Bacon Candy

This may not be the prettiest pork dish you've ever seen, but I'll wager it's among the most delicious.

Teik Seng is a little outdoor spot about half a block from George Town's Campbell Street Market. It's open for lunch and dinner, just 5 1/2 hours a day, and is always absolutely packed. We walked by maybe two dozen times before finally making it here for a meal.

In the last five days we've eaten at Teik Seng three times. It's a family-run joint, and the food is simply superb, every dish made with care and not a small amount of pride. Unless you come right at opening, expect to wait for a table. Once you've ordered, expect to wait for your food. But the wait is worth it, and the food is always served with a smile.

There's lots to write about Teik Seng, and I'll do so in in good time. But this, perhaps the restaurant's 'star' dish, deserves a post all it's own.

On the menu it's 'double-cooked' pork. On the plate, it's char siew, or Chinese barbecued pork belly, sliced into matchsticks and stir-fried. A well-made Malayisan-style char siew is, in its own right, something special: smoky and fatty, laquered with a sweet (but not too sweet) sticky glaze.

Take that already smoky char siew and expose it to a seasoned hot wok and you add another layer of smoke, in the form of wok hei. The glaze caramelizes even more, sticky bits turn crunchy, and some layers of fat begin to render while others crisp. Opt for an addition of chopped cili padi (fiery small fresh green chilies) and you get spare little pinpricks of heat as counterpoint to opulent meaty sweetness.

Teik Seng's double-cooked pork is the best char siew done one better. It's bacon turned confection - Bacon Candy, essentially.

Like any sweet, it's not something to be eaten every day. No matter how much we'd like to.

Kedai Makanan Teik Seng, Carnavon Street between Chulia and Campbell, George Town, Penang. 12 noon-2:30p and 5:30-8:30p. Closed on Tuesdays.

Comments

[KY]

Dear Robyn,
It's actually stir fried Siu Yok, or roasted pork. :)

[Victor]

That is what I thought as well, Robyn. I think it is "Seoh Tu" in Hokkien; ie pointed by KY. My dad's all time favourite but very fatty. Not healthy. Like you said it, only in small portion. So irresistable and the problem is, a small bite leads to more and eventually the whole plate.

But, then Teik Seng may be doing a Char Siew version. Is that what they told you? I have never tasted a Char Siew version before, but will visit the place when I come home for a short visit in 2 weeks time.

I have to say - the photo is stunning!

Btw, I am so happy to have found your blog and thoroughly enjoy reading every post you are reporting on Penang. Cheers!

[A Lil Fat Monkey]

Woah...this is dope! I'm so going back to the island for some of this. Thanks for the find. We can always count on you to show us the best eats in this country of ours. How embarrassing is that eh? LOL.

To good food and beyond!

[Nutmeg]

Took you long enough to find the place.

[Robyn]

Nutmeg - We're only two mouths who are not in GTown full-time. And there are, oh, hundreds of eateries and hawkers here.
That said, if you know of other must-eats and, we're always listening.

[Nick]

For some reason I always hated this dish whenever my grandmother made it for me as a way to recycle leftover siew yoke. Must be because of the lack of wok hei because I absolutely loved "Fei Kai"'s version of the dish in KL.

[BM]

This must be in your suitcase when you come to NYC. At least if you want catfish chips....

[Borneoboy]

My mum used to cook this with left over char siew. She would put in some garlic and light soy sauce, maybe a bit of sugar for that candy effect. Heaven, especially with rice !

The other version with siew yuk is also great. Garlic, siew yuk, pepper, some salted fish stirfried quickly. Then serve with piping hot porridge. Really brings bakc memories.

[bayi]

Robyn

This is one dish that is "surprising" so Chinese that most of us eat and enjoy all the time but take for granted! :) Though most Chinese would use siew yok to cook it these days, I remember my mother cooking it using just pork. It's extremely "flavourful", with fried garlic, black soya sauce, sugar, pepper and even a little chopped onions. The meat must be "half fatty, half lean" (as the Chinese would describe it colloquially and the wok worked up by a "big" fire.

It's a simple and yet powerful dish that will evoke lots of nostalgia.

[Xander]

Whoa, even more reason to rush back to Penang as soon as possible! I'm a big fan of pork belly, and that looks like a brilliant execution of it.

Funny, looking over these comments to see how one cuisine's 'leftovers' can become an outsider's delicacy... but it's often those simple dishes, when prepared well, that are the most tasty. -X

[Nutmeg]

Oh, I know of a great place for laksa, but I'm not telling *grins* till your next laksa post...

[Alan Tan]

Is it charsiew or roast pork ??? Seems more like roastpork to me, coz in KL they use roast pork ( siu yoke ) and fried in such a way. You can find it in Jalan Sultan ( adjacent to Chinatown ). Only open for supper.

[Rasa Malaysia]

I miss Penang. Really have to move back to Penang hopefully in the near future!

Did you read the Oct issue of Conde Nast Traveler? I am proud to be a Penangite as the writer describes Penang as heaven!

[juls]

just like tocino...

[Pete]

I was in Penang over the weekend & finally got to try Teik Seng for the first time ever! We were there at 11.45am, and they kindly took our orders although the place opens at noon. Wow, by 12.15pm, ALL the tables were taken up! Like you, I loved the fried "sio bak". Also the fish assam pedas, which was very, very good!

[Ashlee]

If anyone's looking for this place in Georgetown right now, they are currently closed... they will be reopening from 8th April in new premises just a few doors down the road.

Will have to try this some other time :( Lucky there's a lot of other food out there to eat...

[Simon Seow]

Is this the stir-fried roasted pork that has a slightly caramel like sweetness in it?

[Dave]

Hi Simon -- that's the one.

[asianfoodophile]

Been to Teik Seng many times for dinner. Last time I went I wanted to order the cincaluk/pork dish but none of my companions eat cincaluk so did not order. Pity.