Bak Kut Teh

Newish Bak Kut Teh stall in Kopitiam at 721 Clement West St 2. Offers Klang style Bak Kut Teh and Fried Porridge. In fact the stall reminds me of the Old World Bak Kut Teh stall at Blk 727 that closed around end 2021. But this stall is a lot more expensive.

At $7.50 for a small serving of Bak Kut Teh, it’s not the cheapest. Flavour wise, quite close to what you get in Klang, with strong herbal overtones, tender meat from pork ribs, pork belly, fried bean curd and bean skin. And true to Malaysia style Bak Kut Teh, they offer sliced red chilli, chopped garlic and thick dark soya sauce as condiments.

The fried porridge was $6.00. Portion is large enough, full of umami. The little bits of pork lard helps, as does the burnt bits at the bottom of the claypot.

Forget about the pickled vegetables. It tasted sweet and had a strange plastic tang in it. I did see the stall owner retrieving it from the fridge, contained in a ziplock bag.

The stall also offers drunken chicken, curry chicken and black vinegar pork trotters. Perhaps I’ll return to try these after I have gotten over the pickled vegetables experience.

Many in Singapore lament the monotony of our peppery style Bak Kut Teh, that it would be nice if we could have authentic Klang style dark broth Bak Kut Teh. Well, here’s a new addition to the small Malaysian style Bak Kut Teh family in Singapore. And it is legit good.

Located in Kimly Coffeeshop at 150 Bukit Batok Street 11, this stall offers claypot Bak Kut Teh in both dry and soup versions. The meat is tender and detaches from bone easily, sweet from the medicinal broth. The pickled vegetables were salty and sour, unlike most in Singapore which are sweet and sour.

Price wise, they are reasonable and there is even an opening promotion for $9 bowl of soup Bak Kut Teh plus a veg and two bowls of rice.

Really glad this gap in the Singapore Bak Kut Teh scene is being filled. Sure you can go across the border and get some easily after the pandemic but the jams and the queues. And not necessarily cheaper.

Strongly recommend to try this when you are in the western part of Singapore.

This stall along Balestier Road is not as well known as Balestier BKT but as good nonetheless. They serve the peppery type BKT, not the herbal sweet Klang Valley type. The meat comes off the bones very easily and not leathery or over cooked. The broth has just the right amount of pepper in it. The preserved veg is just right in terms of balance between salty and sour. I find those in many other places too sweet. Fair warning, their kidney and liver is cooked just right so there will be a tinge of redness in the soup but they are so tender. Just dip into the dark sauce with chilli and voila!

Obviously I have been here so many times and I will continue to come back. Comfort food for rainy days.

Arrived at 12 noon on a Sun and the Premium Loin Ribs were sold out. So I ordered 3 bowls of the normal ribs, a bowl of kidney, a bowl of liver, a bowl of Preserved Vegetables and three bowls of rice. The damage was $31 which was reasonable.

Supposedly one of the best BKT in the West, hardly any taste of pepper corn in the soup and the soup itself was simply just salty with no meat taste. The meat on the ribs were tender I grant them that but it was just normal pork ribs in brine. The kidneys did not have any funky taste but the liver was a tad over cooked and therefore tough. The preserved vegetables was the one bowl left mostly untouched because it was not the usual salted vegetables we are used to but rather made up of Mui Choy and it tasted sweetish.

Not coming back.

Use to come to this stall in Yu Hua at least once a week while I was working in Jurong area. It’s been 20 years since my last visit. Must say I am happy they have survived all these years.

Back then, I would have rated this as one of the top BKT places in Singapore. Today, with the rise of Ng Ah Sio, Song Fa and others, Hwa Xing is still good but not as spectacular as before.

Same peppery taste that I remembered. Same slightly bloody kidney. Same salty vegetables. Same long wait for your food to be served. So what is missing? I think branding, service and ambience.

They have to change or they will not last another 20 years.

Read a lot about this new kid in the block with authentic Malaysian Styled Claypot BKT. At this place, you can choose the cuts of pork you wish such as spare ribs or premium ribs and add liver, pig tail, intestine, bead sticks, button mushrooms, etc.

Whilst the BKT was authentic, the dish that blew us away was the Liver fried with spring onion and ginger. The liver was thick cut and very tender.

The pork trotters in vinegar with ginger was too sweet for my liking. I prefer mine more sour. Meat was tender.

Worth returning again.

I am not a fan of Malaysian style Klang Bak Kut Teh, especially the dry version but this stall has won me over. Even the Dry version which comes with Lady Fingers is interesting in its smoky flavour. The dark soya sauce that they serve together with minced garlic and chilli padi is the legit stuff from Malaysia. The Bak Kut Teh soup is not over powering in herbal taste and leaves a lingering bitter sweet after taste on your palate.

Definitely coming back to try their spicy fish tail and sesame oil chicken in Claypot.

Located in Hong Lim Market a few stall away from the famous Hokkien Street Bak Kut Teh, I personally feel this one is better in flavour. It has a stronger herbal taste and their yam rice is very nice.

My dad introduced this stall at Teck Whye to me. They serve Malaysian style BKT and you can choose just ribs or add offals/pork slices. Also serve braised pork trotters that are savoury (not the sour type). Gelatinous skin comes off easily and overall not too fatty.

Since this is my father’s favourite BKT stall for now, I guess I’ll be back.

How do I describe this? Think Klang Bak Kut Teh without the claypot. Then tone down on the herbal taste. Remove all the bean sticks, straw mushrooms and bean puffs. All spare parts like liver and kidney are available separately. Yam rice is available on top of white rice. Serve in plastic melamine bowls.

If I want real herbal Bak Kut Teh, I’ll stick with Klang style. At least the claypot keeps the soup warm longer than melamine bowls can. Or maybe just stick to the predominant peppery style Teochew Bak Kut Teh. Not coming back.

Raining cats and dogs and elephants. Headed to Havelok Road for my belly warming Bak Kut Teh soup. Ordered prime ribs soup, kidney and salted vegetables. Lovely but getting pricier.