Char Siu, Siu Bak & Siu Ark @ Wai Kee

Located along Chulia Street, it is quite difficult to miss this blue-ish green 3-storey building. The 1st & 2nd floor is the sky hotel while the ground floor is home to WAI KEE, Penang's dee-licious char siu (bbq pork), siu bak (roast pork) & siu ark (roast duck).

We arrived at about 12.00pm and it was already full house. Kia-su we might have to wait long, we ordered even before getting a seat. We were estimating a 20-min lunch coz our coins for parking can only last that long! The place was packed; customers queuing up to buy takeaways were also long. Mostly motorist who stops by to takeaway as it is quite difficult to get parkings around this area.

Half hour passed... and we were still waiting. Changed coins and added for our parking meter.. then finally it was here. FINALLY - FOOD!

Siew Bak (Roast pork)'s most important element of a good roast pork is a balance of the meat and the fat. What we love most about it is the fact that the fat is cooked to perfection thus it is not all oily and chewy but instead, it is very aromatic. The skin is roasted just nice - crispy! Just the way we like it.... (7/10)

"Char siu" literally means "roasted on a fork," the traditional cooking method for the dish. Long strips of seasoned boneless pork are skewered with long forks and placed in a covered oven or over a fire. The meat, typically a shoulder cut, is seasoned with a mixture of honey, five-spice powder, fermented tofu, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, red food colouring (optional) and sherry or rice wine (optional). These seasonings turn the exterior layer of meat dark red, similar to the "smoke ring" of American barbecues. The char siu is really yummy... Don't really know how to explain the taste but it is very well marinated. Once you start, it is really very difficult to stop. It is not over burnt like most place. It is slightly burnt which enhance its taste. Very NICE!!! (7.5/10)

The siu ark is very popular but we found it to be average only. It doesn't smell very ducky like some places and the meat is very tender. But besides that, the taste is just so-so... (6/10). It is perhaps slightly above average.

To complement & balance up our meal is a plate of vege!

And a bowl of soup with pork intestines!

Overall... we will definitely come back again! Mainly for the CHAR SIU! We finished at about 1.00pm. Make sure you have enough patience & time at hand before coming... :)

Location: Chulia Street

Price: RM2.50 (1 type of meat); RM3.50 (2 types of meat)