Bak Kut Teh Places

I like to eat Bak Kut Teh, especially the herbal type. I also like the meat to be slightly fat. Recently I came across 3 Bak Kut Teh stalls so here's my short review.

Chanced upon this Bak Kut Teh stall in Kovan. There were many articles on their wall and I came to find out that this restaurant was actually opened by ex convicts. Here is my review of the place:

Preserved Vegetables 

Comments: Tastes not bad. Not too overwhelming salty and easy to eat. 

Bak Kut Teh

Comments: At first look I thought it would be peppery type but after tasting the soup, it turned out to be herbal type which was my favorite type. The meat is soft and separates from the bone easily. Soup is re-fillable so don't hesitate to top up. 

Braised Pork Knuckle

Comments: One of my favorite dishes when eating Bak Kut Teh as one of my motto when eating is "if it's not fat, it ain't nice". Anyway I really loved the pork knuckle. The fat "melts" in your mouth as it's really soft. The meat is also tender and not overcooked. Would like a thicker sauce but overall still nice. 

Pork Liver

Comments: The liver is quite soft and the soup is full of flavor. They probably did the liver in a different pot, because the smell and taste would probably kill the main soup taste.

Overall Review: Great place for Bak Kut Teh. Really tasty and fatty meat. They only accept cash.

Like Them Here: Xin Shun Fa

Details of the place: 257 Jalan Kayu, Singapore 799458 / 949 Upper Serangoon Road (5 mins walk from Kovan Mrt)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd stall is the famous Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh. I have never tried the original stall before but I tried the branch at Tanjong Katong road and I did not like it. Here's my review of why I did not like it.

Signature Spare & Pork Ribs Combo Soup $7.50

Comments: Peppery soup, with not much flavour. The meat was very tough too. Plus it was very small, with needing to constant top up the soup.

You Tiao $2

Comments: Normal soft dough fritters

Big Intestines $6

Comments: Was tasty but also quite tough and chewy.

Pig Trotters $8

Comments: Tough, not fat, not much flavor.

Preserved Vegetables $2.50

Comments: So-so only, not preserved enough.

Website: Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh

Details of the place: Outlets

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Then we have Hwa Ji Bak Kut Teh at Boon Tat Street. A small restaurant that is always pack on weekdays cos of the nearby office crowd. Here's my small review:

Signature Bak Kut Teh $7.50

Comments: Very peppery soup. 4 pieces of pork ribs which is quite pathetic, cos it's bite size.

Braised Pig's Trotter $7

Comments: Fat enough and the meat is really tender. Has a great taste to it as the meat is full of flavour.

Braised Intestines $6

Comments: Looked very messy and the intestines were really quite skinny. 

Details of the place: 31 Boon Tat Street, Eagles Center

PUTIEN Restaurant

A restaurant that sells Hinghwa food. Affordable and delicious food is the only thing I can describe about this chain of restaurants. Ordered quite a lot of food for a table of around 10 people.

PUTIEN Style Century Egg $5.90

Comments: This is absolutely delicious. I kept eating and eating and eating. Have to try it, that is of course if you don't like century egg.

Iced Bitter Gourd $4.90

Comments: I love bitter gourd, but the way the bitter gourd is made in this restaurant, the bitterness will go missing. Firstly, the bitter gourd is slightly sliced into strips and "freeze" with shaved ice. Before eating, you have to dip the bitter gourd in honey provided and the cool, sweet taste is enough to appetize your tastebuds

Cold Jellyfish in XO sauce $7.90

Comments: Can't really taste the XO taste. Can order if you enjoy eating jellyfish.

Seaweed with Mini Shrimps $6.90

Comments: Normal tasting

(Autumn Menu) Hairy Crabs Price Unknown

Comments: Hairy Crab only comes once a year. Apparently in Oct is the season of female crabs and Nov is the season of male crabs. The staff here will dissect the crab till you can eat with minimal effort.

(Autumn Menu) Hairy Crab

Comments: I was surprised to find so much roe in a male hairy crab. I can't imagine how much there would be in a female one. The roe is sweet but slightly dry, like eating salted egg.

Braised Pig Intestine $9.90

Comments: The pig intestine is thick and chewy, but the thing is, it is not very tasteful. Maybe needs a bit more marination.

Braised Bamboo Shoot $6.90

Comments: Erm, nothing really special about this dish.

Abalone

Abalone $11.90

Comments: The abalone is slightly marinated. Made just right, not too chewy, no fishy smell. Love the presentation and the taste.

(Autumn menu) Claypot Beancurd in Crab Roe Sauce $13.90 / $20.90

Comment: This is the ultimate comfort food. So delicious, a bowl of rice with this is enough to make me contented. 

Bamboo Herbal Prawn $4.90

Comments: I love this soup. The herbal taste is strong, the 2 prawns given is very fresh and sweet, giving the soup a sweet taste too. Served hot for maximum enjoyment.

Claypot Sea Cucumber with Chestnut $35.90 / $53.90

Comments: This is a must order always in my family, firstly because we like to eat sea cucumber. Secondly, there is a whole assortment of vegetables in there such as broccoli, mushrooms, roast pork, chestnut and a few more other stuff. The gravy is tasty and not too salty.

PUTIEN Sweet and Sour Pork with Lychees $11.90 / $17.90

Comments: Similar to the normal sweet and sour pork found elsewhere, this sweet and sour pork is slightly sweeter because of the lychee taste. If only they made the pork crispier.

Deep Fried Live Squirrel Fish with Gravy $35.90

Comments: To be honest, I have never seen a squirrel fish before. Apparently the head has not much meat as compared to other fishes, but the meat is as delicious as other fishes. Fried perfectly, it's crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The sauce is something like the sweet and sour sauce.

Fried Egg Plant with Pork Floss $8.90 / $13.90

Comments: This is one of my favorite dishes in PUTIEN. Although it's suppose to be Fried Egg Plant, but the batter and pork floss covers the taste of the egg plant perfectly that when you eat it, it tastes just like eating a dough fritter "you tiao" that is dipped with pork floss.

Spinach with Salted Egg & Century Egg in Supreme Stock $12.90 / $18.90

Comments: One of my all time favorite dishes, but I normally prefer mine with 3 eggs, the 2 eggs stated and normal chicken egg. The stock is very tasty, the spinach not over-cooked. Can't really go wrong with this dish.

Stir-Fried Yam $10.90 / $16.90

Comments: The yam is sweet and crispy, only thing I did not like about this dish is that the yam pieces are cut quite big. If you eat too fast, it leaves a very dry throat.

The Bun

The Meat

Shredded Meat with Bun $3.90 per piece (Min 2.)

Comments: Don't look down on this dish because this combination is super delicious. Mix with PUTIEN's special chilli sauce, it's really nice. The bun is slightly roasted, so it's crispy and lightly glazed to give it a sweet taste. The meat is very tasty, together with the onion. A really nice dish.

PUTIEN Style Oyster Omelette $16.90 / $23.90

Comments: Tastes very different from the normal oyster omelette or better known as "ao jian". It is fried a bit more crispy instead of fluffy. Does not entice me to eat more after a few mouthful though.

Fried Hinghwa Bee Hoon $7.90 / $15.90 / $23.90

Comments: What better way to end a dinner. Instead of eating those heavy noodles/rice, ordering bee hoon is better as it is not as filling. The bee hoon is also very tasty with the amount of seafood in it. Not too dry too.

Overall review: A great place for a family/business lunch or dinner. The food won't disappoint.  From a small restaurant in Kitchener road to having 7 other outlets now in Singapore, this restaurant really has grown. The do pack in the crowds on weekends, so it's best to call and make a reservation at a restaurant near you.

Details of the place: Putien Outlets

Website: PUTIEN Restaurant

Tel: Please click the outlets link above.

Daikokuya Ramen Dining

Daikokuya, which means 'God of Wealth' in Japanese, is a modern version of a ramen-ya that specialises in ramen dishes in a contemporary and relaxing atmosphere. Alongside ramen, Daikoyuya features a variety of tempting dishes such as gyoza (pan-fried dumplings), appetizers and Japanese curry rice.

Went to the Raffles City outlet. The name of the place is 大黑屋 which in english means big black house. Certainly lived to its name as the whole restaurant was really dim. Nice ramen but found the restaurant really small and crampy.

Menu cover

Tori Chawanmushi $5.80

Comments: Really salty. But egg was smooth.

Agedeshitofu (Fried Tofu) $4.80

Comments: Nice serving, soft and crispy. The sauce not very salty

Spicy Chicken Karaage $9.00

Comments: Slightly dry, more sweet then spicy. That lemon wedge kills the taste, but the mayo enhances it.

Spicy Miso Ramen $15.20

Original Miso Ramen $14.90

Comments: The noodles is tangy. I prefer the original compared to the spicy as spicy really killed all the taste of the ramen and soup. Love the hard boiled soft yolk egg, although not the best I've eaten, but still delicious.

Overall review: I don't recommend this place for a big gathering. Dinner dates would be better. They have mini versions for their food, and if you want to try more food, I suggest getting the mini versions. Sometimes it may be difficult to get a seat during dinner time.

Details of the place: Daikokuya Outlets

Recommendation: 6/10

Lenas by MOF

A trip to Lenas is always a headache. Why? Because they a superbly wide variety of food. The menu has so many pages, you'll have a big dilemma on what to choose and being there so many times, I can safely say the food is nice. Which is also why I like to go there for a meal, especially with a big group of friends. Anyway went there for lunch 1 day with 2 friends and this is what we ordered.

 Iced Mint Pompelmo Tea $5

Comments: This tasted something like a mojito. Except for the lack of alcohol. Definitely lot of mint in it. A nice refreshing drink on a hot day. A bit expensive though, would rather drink their hoegarden, which is always on promotion.

Mixed Mushroom Pasta add Egg $13.90 + $1

Comments: A personal favorite. In fact I always like pasta with mushrooms and cream sauce. The egg yolk is only for visual effect actually, because it does not really add any flavor to the pasta. The sauce was slightly salty though, as is with most cream sauce, but the noodles are cooked nicely. A nice dish overall.

White Wine Vongole Hot Pan + Pilaf Rice $12.80 + $2

Comments: Tried a bit of this dish, the rice was fragrant by at $2, I feel it's kinda expensive. The stock was did not have a strong smell of white wine though. The vongole had quite a nice portion and the fire kept the stock hot.

Italian Sausage Pizza $14.50 for 8"

Comments: Their pizzas are the thin type. Sausages slightly over baked but overall it must have been nice because my friend managed to finish it even though she said she was not that hungry. 

Overall review: Actually this is only a tiny percentage of the food available in that place. I would recommend getting their membership card if you will frequent the place. A lot of promotions and offers as a member at only $10. The 10% disc should be enough to cover and it can be used at other MOF outlets all over Asia.

Details of the place: You may get more details at their website by clicking -->MOF as they have a few outlets.

Recommendation: 7/10

Nakhon Kitchen at Hougang St. 21

Nakhon Kitchen at Hougang St.21 #01-341 is the original restaurant. They currently have another branch in Bedok. Heard of this place since forever but have never got the chance to try it, one day my buddy decided to have Thai Cuisine and we decided on this place. Read a few bad reviews about the place, mainly because of the long queue. But they normally say, when there's a queue, the food is normally good and this place definitely did not disappoint.

Pineapple Fried Rice $6

Comments: This is probably their star dish. The pork floss add together with the pineapple rice and raisins is superbly delicious. Actually the Green Curry would be the partner-in-crime as adding it in would be a perfect combo to satisfy your taste-buds.

Clear Tom Yum Soup (Chicken) $6

Comments: As a fan of Tom Yum soup with milk, I found this really refreshing. A good tom yum soup has equal spicy and sour feeling and this soup definitely has equal of both. Definitely won't be disappointed.

Tom Yum Soup (with milk) with Seafood $6

Comments: Of course I had to order 1 with milk in it, but it tasted just like any normal tom yum soup. The fillings of sliced fish and prawns were fresh though, which was a plus point.

Green Curry with Chicken $8

Comments: Really liked this dish. The texture of the green curry was smooth and tasted really nice, the chicken was tender and the flavors were not too strong. I found myself drinking it as if it was like soup.

 Thai Style Kang Kong $6

Comments: This was SO GOOD we ordered it twice. Nuff said.

Kway Teow Moo (Flat Noodles Soup with Pork)  *think*$6

Comments: Not very nice, although the soup was sweet, the meat was mediocre to say the least.

Kai Dao (Fried Egg Sunny-Side-Up)

Comments: Must be wondering, why order egg? Actually it's just because I like the way the Thai fry their eggs. Fluffy at the side. Sadly the yolk was over cooked, probably because the chef did not have time to see due to a huge crowd.

Pandan Chicken 4 for $6

Comments: The chicken is bite-size, which means that once entered the mouth it's gone. So be sure to slowly eat this well-marinated chicken. Can eat with or without the Thai Chilli Sauce.

Larp Moo (Fried Minced Pork with Onion, Garlic and Basil; served with Long Beans) $6

Comments: Eat this with rice and you'll never go wrong, eating it alone and it may taste a bit too acidic.

"Cha Yen" (Thai Milk Tea) $3

Comments: When I eat Thai Food, I must drink their Milk Tea, but it was not that fantastic, probably because they did not want to make it too sweet and it's a bit over-priced.

Overall Review: Although you may take a while to queue, my advise is not to go at the peak hour (7-8pm) as the queue may be very long. The idea of taking order while queuing is good as once you take your seats, the food will be served shortly. A place that has a vibrant atmosphere and serves authentic Thai Food. 

Recommendation: 8/10

Details of the place: 

Blk 212 Hougang Street 21 #01-341

Singapore 530212

Opens Daily: 12pm - 3pm & 5.30pm - 10pm

Tel: +65 6286 8786 (Hougang)

Tel: +65 6245 5548 (Bedok)

Note: They don't do reservations but you can call to place order for takeaway and collect.