Yu Kee Bak Kut Teh (佑记肉骨茶) @ Gaya Street [Kota Kinabalu]

Within a two-hundred-meters radius from where we stayed at in Kota Kinabalu, i counted no less than four coffeeshops serving Bak Kut Teh; a type of pork bone soup popular in both Singapore and Malaysia.

There was an extremely well known one according to my online research but we opted for one right opposite Jesselton Hotel for the sake of convenience; Yu Kee that has had a history spanning 37 years! 

Kopitiam style with ample indoor and outdoor seating. You may also wish to note that the shop started their daily business from 4pm onward. 

Menu as appended above for your reference; since both Alex and i are not fans of internal organs, we ordered only one portion of pork ribs, one serving of meatballs, youtiao and two bowls of rice.

What i didn't expect was that the servings were so small. Not that i care as i would love to cut down on food intake; hard not to gain weight whenever i am overseas!

Pork ribs were not the big pieces we were accustomed to back home although i believe it could have been chopped up into smaller pieces to accommodate the tiny bowl. Taste wise, it had an intense saltiness that kind of tapered off towards the end; i like it! Texture was a tad too tough though.

Meat balls were delicious with a surprising smokey flavour. The uneven shape of each meatball told us they were likely handmade!

Soup was herbal alright; typical of Malaysia style bak kut teh. However, it reminded me of a less strong 十全大補湯 (All-Inclusive Tonifying Herbal Soup) that my mom would brew once a year for the family! 

Eating the bak kut teh my style; rice soaked in the herbal soup. I may not be Cantonese but i sure can eat a ton of rice with a large cauldron of soup. 

As with true traditional bak kut teh way, best to end the meal with a pot of hot tea! Well, at least it made the meal slightly less sinful. 

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Location

74, Jalan Gaya, Kota Kinabalu, 

Sabah, East Malaysia

Map

As above

Pricing and Menu

As above. 

For the summarised itinerary of the 7 days, 6 nights Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) trip, please click here.