Jia Jia 家家 Bak Kut Teh in Tangkak, Johor

The boss of Hua Bee bakery recommended that I should try Jia Jia 家家 Bak Kut Teh, which is one of the most famous in Tangkak.

When we arrived, we found Jia Jia occupying this large corner shoplot along Jalan Kemajuan which is off Jalan Payamas, the main street of Tangkak.

The finishing touches to the claypots of bak kut teh were done at high heat at the front of the shop.

Our order of mixed pork and ribs came in a claypot presented in Jia Jia's signature style with a large clump of fresh lettuce on top. Very photogenic though obscuring the meat somewhat.

Lifting away the veil of lettuce revealed a chock full of various cuts of inviting, lip smacking looking pork and ribs soaking in fragrant herbal soup.

Even though we just had a hearty breakfast in Yong Peng (on the way up from Singapore), we dove into the claypot greedily.

First to be hit was of course the ribs.

Then pieces of leg.

My favourite cut has always been meat on soft cartilage. Sweet and tender, yet crunchy.

A thin slice of skin, fat and lean meat. Sweet, mildly salty, smooth and smoky.

I must mention Jia Jia's special soy sauce here. Make sure to dip the pork and ribs in this fragrant, sweet, salty and gooey blend. Jia Jia's special black sauce takes the tastiness of the meat to the next level.

This deep fried, braised and then steamed chicken feet is a hot selling signature item at Jia Jia. Quite salty but also sweet and tender, chewy and crunchy. Fun to eat!

To create that texture and bite, workers manually removed the shank bone from the chicken feet before cooking.

Give Jia Jia bak kut teh a try if you are passing Tangkak and want to try something other than the two famous beef shops, Do Do Do and Kuang Fei.


Restaurant name: Jia Jia 家家 Bah Kuet Teh Restaurant
Address: 38, Jalan Kemajuan, off Jalan Payamas, Tangkak, Johor
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/kPTt
GPS: 2.272886,102.544680
Hours: 7:00am to 2:00pm

Date visited: 23 May 2012