Blogging about Bak Kut Teh in Singapore would be challenging. There were not few popular Bak Kut Teh stalls in Singapore, namely: Song Fa, Ng Ah Sio, Founder, and last but not least, Ya Hua. Out of those, I've only tried three but I prefer Ya Hua. Again, I am not blogging to rate which is the best in sequence. I pick Ya Hua because I went there more often since most of my companions prefer Ya Hua. But, our (or in this case, mine) taste does not define which is better than which.
It all started when a Singaporean friend told me: "die, die, also must go eat one bak kut teh at Singapore lah" and as a typical non-Singaporean residence/ typical clueless tourist who knows little about Singaporean slang, my response was: "what?!". To sum it up, she meant: no matter what happened, one should try eating Bak Kut Teh at Singapore at least once. During that time, I did not consider eating Bak Kut Teh as a must because back then I was an unstable teenager who thinks that one must eat Ippudo, Boon Tong Kee, Burger King, and have tea at TWG whenever come to Singapore (now I don't). Please be understanding. I WAS an ABG gaul (or trying to be one).
It all started when a Singaporean friend told me: "die, die, also must go eat one bak kut teh at Singapore lah" and as a typical non-Singaporean residence/ typical clueless tourist who knows little about Singaporean slang, my response was: "what?!". To sum it up, she meant: no matter what happened, one should try eating Bak Kut Teh at Singapore at least once. During that time, I did not consider eating Bak Kut Teh as a must because back then I was an unstable teenager who thinks that one must eat Ippudo, Boon Tong Kee, Burger King, and have tea at TWG whenever come to Singapore (now I don't). Please be understanding. I WAS an ABG gaul (or trying to be one).
There are two Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh in Singapore. One in Outram Park, and another one in Havelock Street. I've never been to the one at Outram Park. Why? Because it is non air-conditioned! Why go to the non-AC-ed when there is an AC-ed store available?
Oh, for those who wondered, Bak Kut Teh is also known as Spare Rib Soups. It was meaty and juicy pork ribs cooked with simmered in a very complicated broth full of herbs and spices. Anyway, teh means tea. It was not cooked with tea, it was served with Oolong tea. I recalled my Mom telling me that Oolong tea is the must side drinks (?) while eating Bak Kut Teh, but a lot of people seemed to mistaken the Teh in Bak Kut Teh means the pork ribs was cooked with mixture of tea, herbs, and spices.
I usually ate 2 portion of Spare Ribs Soup + extra soup + 1 portion of rice + several side dish. The soup smelled good with a lot of black pepper. The braised peanut and braised salted vegetable are also some of the must order. Soft and tasty peanut + rich taste of soup + the soft and juicy texture of the meat in my mouth...this might be the perfect sentence to describe heaven.
You will also get to see a lot of pictures of celebrities who have eaten at Ya Hua on the wall. Namely: Chow Yun Fat, Jay Chou and Kang Gary. You can see some of the pictures here (link) but those were just a few out of many.
Oh, for those who wondered, Bak Kut Teh is also known as Spare Rib Soups. It was meaty and juicy pork ribs cooked with simmered in a very complicated broth full of herbs and spices. Anyway, teh means tea. It was not cooked with tea, it was served with Oolong tea. I recalled my Mom telling me that Oolong tea is the must side drinks (?) while eating Bak Kut Teh, but a lot of people seemed to mistaken the Teh in Bak Kut Teh means the pork ribs was cooked with mixture of tea, herbs, and spices.
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| Spare Ribs Soup (肉骨茶) SGD 8.00 |
You will also get to see a lot of pictures of celebrities who have eaten at Ya Hua on the wall. Namely: Chow Yun Fat, Jay Chou and Kang Gary. You can see some of the pictures here (link) but those were just a few out of many.
I even bought the nicely packed bak kut teh herb from this place so that I could give them to my Mom and asked her to cook for me in Medan! Unfortunately, I don't remember the price. I personally think this place is a little bit pricey. Not that I converted SGD to IDR (I raraly convert the price of food whenever I travel because the outcome will ruin my holiday), but I think the portion is a little bit too small compared to others. I would prefer bigger portion.
BUT overall, I strongly suggest everyone to come and eat at this place. I heard there are 2 branches of Ya Hua at Jakarta, I wondered if they are as good as Singapore's.
BUT overall, I strongly suggest everyone to come and eat at this place. I heard there are 2 branches of Ya Hua at Jakarta, I wondered if they are as good as Singapore's.
593 Havelock Road
#01-01/02 Isetan Office Building
Tel.: ++65 6235 7716/ +65 8282 7896 (Day)/ +65 9824 1066 (Night)
Sun: 11am–10pm
Tue and Thur: 11am–2am
Wed, Fri, and Sat: 11am–3am
Singapore
7 Keppel Road
#01-05/07 PSA Tanjong Pagar Complex
Tel.: +65 6222 9610/ +65 8282 7896 (Day)/ +65 9824 1066 (Night)
Tue to Sun: 7am–3pm / 5pm-4am
Singapore
Website: http://yahuabakkutteh.com/
