BAK KUT TEH

Bak Kut Teh (BKT) literally means Pork Rib Tea in Hokkien dialect. Years ago a Malaysian Chinese friend told me it was a dish for the less well to do who could not afford the nice cuts of pork. Instead they buy ribs with morsels still on the bones, and pour boiling tea over them to yield flavor. Later on Chinese herbs, condiments and loads of garlic are added to eventually get the unique taste today. Choice meaty ribs have replaced their bony predecessors. I cannot vouch for the authenticity of this story but I like to document it anyway for this blog.

A standard BKT meal is comprised of meaty ribs in a flavorful pork broth lined with a strong white pepper accent, stewed peanuts, deep fried fritters, vegetables, dark soya sauce with chilis and the ritual fresh lime. On Balestier Road there are quite a few BKT outlets, across the street from the Shaw Plaza. 'Founders Rou Gu Cha Cafeteria' has the longest queues for lunch, dinner and 'sui yeh' or late supper. Their hours are noon to 2pm, then 6pm to 230am (!!) and closed on Tuesdays. I thought I would beat the dinner crowd by showing up at 10pm. Well, I was 5th on the queue but counted my blessing as I could be 15th if I showed up an hour earlier, I was told. No menu, you tell the staff what you want while you wait, standing of course, you sit down when called, and the set meal follows. I am not comfortable with the modus operandi as it is assembly line service. When the set finally came I had an inkling these folks might have lost touch with foodies. I was not wrong, the taste was there but unimpressive, it was mediocre production line taste at best. The meat was chewy, not the best cut and cooked to death probably from mass production. The broth did not 'knock me' as it tasted diluted. The peanuts were under stewed, hardly seasoned, and with no flavor. The vegetables were over cooked, the fritters soggy from sitting around humidity, the lime jucie came in a plastic, OMG, and not freshly squeezed. The coup de grace and fatal flaw, the chilis in the soya sauce were already limp, soaked too long, losing both texture and strength. Did I miss anything? It is a clear case of failure brought on by success. Business becomes so good they chose the easy way out, institutionalizing food preparation and quality first and secondly, service delivery.

You see I cheated here. I did my home work the evening before and tried another shop further up the road, Balestier BKT. I wanted to check what the 2nd & 3rd runners-up can do, verses the market leader. I liked what I had here more, much more. There was no queue, no hype, no attitude but just a quiet delivery of what I considered a tastier, more original, but most importantly a more personal bowl of BKT .... al fresco .... with the cool evening breeze blowing off my sweat from the white peppery hot soup, and the crispy red chili. I loved every bite and every spoonful, it could only be made in heaven.

# Founders NKT @ 347 Balestier Road .... 4 out of 10
# Balestier BKT @ 365 or 355 on the same side of the road .... 8 out of 10