Meat, Grills & Lauk · Hong Kong

How Many Calories in Swiss Wings (Sui Si Gai Yik)?

Also known as 瑞士雞翼, Sui Si Gai Yik, Swiss Chicken Wings, Soy Sauce Chicken Wings, Swiss Sauce Wings.

Swiss wings are whole chicken wings braised in a sweet soy sauce made with dark soy, rock sugar, Shaoxing wine and spices. They have nothing to do with Switzerland; the name is a mishearing of Sweet. Tai Ping Koon charges HK$190 for 8, a cha chaan teng about HK$40 for 3.

310kcal / 3 wings
Three Swiss wings are around 310 calories, built from the wings themselves (about 240 calories of meat and skin) and the sweet soy sauce they soak up (about 55). Protein is roughly 24g for three wings, fat about 19g, and the sauce adds around 12g of sugar.

Nutrition facts

Per 3 wings (180g)AmountPer 100g
Calories310 kcal172 kcal
Protein24 g13 g
Carbs12 g7 g
Fat19 g11 g

Where the calories come from

Chicken wings, meat and skin (3 wings)110g
240 kcal
Swiss sauce absorbed (soy, rock sugar, wine)30g
55 kcal
Rendered fat and sauce on plate5g
15 kcal

The real talk

A chicken wing is the fattiest part of the bird because of the skin to meat ratio. Hong Kong dietitians put three plain wings (about 100g of edible meat and skin) at around 220 calories, and suggest three per meal as a sensible cap. Swiss wings are braised, not fried, so no oil is added in the cooking. The extra over plain wings is the sauce, which is dark soy and rock sugar reduced until it clings, and that is where the 12g of sugar and about 55 calories come from.

Compared with the other things on the same menu this is not bad. Three Swiss wings at 310 calories beat a baked pork chop rice (1,300) by a mile and come in under a plate of sweet and sour pork (800 with rice). The problem is what they come with. The Tai Ping Koon afternoon tea set is two wings with rice or noodles for HK$74, and the rice or fried noodles under them is another 300 to 450. Eaten as a side dish with a shared plate of greens they are a decent protein option.

The sauce is reused all day at a lot of places, which means it gets saltier and sweeter each hour as it reduces. Three wings can carry 900mg or more of sodium. Eating the skin is the difference between 310 and about 230 for three, since the skin holds most of the 19g of fat. Whether that is worth it is your call; the skin is the reason people order the dish.

How the portions compare

210 kcal
2 wings (tea set)
310 kcal
3 wings
830 kcal
8 wings (Tai Ping Koon full order, shared)

Swiss Wings (Sui Si Gai Yik) variants, ranked by calories

VariantCaloriesNotes
3 Swiss wings, skin removed230 kcalMost of the fat is in the skin
3 Swiss wings310 kcalStandard
3 fried chicken wings (炸雞翼)420 kcalFor comparison
Swiss wings tea set with fried noodles (2 wings)650 kcalNoodles are two thirds of it

How to eat it lighter

Common questions

How many calories in Swiss chicken wings?
About 310 calories for three wings, or roughly 100 per wing. The braising sauce adds about 55 calories and 12g of sugar; the rest is the meat and skin.
Are Swiss wings from Switzerland?
No. The name comes from a foreign customer at Tai Ping Koon in the early 1900s calling the soy sauce wings Sweet, which the waiter heard as Swiss. It is a Hong Kong Cantonese dish.
Are Swiss wings healthier than fried wings?
Yes, by about 110 calories per three wings, because they are braised rather than deep fried. They are higher in sugar and sodium though, from the soy sauce reduction.

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Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical cha chaan teng, dai pai dong or dim sum serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

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