Wai Kei Cafe 槐記蜜味燒臘 — Restaurant in George Town

Another shop that has been around for generations since the 1950's - this one I remembered coming even when my age was just a single digit. Locals refer to this place as Sky Hotel Char Siew, because this blue coloured unavoidable building along Chulia Street houses the Sky Hotel above it.

Parking is available along the busy Chulia Street and adjoining roads, and a bit of hunting is normally the case during weekdays. Weekends are a little easier to obtain parking near the shop.

The stall opens at 10am, and you'd be wise to get there before 11:30am when the mad rush starts and orders pile up. I remember having to wait up to 30 minutes for my order during the peak period (11:30am - 1:45pm),.

The variety of roasted meats includes duck, sausages and the star of the show - the char siew. Unlike any other char siew I have ever tasted, the ones offered here are slightly overly roasted, which results in a unique crispy, slightly crunchy outer layer of the char siew.

I have seen time and time again, diners who order a 2nd plate of char siew while eating in. Not because the serving is too small, but the speed at which it's finished when it arrives at the table.

All-in-all, this is another one of the MUST try...

This place probably needs to introduction for fellow penangites who love their own brand of char siew. That is of course the most famous offering here in this stall which have been operating for decades. The char siew here are roasted to a crunchy perfection with those smoky flavorful charred bits in every piece. Unlike the canto styled char siew, this is cut up to smaller nugget sized pieces and isn't as moist or saucey. If that doesn't bother you then you ought to give this place a try. Aside from the char siew, my personal favourite is the siew cheong or sausage. It is packed with generous amounts of fat and seasoned pork meat which offers a buttery experience to each bite. The steam chicken here is also a good addition to your servings of proteins. I would also normally get a plate of their vegetables along with the soup which comes with pieces...

Char siew was really tasty, altho some parts burnt but that's part of the flavour, crispy and melts in your mouth. Crispy pork was OK. Reason for 2 star was the service and portion. Came at lunch time ordered for 1 person, portion was not sufficient. So I decided to come back for dinner just after 6. This time I ordered char siu only for 2 person, portions were still not enough. So I asked one of the man for another 1 portion of char siu, strangely he kept saying it's sold out, when clearly there were a lot of streaks left, more customers arrived after and they ordered char siu and got served. My bf then went over to order char siu again, and was told OK by a lady, but then the same came over and told him it's sold out, can order anything else except char siu. Very disappointed with the...