Baked pork chop rice: the history of a defining Hong Kong comfort food, its humble roots and the fine-dining versions with premium imported pork and rice

Melted cheese, tangy-sweet red sauce, seasoned pork chops and egg fried rice – baked pork chop rice is one of the defining comfort foods for Hongkongers

The dish can be enjoyed across the city, from ‘soy sauce Western’ restaurants as part of a set lunch to fine-dining restaurants that use exclusive ingredients

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Tai Ping Koon’s baked pork chop rice with egg. The restaurant, founded in 1860 in Guangzhou and operating in Hong Kong since 1938, was the first to introduce this fusion dish of meat in a sweet-tangy sauce with fried rice. Photo: Wilson Fok

Wilson Fok

Published: 12:45pm, 7 Feb 2023Updated: 2:39pm, 7 Feb 2023

A lunch crowd gathers at a cha chaan teng, the Hong Kong equivalent of a greasy spoon. Staff brush past carrying scalding milk teas, scrambled eggs on toast and instant noodles.

But every so often, a show-stopper enters the fray: you’ll spot its toasty leopard spots of caramelised cheese crust atop a matt blanket of red sauce, coating seasoned pork chops draped across a bed of fried rice.

Everything about the guk ju pa fan – baked pork chop rice – feels right, and it is one of the defining comfort foods for generations of Hongkongers. It ticks all the boxes – sweet sauce, a good fried rice and a great helping of protein. What’s not to like?

The original baked pork chop rice is based on the idea of a traditional casserole, a French dish in which meat is slow-cooked in the oven, and one of the first restaurants to serve it was Tai Ping Koon. Founded in 1860 in Guangzhou, and opened in Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan district in 1938, it is one of the oldest “soy sauce Western” restaurants in the city.

Baked pork chop rice at Luen Wah in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. Photo: Wilson Fok

The original baked pork chop rice has been a staple on the menu since the restaurant’s inception, featured alongside other signatures such as sweet soy sauce wings and soufflé.

Now with several branches in Hong Kong, Tai Ping Koon’s East-meets-West approach matched the novelty of the time of applying Chinese influences and palate preferences to Western dishes. Here, an egg fried rice is topped with a crispy deep-fried pork chop and laid over with a sweet tomato sauce, which is fortified with port wine to add depth.