Bak Kut Teh (pork rib soup) is one of the must try foods listed in all the Singapore Foodie magazines. Unfortunately I did not enjoy it.
It was too hot outside to search for the best Bak Kut Teh, so I settled for the Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh inside the Marina Bay Sands food court. Ng Ah Sio serves up Teochew style bak kut teh and is one of the most famous names among the bak kut teh devotees.
Their menu was short which gave me hope that everything would be delicious. I settled on their signature Bak Kut Teh, fried cruller, and a vegetable. It cost around $10USD.
Everything was okay at best. The cruller was stale. The bak kut teh was too peppery and salty. I dipped the fried cruller in the bak kut teh as per guide books, but that did not improve the taste of the fried cruller or bak kut teh.
Overall: Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh had too much soy sauce and pepper for my liking. I like the cleaner taste of Shanghainese and Cantonese pork rib soups much better. Perhaps bak kut teh is an acquired taste.
The problem was going to MBS for bak kut teh. The best is definitely on Balestier Road, or in Tanjong Pagar. Have it properly and it is AMAZING.
I am not so sure. In the authentic shops there is no AC, I cannot eat something so heavy as bak kut teh in the stifling heat.
Also, I am not a fan of soy sauce in soups. Or the liberal use of pepper either. =)
There shouldn’t be soy sauce in bak kut teh…it’s a clear broth! That’s a shame about the heat, bkt really is divine.
Is it too “nohng” i.e. that is dense/intense?
I read a recipe for it and knew that it would be beyond me as well as stinking up the kitchen. Another branch of my family does do these intense dark boils of cow parts with the hide still on but we were never raised to like it.
Hawaiian and Korean oxtail soup is basically Chinese family style soup. That gelatinous base can also be used to make a reasonable fascimile of Vietnamese broth. I wish American cattlers would get together and just make gelatinous bone soup bases so I wouldn’t have to go to so much trouble to make a sanitary version of Korean and Vietnamese beef broths for noodles.
Bak kut teh packs a solid punch of salt and pepper. It makes sense as it is meant for the dock workers back in the day who had to manual labor under the sweltering Singapore sun. The soup is meant to nourish them.
You should try the ba kut teh at vivocity next time.. It’s air conned and not bad.. Just more expensive
Thanks for the tip.