Sun Kwai Heung

I was in Chai Wan killing time while waiting for my car to be repaired. The mechanic suggested getting a taxi out of here, but I was determined to find something special here.
An unguided walk revealed government housing and old peoples’ care facilities, and not much that caught my eye in the way of food and shops. Think Sheung Wan without the charm.
In desperation I turned to Unilocal,and up popped this place.
No English menus, but the meat spoke for itself. One of the chefs had enough English (and sense) to point out the best cuts of the day and dropped a couple of ample samples on a small mound of rice. Some Hoi sin sauce on the side.
Crunchy skinned roast pork with melt in the mouth far below. Tender meat, no chewiness or nasty sinew. Cha Siu was super tender, not dry at all. The connecting fat was a revelation!
This is way off the beaten track, but for the adventurous it is well worth the effort.

新桂香燒臘 (Sun Kwai Heung) is definitely one of the greats in town!
Too much media attention was focused on Joy Hing. Heck even Anthony Bourdain went there for Layover: Hong Kong. So disinterested foodies have took it upon themselves to seek the next best thing, perhaps slightly less crowded, less visited by tourists, and something with far more local flavor.
Thus 新桂香 came to the rescue for many. An MTR ride to the eastern end of the line to Chai Wan could easily take 30 mins if you are somewhere past Central, and then a little bit of walking from the station to get to the roasties deli shop, which is situated in a residential complex right off the main street. Therefore, a commitment of your time, and some energy requiring you get off your lazy arse and walk, is required to savor some the best roasties from a neighborhood deli.
On a cool overcast day back in January, I decided to fit 新桂香 into my eating schedule. After reading about it online from abroad and salivating from the vivid descriptors by others, I knew I had to make a special pilgrimage to the local holy shrine of porktastic porkgasms.
I sat down and inquired about the 3 piece cha siu, which is a certain cut of the pig where the slices are basically round, 3 pieces, joined together at the ends by a little fat and tendon. Ridiculously tender and top notch marination.
Think of it like this
O — O — O
O = cha siu
— some connective tissue or fat. Doesn’t matter, it’s goooooooood!
I was very lucky that the head butcher/​owner in charge told me they had some although it had been sitting out for a couple hours, and that if I were to come back about 2 hours later, than a new batch would come out of their roaster for premium porkgasm experience.
Dood I am starving, I cannot wait another 2 hours!
I was on vacation, what the hell, upgrade it to an entire entrée plate!
Now part of me feels guilty, because most of the locals can only afford a rice plate or at most a 2 meat combo rice plate. This is not exactly a super wealthy part of the neighborhood.
Needless to say, when you request the good stuff, they charge a bit of a premium, but the staff were super polite and courteous, and gave me a free bowl of rice. Unfortunately they ran out of house soup, maybe next time!
The cha siu rested on a bed of marinated soybeans which is a very classic and traditional plating approach. Unfortunately you don’t see this hardly or anymore in the USA.
The staff were also rather amused that I was taking a ton of pictures of the meat, and one of the butchers even helped rotate the giant slab of crispy skin roast pig so I could get a better view! Ble$$ his heart.
The cha siu here has a tad stronger marination than other places, but luckily I enjoyed it very much. It is not as sweet as Bor Kee in Sheung Wan, although to be fair my cut was not the typical kind. This style is probably more on the savory side, perhaps just a touch too salty… but you can also taste the freshness of the meat (despite it being out of the roaster for a bit). Whatever juices were on the plate, made the rice taste even better. Bor Kee’s half lean half fatty cuts were far more tender than here but if you enjoy a nice bite and chew (but not overbearing), the texture is otherwise great.
I cannot remember the exact price of the plate of goodness, but it probably went into the $ 100+ territory, which for Hong Kong is not cheap at all. But I’m shocked that after having this, that I cannot even find a quality slab of cha siu in California that comes anywhere close.
This place is worth coming back a few times. Supposedly the rear «brisket» cut of cha siu (non pork shoulder) is also worth trying.
So if you can converse in Cantonese with the butchers, and want the optimal experience, find out when the goods come out of the roaster, even if it clashes possibly with typical meal hours. Too bad they don’t facebook or tweet.