Rong Cheng Bak Kut Teh 榕城(新民路)肉骨茶 @ Midview City (Sin Ming Road)

Among the different style of Bak Kut Teh in Singapore, my favourite is still the Teochew Bak Kut Teh. To savour this local delicacy, one of my favourite place to visit is Rong Cheng Bak Kut Teh at Midview City 榕城(新民路)肉骨茶. Don't be confused by the other Rong Cheng Bak Kut Teh that is a stone throw away at Blk 22 Sin Ming Road. In fact, that is the original stall runs by Lionel's dad, Mr Lim who started the business back in 1976. Both outlets uses the same ingredients and recipe just that one is a stall in a coffeeshop while the other at Midview City is a standalone restaurant which is more spacious and offers a variety of cooked food on top of their popular teochew style bak kut teh.

Pork Rib Soup 4.5/5

Not known to many, in the earlier days no one uses the prime ribs or better known as 龙骨 (dragon bone) for their bak kut teh. It was Uncle Lim who started to use them and everyone follow suit. Nowadays the prime ribs are a priced item as the demand has increased but there are just the number of spare ribs available in each pig. Lionel shared with us that he has an open kitchen and he will cook the doneness of meat accordingly to the customer. He told us the young generations prefer their meat to be tender and fall of the bone while the older generation likes it tougher with a bite. I belong to the young group. I like my meat to be tender and my soup to be peppery. Rong Cheng bak kut teh hits the right spot for me.

Sliced Belly Meat Soup 4/5

Uncle Lim was the first to introduce the prime ribs bak kut teh. His son, Lionel inherited his entrepreneur spirit and came up with the Sliced Belly Meat Soup ($7) or what I called the sliced pork bak kut teh. This is the first in Singapore catering to the young and more health conscious crowd. The soup may not be as robust compared to the pork ribs but it has a more subtle clean flavour.

Salted Vegetable 4/5

Braised Beancurd Skin 4/5

Besides the bak kut teh, Rong Cheng also offers some side dishes to go with the delicious bak kut teh. During my visit, I got to try the Salted Vegetable ($1/$2), Braised Beancurd Skin ($1/$3) and the Liver & Kidney Soup ($6). The comforting and hearty sides are perfect to the complete the whole meal.

Liver  & Kidney Soup 4/5

Drinking tea or more correctly 功夫茶 (Gong Fu Cha) is part of the whole food heritage of bak kut teh. In the early days, after finishing the bowl of pork soup, it is refilled with tea to wash down the greasiness. As time evolved, the tradition of consuming the pork soup and drink tea becomes our modern day's Bak Kut Teh. Rong Cheng still continues this tradition servicing their bak kut teh with gong fu cha. Their tea are from one of the oldest tea merchants in Singapore, Pek Sin Choon.

If you feel intimidated by the different steps in drinking Gong Fu Cha, Rong Cheng's staff is more than willing to guide and assist it. If not, Lionel has also introduced Floral Tea to pair with bak kut teh. While the tea taste is milder, it comes with a more floral fragrance. Lionel hopes to upkeep the tradition of pairing tea with pork rib soup with a modern element to arouse the interests of the younger generation.

Besides floral tea and sliced pork belly, Lionel in recently years has also switched to using natural pork for their bak kut teh. Natural pork has no antobiotics, no medicated feed, no growth hormones and no animal protein by-products.

Rong Cheng Bak Kut Teh definitely is my favourite to go place for a Bak Kut Teh whenever I have a craving. The outlet at Midview City is spacious and has ample parking lots. With its extended menu offering cooked food and steamed fish, it is ideal for a family meal together or group gathering.

Rong Cheng Bak Kut Teh will be taking part for the very first time in this year Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014 at Suntec Convention and Exhibition Hall 401 & 402 on 22 November 2014, 11am to 5pm. This is a fund raising event for the beneficiaries under the care of Touch Community Services regardless of race and religions. Coupons for the event can be purchase at https://www.ultimatehawkerfest.sg/. Let's do a part for charity while at the same time savour of the best bak kut teh in Singapore. See you at Ultimate Hawker Fest 2014.


Rong Cheng Bak Kut Teh
榕城(新民路)肉骨茶
Midview City
Blk 26 Sin Ming Lane
#01-117
Singapore 573971
Tel: +65 66841889
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rongchengbkt
Website: http://www.rongchengbkt.com/
Nearest MRT: Upper Thomson (TE Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 7am - 9pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Upper Thomson MRT station. Take Exit 1. Turn left and walk down Bright Hill Drive. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

Lau Ah Tee Bak Ku Teh (老亚弟肉骨茶) @ Whampoa West (Serangoon/Bendemeer)

Many people may not know or heard of Lau Ah Tee Bak Ku Teh (老亚弟肉骨茶) at Whampoa West along Upper Serangoon Road. Little did many know that the owner Mr Sim Choon Lian or more commonly known as Lau Ah Tee learnt his recipe from his uncle Ng Mui Song who is also the founder and father of Ng Ah Sio Bak Ku Teh. It was my great privilege to meet one of the pioneers in Teochew bak ku teh and who is so keen to share with me the heritage story of bak ku teh.

Mr Sim is now already 67 years old. He started working at his uncle stall when he was around 16 years old.
Previously he has worked in a Teochew porridge stall and  duck stall before working for his uncle. It is no turning back from him since then in the bak ku teh business.

Bak Ku Teh 4.2/5

Lau Ah Tee Bak Ku Teh uses Indonesian pork for their Bak Ku Teh and they are cooked only in water, pepper and garlic. The result surprisingly is a clear soup with the sweetness of the pork. The full bodied, garlicy and peppery soup was flavourful but not overpowering. We had the prime ribs or more commonly know as dragon bone (龙骨) which was tender and fell of the bone with ease. Mr Sim also shared with me that in the earlier days youtiao was not served. It was not after coolies brought their own youtiao to soak up the delectable broth that it was introduced at a later stage.

Tang Oh Soup 4.2/5

I love to have Tang Oh also known as Chrysanthemum Coronarium especially during steamboat. I am glad that I can get Tang Oh soup at the bak ku teh stall too. Some people find that the vegetable has a bitter earthy taste but that is exactly what I enjoyed.

Braised Tau Pok and Chai Buey 4.2/5

Besides bak ku teh, there are also some other side dishes offered at Lau Ah Tee Bak Ku Teh such as the Braised Tau Pok and Chai Buey.

Braised Pig Trotter 4.5/5

To be frank I find nowadays all bak ku teh stalla are too stingy with their serving portion of pork so I usually ended up ordering the Braised Pig Trotter. Maybe it is a scam after all to make us order and pay for more. Anyway I am not complaining as I love having braised pig trotter. The pig trotter at Lau Ah Tee Bak Ku Teh is well braised to a nice melted in the mouth texture with the light and savoury braising sauce.

Different at Lau Ah Tee Bak Ku Teh compare to the other bak ku teh stalls elsewhere is the steamed fish and squid. These fresh catches are personally handpicked by Mr Sim from the market as early as 6am.

Steamed Squid 4.5/5

I was lost of words when the Steamed Squid was served. Don't fancy, just simple appreciation of the freshness. The squid was cooked perfectly having a very enjoyable springy bite. The jelly liked squid roe was a extra bonus completing the whole enjoyment.

Steamed Fish 4.8/5

Being a Teochew, I love my Steamed Fish. The fish tail was steamed exactly how my family will cooked it. Once again nothing fancy, just some ginger, tomato, chilli and sour plum to lift the sweetness of the flesh but it was so good. The fish is Ikan Kurac caught off Tanjung Balai.

When we mentioned Bak Ku Teh we must not forget the close bond between pork ribs soup and tea drinking. In the early days, bak ku teh was purely just pork ribs soup. When the coolies finished soup, tea is poured into their bowl for them to drink, washing down the greasiness. In addition, tea drinking is also part of our Chinese ancestor culture. As time gone by, the whole pork ribs soup and tea drinking evolves into what we now known as Bak Ku Teh, bak ku meaning pork ribs and teh meaning tea.

It was my honour to meet Kenry Pen the 4th generation owner of Pek Sin Choon since 1925. Pek Sin Choon is one of the oldest tea merchants in Singapore. You will find their paper wrapped tea packaging with the buffalo familiar as they supplied almost 80% of all the bak ku teh stalls around Singapore.

When I asked Kenry why people drinks tea when they have bak ku teh, his reply enlightened me. Apart from washing down that greasiness, tea drinking is all about connecting people. It got me thinking. It is probably similar to why European drinks wine. And at that very moment, I am connecting with Kenry over a meal of Bak Ku Teh and Pek Sin Choon's tea. I am glad that food and tea has allowed me to get to know a new friend as well as learning more about the root of our food heritage.

Lau Ah Tee Bak Ku Teh (老亚弟肉骨茶) may not be as popular compared to some of the Bak Ku Teh stalls out there but I can say that their bak ku teh is not second to these stalls. On top that, the offering of steamed fish and squid has given more varieties and choices to patron who wants something more or different.


Lau Ah Tee Bak Ku Teh (老亚弟肉骨茶)
Blk 34 Whampoa West
#01-67
Singapore 330034
Nearest MRT: Boon Keng (NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 7am - 3pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Boon Keng MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

Soon Lee Porridge @ Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre

Little would I expected this little stall at Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre which sells only 3 types of porridge would be so crowded with an average time of about 15 minutes. Soon Lee Porridge located at the back of the food centre sells only Pork, Fish and Chicken porridge.

A bowl of the porridge costs $2.70 without egg and $3 with egg. I think the price is pretty reasonable considering it comes with youtiao and some preserved vegetables. I even discovered pork lard in my bowl of Pork Porridge lifting the flavour. The porridge has been seasoned so there is really not necessary for any other sauces except maybe a little bit of pepper.

The other thing I like about the porridge is the texture. While it is smooth, it still retains a bit of the grainy bite. On top of that, the minced pork is rolled into a ball shape which gave it that extra bite.

Overall Soon Lee has been one of my favourite place for a bowl of comforting and flavourful porridge which is also very affordable.


Soon Lee Porridge
Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre
Blk 448 Clementi Ave 3
#01-50
Singapore 120448
Nearest MRT: Clementi (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 6am - 9pm
Sat: 6am - 5pm
(Closed on Sun)

Direction: 
1) Alight at Clementi MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk towards the bus stop and turn right to the cluster of HDB blocks behind. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

Xi De Li (西得利) @ Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre

So what does Singaporean eat for breakfast? For me breakfast can be as simple as a cup of coffee and You Tiao. When writing for my OMY Singapore Blog Awards 2013, 1960s themed blog post, I came across Xi De Li (西得利) which has been selling the traditional snacks since 1966.

Xi De Li (西得利) all started from a 10 years boy sell You Tiao and Hum Chin Pang (Butter Bun) from his bicycle at Beo Crescent in the morning before rushing off to be on time for school. The founder Ah Sai (addressed by his neighbours and friends) has since passed down the business to his 3 children. Business has since expanded with 9 branches island wide with a central factory in Kaki Bukit. This outlet at Clementi is their main branch. Besides You Tiao and Hum Chin Pang, Xi De Li also offers red bean bun, salted bun, sesame balls, mix fritters and curry puffs at their branches now.

You Tiao 3.5/5

Dip the You Tiao into the cup of coffee and allows it to get all soaked up. That is how I have learnt to enjoy my breakfast from my grandparents and I am still doing it now. The fritters are fried freshly using premium vegetable oil at the stall giving it a nice crisp while not too oily.


Xi De Li  (西得利)
Clementi 448 Market & Food Centre
Blk 448 Clementi Ave 3
#01-39
Singapore 120448
Tel: +65 67499018
Website: http://www.xideli.com.sg/index.html
Nearest MRT: Clementi (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 6am - 4pm
(Closed on Mon)

Direction:
1) Alight at Clementi MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk towards the bus stop and turn right to the cluster of HDB blocks behind. Journey time about 3 minutes.

Dough Culture @ Serangoon Nex

(Photo taken with Canon IXUS 120IS )

I have walked passed Dough Culture numerous time and I always spotted a queue at the stall. Since I was feeling a bit hungry and I was at Serangoon NEX, might as well grabbed a bite at the stall.

I thought Dough Culture sells only You Tiao. Is only when I queued for my order, did I realize Dough Culture sells quite a wide range of sweet and savory local snacks too.

You Tiao 4/5

I tried the You Tiao which is also known as chinese crullers. It was crisp on the outside and tender inside. The fried dough was not too oily too.

Dao Suan 4/5

Dao Suan is made from split green beans or mung beans. Potato flour is also added to thicken it. Rock sugar is usually added for sweetening and pandan leaves for fragrant. The Dao Suan at Dough Culture has the right thickness and not overly sweet which I enjoyed. Of course it is best eaten together with the You Tiao.


Dough Culture
Serangoon NEX
23 Serangoon Central
#B2-85
Singapore 556083
Tel: +65 66342061
Website: http://www.doughculture.com.sg
Nearest MRT: Serangoon (NE Line, CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Sun-Thu: 930am - 10pm
Fri-Sat: 930am - 1030pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Serangoon MRT station. Take Exit E. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes.