Who doesn’t love bakkwa right? A good amount of Malaysians are always travelling overseas and one popular destination being none other than our good ol’ neighbour, Singapore!
However, if you’re planning on bringing any ‘bak kwa‘ (Chinese dried meat) over from Malaysia, you’ll probably get it confiscated before you’re allowed into the country. Why, lah? T-T
Source: peng guan bak kwa
Well, according to Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s Facebook post in 2018, officers at Woodlands checkpoint reportedly seized two packets of the dried meat that were packaged in a cookie/pastry box. They explained the reason as to why the dried meat was confiscated, saying,
“As Malaysia is not an approved country for the importation of meat products by travellers, the packets of ‘bak kwa’ were disposed of.”
“Travellers are not allowed to bring in meat, meat products and eggs from Malaysia. Currently, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) has approved 21 countries, including Canada, Netherlands and the United States, for import of pork and pork products to Singapore.”
Well, although Malaysians can’t bring any delicious ‘bak kwa‘ over for their friends or families living in Singapore, we’re sure there’s plenty of equally delicious ‘bak kwa‘ available over there (although they’re definitely a tad more expensive, lah. Sigh.)
If you’re travelling to Singapore and would like to know what products you can and cannot bring into the country before your trip, check out the full list on AVA’s website here!
Also read: Singaporeans Insanely Line Up For 10 Hours Just To Buy Bak Kwa For Chinese New Year!
