Best siew yuk in KL

This eatery is usually packed at lunch time, and for good reason too. Each single-serve order here comes with an entire strip of pork, meaning you’ll have between ten and 12 thick-cut pieces of meat all to yourself. A regular order of siew yuk comes with the layer of fat intact; but you can also ask for it to be removed.

The siew yuk is only available at 12.30pm and the owners won’t take any orders before then. Here, an order of siew yuk rice will set you back RM19 – pricey but worth it considering that you’re getting an entire strip of pork, which is easily twice as much compared to most places.

Siew yuk rice, RM19.

This business has been around since the ‘80s and has garnered quite a following among Kuchai Lama folk for its chicken, roast duck and siew yuk rice dishes. You can find the stall at Kedai Kopi & Makanan Mooi Mooi, but their success has allowed them to expand to the lot next door; spot it by its bold red signboard bearing the name Kum Kee Charcoal Roast Pork Restaurant. However, you’ll still have to place your orders at the original stall in Mooi Mooi.

The father-and-son duo of Bernard and Ah Kit man the ovens at the back of the restaurant, roasting slabs of pork the traditional Cantonese way – simply seasoned with salt, pepper and sugar, and hung over a charcoal fire. What you get is a lean cut that retains its porky aroma with a hint of smokiness thanks to the charcoal. Although the coffee shop opens at 9.30am, the siew yuk is only available from about 10am. According to Ah Kit, Kum Kee will be moving two lots up from its original corner lot premises come mid-February 2018.

Siew yuk rice, RM7.50 per serving; without rice, RM8.

For something a little different, head to Boon Signature Roast Pork. Co-owner Boon Cheam combines his mother’s recipe with his own to create the siew yuk that made him so popular – pork that’s marinated with five-spice powder (and other ingredients) and then roasted in a charcoal-fed Apollo oven, creating slabs of melt-in-your-mouth meat with a thin, crackly skin. The five-spice powder rub greatly diminishes any traces of the porky odour so what you get is siew yuk that’s aromatic with just the right level of saltiness.

During the weekends, Boon serves an ibérico pork version, but it costs more than twice the price of a regular serving of roast pork. The small eatery struggles to seat the frequent lunch-hour crowds so be sure to come early or plan your trip after 2pm.

Siew yuk rice, RM8.90. Ibérico siew yuk, RM25 per 100g.

Ho Kim Loon knows his way around a good cut of pork, being a trained butcher and owner of the fondly remembered Mr Ho’s Fine Foods in Bangsar Shopping Complex. After an eight-year hiatus from the restaurant scene, he’s back at The Butcher’s Table, dishing out the same golden-brown crackling pork that made him so popular among KLites. The pork belly here has a generous layer of fat and is marinated and roasted with herbs instead of Chinese five-spice powder, resulting in a slightly more Western-style roast pork belly compared to the Chinese-style siew yuk. You can opt to have it with sides like mash potatoes, sauerkraut, garlic rice and coleslaw, but we say have it on its own with the homemade garlic chilli sauce.

Roast pork, RM12 per serving, RM90 per 1kg; single serving with side dish, RM17.