (Lau Po) at Frankel Avenue and Kim Hock Seng Bank Kwa at Geylang Lor 32.
Kuching's Chop Guan Hock BBQ Pork seemed to have the same DNA as traditional Singapore BBQ pork 🤔
Boss confirmed it by sharing that he learnt the craft from a bak kwa shop in Singapore's Amoy Street in the 1970s. 陳 opened Chop Guan Hock when he returned to Kuching in 1980.
Bingo.
I tried some bak kwa straight from the grill and some which I bought and tasted a few days later.
Freshly grilled, the BBQ pork was tender chewy and nicely savoury sweet spicy (as I opted for the spicy version).
But, wait a few days later, the BBQ pork stiffened slightly and some of the moisture evaporated. The bite became slightly more chewy, and so was better when paired with beer, tea, etc
The savoury sweet spiciness was slightly intensified making it more tasty 😋
Chop Guan Hock's BBQ pork is as good as any of the traditional bak kwa I've tasted and I prefer it over those produced by modern techniques such as cooking by steaming before grilling.
Price of Chop Guan Hock bak kwa is RM150 per kilo in 2024.
Shop name: Chop Guan Hock Barbecue Pork Slice & Pork Floss 源福肉乾
Address: 56, Jalan Padungan, 93100 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Tel: +608 241 6206
Hours: 9am - 5pm
Written by Tony Boey on 1 Feb 2024
When I went to Kuching recently for CNY, I went to buy the minced and sliced bak kwa. Nice. Thanks for the intro.
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