Pan Lingling & Xiang Yun Selling $98 Tangerine Bak Kwa For Chinese New Year
Actresses Pan Lingling and Xiang Yun, who teamed up with local chef Cao Yong to start F&B brand Ju Xing Ji selling healthier versions of festive treats, are back with a new offering this Chinese New Year: tangerine bak kwa.
The snack is a collaboration between Ju Xing Ji and heritage bak kwa brand Kim Joo Guan.
In previous years, Ju Xiang Ji sold “healthy yusheng” comprising Japanese abalone, fried taro, a variety of vegetables and a specially-created light sauce, as well as traditional mooncakes containing less sugar. They wanted to offer their popular yusheng again but simply don't have the time to prepare it.
“We are very hands-on with our yusheng. It needs to be freshly prepared and from the first to the 15th day of Chinese New Year, we roped in our families to help assemble and pack the yusheng before delivery. We could only go visiting [relatives] in the afternoon,” Lingling tells 8days.sg.
Which is why this year, they decided to sell bak kwa. Not only is it less labour-intensive on their part, it’s also their favourite Chinese New Year snack.
“This Chinese New Year, we can go visiting in the morning,” she laughs.
Marinated with premium Jeju tangerines & Manuka honey
A fan of Kim Joo Guan bak kwa, Lingling approached the brand’s second-generation owner, Arthur Ong, who is a friend, to collaborate on a limited-edition flavour. The 46-year-old brand prides itself on hand-made bak kwa using premium grain-fed Australian free-range pork that's chilled, not frozen. The bak kwa is grilled without using oil, so it’s [hopefully] slightly less sinful.
After brainstorming for new flavours, Lingling and her partners decided on tangerine as mandarin oranges are a must-have during Chinese New Year. Moreover, pork with orange marinade is a classic pairing in Western cooking.
“We also wanted something that is unique and not so jelak,” she says.
It took Arthur and his team around five months to perfect the taste. The meat slices, made using fresh pork leg, are marinated with the juice and zest of fancy Hallabong tangerines from Jeju Island in Korea, plus antioxidant-rich Manuka honey and Kim Joo Guan’s secret recipe before being grilled over charcoal. No preservatives or meat tenderisers are added.
If you're wondering why regular mandarin oranges are featured in the photo, Lingling explained that the pic is for illustration purposes and that they didn't have any Hallabong oranges with them on the day of the photoshoot.
8days.sg hasn’t sampled the snack yet, but according to Lingling, the bak kwa is light, tender and has a “rich tangerine aroma”.
“I don’t have a sweet tooth, so I like that it’s not too sweet and greasy. You won’t feel jelak after having two slices,” she says. If you’re not eating it freshly-opened, she recommends heating the bak kwa in the microwave or air fryer to warm it up and washing it down with Chinese tea.
Only 900 boxes available
The tangerine bak kwa is available for pre-orders at $98 for 600g (around nine to 11 slices) on Mediacorp’s Wonder Shop from January 8. But if you purchase it during Lingling’s live stream on the site on Jan 16, you can get it at a discounted price of $88. Prices are inclusive of delivery. There will also be bundle deals, as well as other “freebies”.
Each box comes wrapped in an auspicious red and gold wave-print furoshiki Japanese cloth, decorated with a Chinese knot. Only 900 sets are available. The bak kwa will be available for delivery from Jan 27.
Order at Wondershop.sg from Jan 8.
Photos: Ju Xing Ji
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