PETALING JAYA, Aug 23 — Many of us have obsessed over roast pork or siew yoke, as the Chinese call it. That quest for the best siew yoke with the perfect combination of crispy crackling and juicy succulent meat with fats that melt in the mouth is a neverending one. Maybe the answer lies in Kota Damansara.
In the span of four months, three places within the radius of 200 metres have popped up in the Kota Damansara area with siew yoke on their menu. We decided that this was indeed worth exploring.
Whether there is a clear winner for the “best” crown is a tough one though as each place has their own spin on siew yoke. Again it depends on your own preferences, but we reckon they all definitely qualify as purveyors of cracking good siew yoke.
For Boon Cheam Kar Mun, 31, that passion for the perfect roast pork is evident in his unique offering — a rendition enhanced with English herbs and topped with a thicker crispy light golden skin scored into squares.
Last March, Boon started his R&D for the best siew yoke. The former supply chain planner went through many tries before he was confident enough to open Boon Signature Recipe this March. He runs the place together with his brother, Justin Cheam Kar Jin, 27.
Boon’s inspiration for the siew yoke was his mother’s recipe, which uses traditional seasonings like five-spice powder, soy sauce and fermented beancurd (nam yue). His mother’s version is the best according to him, since it does not have an overpowering porky taste.
The avid cook decided to put his own stamp onto the siew yoke by making it more like a Western-style roast pork. He uses a special mix (more than 10) of herbs and seasonings, like paprika, pepper, garlic powder, oregano and thyme.
This is applied at the base of the pork belly cut he uses, hence the underside has a darker hue. According to Boon, no nam yue is used for his siew yoke, since the strong fermented taste tends to overpower the meat.
One obvious difference from the generic version is how much thicker Boon’s siew yoke skin is. The slightly puffy skin is not pricked nor scraped, unlike the traditional way.
He also scores it like a netting — a method that allows the skin to be crispier and the fats under the skin to retain a melt in the mouth consistency. Cruuuuunncccchhhhh! The result is a thick glossy golden skin that reminds us of keropok. “It’s got a pig skin taste, thick and keropok like since I like the crispy pig skin,” said Boon.
The siew yoke is prepared a day ahead with the marinade and roasted in a large upright Apollo oven, commonly used for roasting meats at chicken rice stalls. It takes Boon about one plus hour to roast his siew yoke.
He does it in small batches to keep it fresh. At Boon Signature Recipe, the siew yoke can be ordered on its own, or paired with noodles and rice. He also serves kai see hor fun, a nod towards his own Ipoh heritage, to which he adds siew yoke. Another signature dish is their Ipoh curry chicken that uses spices he brings in from his hometown.
After three months of slow moving business in Kota Damansara, which he believes is due to the poor location, the enterprising man decided to venture to the pasar malam to peddle his siew yoke.
He works the pasar malam circuit during the weekdays, targeting areas with a large population of Chinese residents, like Cheras, Sri Petaling and SS2. For the Friday slot, he is currently looking for a new pasar malam area.
That bold venture has paid off for Boon as he sells a whopping 40 kilograms of siew yoke at the Taman Connaught pasar malam! Boon is also fussy about ensuring quality is maintained for his siew yoke, as he refuses to sell any leftover siew yoke from his shop at the pasar malam. Boon also takes pre-orders for parties (advance order at least two days).
A few doors away from Boon Signature Recipe, you will find Crack Pork opened by Khoo Juan Lyn, 34, and Chua Siew Ching, 37. The duo had connected at Blu Inc., their former workplace, where Siew Ching was an editor and Juan Lyn worked as a graphics designer.
In the beginning, Juan Lynn only sold bacon-flavoured salt, olive tapenade and pork pate under the Garam Haram label. The salt adds an extra zing to your pasta and salads. One of the recommended ways to pair the bacon salt is to sprinkle it over vanilla ice-cream, explains Siew Ching, as the salt brings up the vanilla taste.
Currently, the salt is available at Ben’s Independent Grocer in Publika. In the early days, Juan Lyn had joined an artisan market to sell the salt and roped in Siew Ching to offer her siew yoke with the catchy name of Crack Pork since it is something you can’t stop eating.
Siew Ching has been experimenting with siew yoke since her university days in London as her own personal challenge and “labour of love” for her boyfriend (now husband). Her criteria for the perfect siew yoke is one with crispy skin that lasts, paired with juicy meat that is not too fat or overly salty.
“It has to have a nice taste that you just want to keep on eating,” she said. Her version of siew yoke follows a pretty traditional recipe using a marinade of five-spice powder and salt. The skin of the pork belly cut is also pricked and after roasting, the blistered skin is scraped to get rid of the burnt bits leaving a thin and light biscuit-like crust on top of the combined meat and fats.
Buoyed by the positive response for their items, Crack Pork decided to make porchetta, the Italian styled siew yoke, which is pork belly wrapped around pork tenderloin. “We wanted something different from siew yoke and it has more Italian flavours and herbs,” said Siew Ching.
Orders took off for the Christmas season, hence both of them decided to open this place in May to offer siew yoke and porchetta. You can also find fresh orange juice, Garam Haram salts and sinful bacon caramel tarts here. If you like, order a cup of coffee to pair with your siew yoke.
The Crack Pork duo love their coffee so they decided to serve single origin Ethiopian Yirgacheffe roasted by Q Cup in Puchong, as it’s a favourite of Siew Ching’s.
Crack Pork is unique as they use the pricier Sakura pork to make their siew yoke and porchetta. As Siew Ching explains, it’s a healthier meat since it’s free from antibiotics and hormones. Siew Ching adds, “it tastes better as the fats melt in the mouth and it’s softer, smoother with no strong porky smell.” The pork cuts are sourced directly from a farm in Bidor.
Instead of the traditional rice and noodles pairing, Crack Pork’s porky offerings are served in a Vietnamese baguette style like banh mi and fluffy mantous. The steamed bun, when paired with the crispy siew yoke, crunchy cucumbers plus spring onions with a dash of their hoisin sauce, is transformed into a mod-Asian slider.
For those who are watching their carbohydrate consumption, the siew yoke and porchetta is also available on its own with a choice of sauces. As the porchetta can be too rich on its own, the refreshing salsa verde made in-house with chopped coriander is a welcome addition. You also get a small salad of rocket leaves and cherry tomatoes, lightly dressed with olive oil.
Crack Pork also encourages pre-orders for their siew yoke and porchetta for parties, with a minimum order of one kilogram and one day’s advance notice. Collection is at their eatery.
The latest to join the siew yoke fray in the Kota Damansara area is W Cafe’s HanChoo, 41, and Rexine Kaye, 30. Opened since June, their cafe is located at the newly-opened Garden Office Encorp Strand, which is just across from The Strand.
HanChoo who is an event photographer had expressed a growing interest in coffee, hence he decided to start this place up with Rexine who runs her own home bakery business Dino Pigs. “We like to eat and cook. Originally, the cafe was opened just to sell coffee and cakes,” explained HanChoo. Kota Damansara was a natural choice for them since they live nearby.
In setting up their hot food menu, it was a decision to serve shepherd’s pie that kickstarted the porcine slant in their offerings. Traditionally, shepherd’s pie is prepared with minced lamb but since locals often avoid that type of meat, they decided to give it a unique twist and serve it instead with pork.
This led naturally to siew yoke, since Malaysians including the couple love it. For HanChoo and Rexine, the perfect siew yoke must have juicy meat with fats that is not overly rich and a very crispy layer.
Unlike the other two places, HanChoo and Rexine’s foray in the siew yoke business was not a long and ardous journey. Blessed with a kind friend who shared a recipe for siew yoke, they perfected it from the first time they tested out the recipe. Their siew yoke definitely trumps others with its juicy meat and a thicker crispy skin.
The secret, we discovered, behind the succulent meat and fats is slowly roasting the pork belly cut for three hours in the oven. At the last stretch in the oven, the temperature is increased for the skin to crisp. “The fire control is important as it must not be overly burnt for the meat to be tender and juicy,” explained Rexine.
W Cafe’s siew yoke is only available from Fridays to Sundays, as they need to marinate the meat for at least two to three days with five-spice powder and nam yue. It’s also important to get the freshest pork cuts, which Rexine gets straight from the butcher.
The skin is pricked like the traditional way and it is thicker compared to other places, as they don’t scrape a lot since the skin is not too burnt. Since the siew yoke needs a long time to roast, it’s best to visit W Cafe from 11am onwards to score a plate of their siew yoke.
If there’s siew yoke leftovers, it’s transformed into a very tasty caramelised siew yoke, where it’s stir fried with an appetising mixture of dark soy sauce and chopped garlic. That’s the same method practised by many housewives to ensure that every last bit of siew yoke is utilised.
Coincidences work well for the couple as their signature sandwich, The Black Pig, was just something HanChoo had made for his own lunch. “A lot of our dishes are very random,” explained Rexine. Recognising that the combination of the bold black charcoal croissant (a signature item from their breakfast offerings) with a slab of their siew yoke slathered with yellow mustard and homemade sambal was a winner, they put it on the menu.
W Cafe also offers The Golden Pig, which uses the traditional golden hued croissant. The addition of mustard is a nod to how Hong Kong people like to pair the siew yoke with the pungent mustard to undercut its richness.
In addition, Rexine also makes a special grilled pork belly dish, inspired by an Iban recipe. It’s paired with her homemade sambal, which many customers now request to be served with their siew yoke. It’s an unusual pairing but believe us, the not too overly spicy sambal with its appetising taste, marries well with the crispy siew yoke, to alleviate the fatty taste of the meat.
W Cafe is also a pet friendly cafe as Rexine is a devoted dog lover. Word has also gotten around about their crispy siew yoke, via a series of amusing videos posted up on YouTube, including one that features HanChoo as the siew yoke samurai. According to Rexine, the concept was an idea by a friend who owns an advertising agency.
For pre-orders, W Cafe needs at least three days advance notice for a minimum order of 1 kilogram. Customers must also collect their pre-ordered siew yoke themselves.
Boon Signature Recipe
63G, Jalan PJU 5/21
The Strand
Kota Damansara
Petaling Jaya
Open: 8am to 7pm (Mondays to Thursdays), 8am to 5pm (Fridays to Sundays). Siew yoke is also sold at the following pasar malam: SS2 (Mondays), Sri Petaling (Tuesdays), Taman Connaught, Cheras (Wednesdays), Chow Yang SS2 (Thursdays).
https://www.facebook.com/boonsrecipe
Crack Pork
59G, Jalan PJU 5/21
The Strand
Kota Damansara
Petaling Jaya
Open: 11am to 3.30pm (Monday, Wednesday to Friday), 10.30am to 5pm (Saturday and Sunday). Closed on Tuesday.
https://www.facebook.com/crackpork
W Cafe
Block C-LG-4
Garden Office Encorp Strand
Jalan PJU 5/1
Kota Damansara
Petaling Jaya
Open: 7.30am to 6pm (Tuesday to Friday), 9am to 6pm (Saturday and Sunday). Closed on Monday.
https://www.facebook.com/wcafekd
