With at least a thousand bak kut teh shops and stalls, little Klang city is the BKT capital of the world. When I asked readers for help for recommendations from among literally 1000s of shops, the name Four Eyes Bah Kut Teh came up often.
So, I drove over to Klang early yesterday. Finding Four Eye BKT is easy. It's a prominent pink colour building at the junction of Jalan Kepayang and Jalan Gelugor at the fringe of the city's commercial centre.
There is plenty of paid parking in front and there is free parking behind the shop (at your own risk lah 😄 ). That's my car 🤭
Door opens at 9am but this morning, food was ready for serving only at around 10am.
While waiting, other customers sauntered in lazily on a cool Thursday morning for breakfast tea and bak kut teh - the custom in Klang, the same way as Hong Kongers go "yum cha" or Singaporeans go "lim kopi".
I heard chatter and banter in Cantonese, which is unusual as Klang Chinese are mostly Hokkien.
The simple menu of sorts on the wall. It really isn't very helpful for Klang BKT novices, especially non Chinese 😂
But, it makes for interesting conversation with the staff 😂
Mr. 苏, the younger brother of 四眼仔 Specky who was coming in later to the shop. The 苏 family hails from Ipoh and have been running this shop for 22 years now. That explains the Cantonese spoken here 😄
Customers can choose the "wet" or "dry" type of BKT and the type of pork cut.
If you choose the "dry" type, they will stir fry your chosen cut of meat in a clay pot with with soup, dark sauces, vinegar, dried chili pepper, lady fingers and cuttle fish. Serve when the soup is almost fully reduced (evaporated).
For the "wet" type, they will finish it over high heat before serving.
For my first visit, I had the old style "wet" type with ka wan 脚弯 or pork elbow, which is a favourite cut among Klang oldies.
Four Eye's bak kut teh stock is superb.
A subtle pleasant floral aroma (maybe it's Shaoxing wine) rises from the claypot of steamy, bubbling hot bak kut teh broth.
It had a thick gooey gelatinous texture from all the melted collagen inside. (A real natural "beauty soup", if you believe those fanciful expensive "beauty soup" places.)
The stock tasted savoury with subtle underlying herbal and sweet flavours. The savouriness is layered from good quality soy sauce, garlic, Chinese black mushrooms, pork etc. The fresh meats impart natural sweetness to the stock. A little hint of Chinese herbs round up the well balanced stock.
I love it that Four Eyes uses a lot of dried Chinese black mushrooms - I like its aroma and taste. My late grandma used it in her cooking too and we considered it a special luxury back then. That smell reminded me of special occasions from those lean days in the 1960s and 70s. (It's been over 30 years already, I still feel sad that I didn't do much for grandma while she was living. She didn't know that I love her 😔 )
The pork was super fresh and nicely done. I can feel all the lively bounce and natural sweetness in the skin, fats and tender fibres.
👉 Four Eyes 四眼仔肉骨茶 is one of my favourite bak kut teh in Klang. I like their tasty complex stock and simple fresh pork. They are conveniently located near the city centre too. I will be back for their "dry" bah kut teh which my friends say I must try 😋
More Klang bak kut teh reviews by Johor Kaki 👈 click
Restaurant name: Four Eyes Bah Kut Teh (Sei Ngan Chai) 四眼仔肉骨茶
Address: 9, Jalan Kepayang, Kawasan 17, Klang, Selangor
GPS: 3°03'02.3"N 101°27'02.2"E | 3.050628, 101.450606
Tel:
Hours: 9:00am - 2:30pm | 5:30pm - 9:00pm
Non Halal
Written by Tony Boey on 3 Aug 2017 | Reviewed 28 Nov 2021
Non Halal
Written by Tony Boey on 3 Aug 2017 | Reviewed 28 Nov 2021
Wow I need to go back and try their dry version
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