Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Old Street Bak Kut Teh [老街肉骨茶] @ 129 Upper Paya Lebar Road

My take on local bak ku teh (BKT) has always been less than positive and this has to do with the low tolerance for spicy, peppery food in my childhood. 

Okay, i am more or less a chilli convert now but it doesn't hide the fact that my personally preferred BKT version remains to be the herbal one available right across the causeway (in Malaysia that is). This explains why i am never that keen when it comes to having BKT in Singapore. 

Old Street Bak Kut Teh - this shop was recently featured in the newspaper and came strongly recommended by Alex one rainy afternoon when i was simply too full to force him to have Kay Lee Char Siew (which was two shops away) instead!

You are neither king nor the queen here and no one will take any order for you! So please utilise the yellow order list, pen your order, pay at the cashier, take the number standee and wait for your food to be delivered to your table; Cafe Cartel style if you know what i mean. 

Alex's order - one bowl of premium pork loin ribs soup and a serving of Chinese crullers popularly known as You Tiao in Singapore! 

I would first comment on the loin ribs that commanded a price tag that was S$3 more expensive than normal pork ribs; the thick layer of fats was an immediate turn-off, the meat was too tough and i had difficulties trying to clean the meat off the bone! 

Yes, you may blame the last part on age.

On the cloudy broth; i kind of enjoyed it despite the hot and zesty sensation on my tongue. For one, it had that very light, subtle herbal taste to it and was not entirely peppery like many others in the market. And let's not forget the thick and chunky you tiao! Soak them in the soup for a few seconds and they turned out to be incredibly delicious with surprises of occasional soupy bursts as we slowly chewed them! 

Can i just order the soup and you tiao please?

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Location
129 Upper Paya Lebar Road. Turn into Little Road from Upper Paya Lebar Road. The first corner shop to your left is Old Street Bak Ku Teh. 

Map
As above.

Price
Premium Loin Ribs - S$8.50
You Tiao - S$1.00
[No GST. No Service Charge]

Menu
As Above [and below]

Additional Information
Their signature dish, besides the premium loin ribs soup, was this dry bak ku teh. Sounds interesting and i might just be back to try for the sake of having something unique. 

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