Bak Kuh Teh is the local version of bulalo for Singaporeans and the loop is alot better than our bulalo!
I was out last week again and was travelling in Singapore for yet another team meeting. Mostly it was all business and networking with other nationalities, and the badminton game with Indoneans, Australian, Thai and Filipino. The only thing that is worth raving about during my trip was our hunt for the famous Singaporean food called Bak Kuh Teh. Now, this is a local favorite that you don’t hear a lot among tourists which only knows Hainanese Chicken Rice as the only Singaporean food out there. We really had to go to Ballestier Road which serves alot of these Bak Kuh Teh food and we were not disappointed.
We were looking for Founder Rou restaurant in New Orchid Hotel but unfortunately it was closed on a Tuesday. Now, this is soo weird that this is the first time I heard a restaurant closing on a Tuesday. Maybe its a Singaporean thing. We ended up in hawker place along a street and we’re soo curious about bak kuh teh that we don’t mind eating in this ambiance. Maybe it is best eaten here rather than in an airconditioned restaurant. The Bak Kuh Teh is really a winner and the pork ribs broth was sooo delicious that all of us in the table who was from Thailand, Australia and the Philippines loved it! The only problem with it is that it was pork ribs and there was not alot of meat. It has a garlic taste to it that it is soo good that you can eat the soup with the rice and that was it. This really made my night!
[Left-Right counterclockwise] The Bak Kuh Teh Gang. Calvin (Australia), Siriwan (Thailand), Pittaya (Thailand), and my Boss Susan (Phils). Thanks for the company guys!
You can check out this address in you next Singapore visit:
Founder Rou, New Orchid hotel
347 Ballestier Road
+65-6352-6192
Yep yep, theres more to Sing-gah-poh-ean dishes than saucy Chili crabs or steamy Hainanese Chicken rice!
Ba-Kut-teh reads like one of those classic Chinese comfort foods thats good for the rainy days…actually, this dish may sound familiar to alot of Tsinoys as we have a similar dish called ma-kut-theng (or pork bones soup) cooked minus the garlic and tea but something more familiar- radish (labanos)
Thanks for the info, Ivan. Can you find Ba-kuh-teh anywere in the philippines or only ma-kut-theng is available? The garlic and tea would make alot of difference and maybe the reason why the soup is soo great 🙂
anton
I have read on chubbyhubby’s website that Malaysian bak-ku-teh is tastier. I’ve been eyeing the recipe on rasa malaysia’s website. It looks really mouthwatering….
http://www.rasamalaysia.com/2006/10/recipe-bak-kut-teh-pork-bone-tea.html
hi anton. i’m going to Singapore in April and i’m looking forward to tasting this dish. I agree, that that place you ate at looks really more interesting that having bak kuh teh at an aircondition restaurant. is that place near Founder Rhou?…problem is my stomache is a little weak. was the place hygenic? no tummy ache afterwards? thanks very much!
try the bah kut teh being served at Old Chinatown Kopitiam in Maria Clara St., (near the Orthopedic Hospital) QC. it’s the more authentic Malaysian style bah kut teh probably more flavor coz they cooked it in 16 kinds of Chinese herbs though you don’t really smell the ee-ky aroma of a chinese drugstore.. it’s very aromatic and i think very nutritious.