Sun Wah Bar-B-Q Restaurant has been an Uptown Chicago destination since 1987. Sun Wah, which means New China, is very much a family venture. Founder and owner Eric Cheng is second from the left. To his left is his niece, Carol Mak, and to his right is his eldest daughter Kelly, and third child, Michael. Not show in Mr. Cheng's wife Lynda, and his youngest child, Laura, a culinary school graduate. Another sister, Cindy, is not involved in the restaurant, but her infant daughter is already a foodie. At age one, she won't eat anything that isn't flavorful.

Eric Cheng learned Chinese barbecue, in Guangdong Province in Southern China, home of Cantonese cuisine. He fled Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution in China in 1972 by swimming eight hours to Hong Kong where he apprenticed and became a Barbecue Master. He met his wife Lynda in Hong Kong, and they married and moved to New York in 1976. There he worked for a restaurant and before long he opened the first Sun Wah on Mulberry St. in 1983. He quickly tired of the pace and people in NY and moved to Chicago in 1986.

Kelly, Laura, and Mike are taking on more and more responsibility as their father plans his retirement. "He thinks he will travel a lot" Kelly chuckles. "We don't think so." Kelly is taking over much of the management, including a move to a new, larger location a few blocks away in summer 2009. Among the changes they are planning a prix fix menu. Laura, works in the kitchen, focusing on modernizing the menu. Mike also works in the kitchen. The family also own Sun Hing Food, a manufacturer of tofu, soy milk, and bean sprouts, which they use in Sun Wah.

Located at 1132-34 W. Argyle St. (near Broadway), Sun Wah is open 9-9 Sunday through Wednesday, and 9-9:30 Friday and Saturday. It is closed Thursday. Phone 773-769-1254 or 773-769-4365.

The complete menu is much longer than this one. In a six day week they go through about 1000 ducks, 75 suckling pigs, 400 chickens, and 300 pounds of pork loin for barbecue pork.

A large whole hog in the process of being prepared for cooking. The hogs come in weighing 70-80 pounds, and are sold, cooked, at about 45-50 pounds. "We don't waste anything" say Kelly. Indeed, the menu features pig intestines, and lard is rendered for cooking other foods. Cooked hog heads sell for $3, two for $5!

Before cooking, the hog is laid flat by removing the spine, and the ham bones.

On the left, a cook ties wires around the bones in the hip so the pig can be hung in the oven, and on the right is a roasted Philippino style pig a few minutes after being removed from the oven. The ears and tail are covered with foil to prevent charring.

Philippino Pig is marinated inside the cavity with a sauce heavy in garlic and pepper, and it has a glossy skin.

Hong Kong Pig has a salty fermented soy bean paste paste marinade with 5 spice powder, garlic and a hint of sweetness. The skin of raw Hong Kong pig is scalded with hot water and then dried overnight. When it cooks at high heat, the moisture creates "sesame skin", a pebbly dimpled texture. Both preparations create wonderfully crisp cracklins.

A finished hog hangs to cool.

Carryout anyone? Three Hong Kong Pigs are ready for pickup at 10 a.m. on a Saturday. They typically sell about 75 pigs a week, 100 or more for holiday weeks.

Off to a party.

Here's what you get if you order roast pig in the restaurant, cracklins attached.

Strips of pork loin marinate for 20-30 minutes in red bean curd paste, soy bean paste, sugar, salt, msg, oyster sauce, ginger, and dried shallots.