There are always 2 groups when it comes to Bak Kut Teh lovers; the Malaysian version or the Singapore version. Those not familiar with Bak Kut Teh, it is basically a pork rib dish cooked in broth. The Singapore version of broth is cooked with a small number of herbs and a large quantity of pepper to give it a peppery flavour while the Malaysian version is cooked with a large amount of herbs and spices to give it a more dark-coloured herbal flavour
Personally, I am a supporter of the Malaysian-styled Bak Kut Teh as I really prefer the herbal broth more than the pepper broth. I was over the moon that the famous Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh from Johor Bahru opened an outlet within walking distance of my office
Founded by Mr Thian Lee Shing in 1975, the restaurant has since opened 21 outlets across Malaysia and the 1st outlet in Singapore is located at Media Circle. The outlet has both indoor and outdoor seating and is pretty popular during office hours
I love that they have an extensive menu and offer some of the sides which complement the main Bak Kut Teh well like the fried fritters, braised peanuts and garlic stir-fried lettuce. The garlic lettuce is very delicious as the vegetables still have a nice crunch when eaten and the garlic oil adds the perfect layer of flavour which does not overpower the sweetness of the vegetable
For the Bak Kut Teh, it is served in 1 huge clay pot usually for sharing as even the one-person portion is quite big. The basic serving comes with pork ribs, some mushroom and some beancurd skin. You can choose to add ingredients to the basic pot at additional costs from a list of items like fried beancurd skin, pig intestines, pig liver, pork meatballs, button mushrooms and enoki mushrooms. I always add the beancurd skin as it is best eaten with the Bak Kut Teh soup. The soup was perfectly thick and deeply flavoured with a herbal taste with a balanced sweetness just like the ones in Malaysia. The meat was soft and succulent and is perfect when paired with dark soy sauce and fresh chopped garlic
Another item we ordered was the white pepper pig stomach soup as one of the people eating with us preferred the peppery soup. The soup was white and milky and not as peppery as other Bak Kut Teh stores but it was still warm and comforting. The pig stomach was cooked well as it is soft to bite and not rubbery and it was well flavoured without the organ taste
Another popular dish is the braised pork trotters which come in only 1 size and is very generous in their serving. There were many pieces of meat and their trotter is considered quite lean without too much fat. The trotters were well braised as the skin and meat were full of flavour from the soy braise and the meat was soft enough to fall off the bone. The serving was big enough for at least 5 people to share if there were other dishes
Overall, all the dishes we ordered at Soon Huat were fantastic and the flavours were almost the same as those in Malaysia. The generous servings were great for their price and are perfect for sharing. For those who do not eat pork, they do serve other dishes like sesame chicken or Japanese rice bowls with salmon, beef or chicken. This is a must-visit for those who like the Malaysian style Bak Kut Teh like me
Address: 29 Media Cir., #01-01 North Tower, Singapore 138565
Operating hours: 8 am to 6 pm ( closed on Sat ) and 11 am to 7.30 pm on Sun
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