Come Chinese New Year, the queue at popular bak kwa shop Kim Peng Hiang is legendary. We have queued three and a half hours there just to buy some barbecued pork for the 8 Days bak kwa ranking, though the waiting time has been known to stretch to eight hours when demand is high.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, even longtime brands like Lim Chee Guan are taking their sales online and offering delivery now. As for Kim Peng Hiang, well, you’ll still have to trek down to the shop the old-fashioned way. But the purchase system is slightly different this year with safe distancing measures in place.

Photo: Christina Lim/ Facebook

To prevent people from thronging its Changi Road store (near Kembangan MRT station), Kim Peng Hiang is handing out “collection numbers” for customers to buy bak kwa. No walk-in or advance orders via phone will be entertained. But here’s the kicker: you will have to return to the shop the next day to collect your bak kwa, instead of getting it on the spot.​​​​​​​

Photo: Han Ning Kwang/ Facebook

1. Line up at Kim Peng Hiang and get your queue number.

2. With the number, place your order with the shop. Each customer is limited to buying a maximum of 3kg of bak kwa.

3. Choose your desired collection timeslot. Remember, you can collect your bak kwa only from the next day onwards between 2pm to 8pm after placing your order. According to a sign placed at KPH’s door, customers have to collect their bak kwa within their stipulated timeslot.

The mode of payment at KPH remains the same this year — cash only. And show up early if you want to secure your spot. The queue numbers issued each day starting from around 11am are very limited. By 3pm on a weekday, the shop had put out a “close [sic] for today” sign.

Here's the queue situation last Friday:

Once all the numbers are issued and orders taken, the shop will close for the day. An 8 Days reader (who declined to be named) told us he went to KPH just after 11am last Friday to buy bak kwa, and waited for an hour and a half to get his order number. Apparently, the queue has ballooned in recent days, and is now “much much longer” than last Friday’s, though it also moves faster than in previous years ’cos you don’t have to wait for the staff to pack bak kwa.
kim peng hiang price

If you stay in the East near KPH’s shop, this means you can sorta get its bak kwa quicker this year since you don’t have to wait for hours in the insane queue. As for whether KPH’s bak kwa — including its signature pineapple flavour — is worth all this effort, check out our bak kwa ranking to find out more.

465 Changi Rd, S419886. Tel: 6742-6853/ 8368-1707. Open daily circa 11am-8pm for CNY 2021.