chinese barbeque pork (char sui) on the northside?

I really like the barbeque pork at the two "Sixty-Five Chinese Restaurant" locations in the Loop. Anyone know anywhere on the north side I can find the same? I tried on Broadway with little luck. The two places with the ducks in the window have barbeque pork but none of the sweet glaze. It's just red and very plain. And most take-out places by me don't have any real barbeque pork. Just grey slices of pork that they pour sweet sauce on top of.

I love the char siu from Sun Wah on Arygle. Also Vinh Phat on Sheridan (and Argyle).

i could swear sun wah's char sui is not sweet at all. maybe i'm asking for the wrong cut?

If you like it sweeter, try Vinh Phat, and ask them for more syrup. After slicing the pork, they will actually add some of the sweet cooking liquid in the container.

I totally understand wanting the sweet stuff. When my mom made homemade char siu, all I could care about was the syrup.

Try asking for the pork to be "half fat half lean". The sweetness of the fat really balances the leaness of the pork. Plus, it will reheat better the next day. No microwave, no oven... try steaming it.

Yes I am very particular about my charsiu, since my nickname when I was a kid was "char siu bau" (roast pork bun)

thanks for the info!

i wonder if the pork i'm looking for is the one they list as "with honey" at Sun Wah? i'll have to investigate soon.

It's really easy to make yourself - then you can control both the sweetness and the intensity of the spice. I did a 2-lb boneless pork loin over the weekend; it's made its way into two soups so far, and I'll be making char siu bao tomorrow,and freezing what's left. Oddly, my recipe comes from a Thai cookbook, but it's the classic Chinese blend of Hoisin, spices (five spice, star anise, gingerroot), soy, and sherry or Sho Xing, with the interesting addition of a bit of fish sauce and some chopped raw garlic, plus a soupcon of sesame oil. I used palm sugar in place of white, just because I have it on hand, and I thought it added a little extra dimension to the sweetness.

One thing: since I didn't want the loin to dry out during roasting, I left it whole, and let it happily marinate in the fridge for 2 days before it saw the oven. Awfully good eats, if I do say so myself. Give it a shot! So easy....drop a note if you want the exact recipe. Once you've done it, you'll know what you might want to adjust for next time. You'll never buy BBQ pork again, I swear.