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Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan Opens 1st Restaurant @ ATT 4 Fun beside Taipei 101 台北.發起人肉骨茶

Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan Opens 1st Restaurant @ ATT 4 Fun beside Taipei 101 台北.發起人肉骨茶

Founder Bak Kut Teh, a leader in Singapore pork rib soup opened its first restaurant in Taipei's trendy ATT 4 Fun mall, right next to the iconic Taipei 101 skyscraper.

I've long been a fan of Founder Bak Kut Teh because of their emphasis on best quality ingredients especially the pork ribs and their unique take on Singapore pork rib soup.


 
So, I was excited to witness Founder BKT's launch in Taipei - a significant milestone of one of my favourite bak kut teh restaurants. Founder BKT already has overseas outposts in Indonesia and Vietnam.




Mr Chua Chwee Whatt was an accidental restauranteur. He came from a family who were pig farmers for generations in Seletar (off Jalan Kayu), Singapore. As a pig farmer, Mr. Chua also loves bak kut teh and was a regular at BKT restaurants across the island. But, few really satisfied Mr. Chua - the main issue was average quality of pork used.

Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan Opens 1st Restaurant @ ATT 4 Fun beside Taipei 101 台北.發起人肉骨茶

With intimate knowledge about pork, Mr. Chua began developing his own take on Singapore bak kut teh - his family and friends were his Guinea pigs. All his friends and relatives loved the pork ribs stewed in the blend of herbs and spices concocted by Mr. Chua.

In the 1970s, when the Singapore government decided to move all pig farms to Ponggol, Mr. Chua's family lost their farm in Seletar. Encouraged by family and friends who love his version of the popular dish, and forced by circumstances to start life anew, Mr. Chua ventured into opening a bak kut teh stall in 1978. (Eventually, by the 1980s, Singapore abolished all pig farming. Source: HistorySG.)




Mr. Chua named his stall Founder Bak Kut Teh as his version of BKT is wholly original, and developed independent of any existing recipe. Its taste is unique and cannot be found anywhere else other than at Founder's.



Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan Opens 1st Restaurant in Taipei @ ATT 4 Fun beside Taipei 101 台北.發起人肉骨茶

The fame of Founder Bak Kut Teh quickly grew and it became the preferred choice of many local and foreign dignitaries, celebrities, business and government leaders as well as the general public. I am long a fan of Founder Bak Kut Teh, visiting their parent outlet in Balestier regularly since the 1990s. (Son Nigel now runs the original outlet at Balestier Road.)



With 8 restaurants now in 4 countries, some things don't change at Founder Bak Kut Teh. With his roots in pig farming, Mr. Chua is still fastidious as ever on quality of the pork used at Founder BKT restaurants. He was on hand at the Taipei outpost to personally see to the quality of the pork ribs and to instruct his chefs on how to make the best Founder bak kut teh.

Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan Opens 1st Restaurant in Taipei @ ATT 4 Fun beside Taipei 101 台北.發起人肉骨茶

The Taipei team is trained in Founder BKT's Singapore restaurants and Founder BKT's executive chef Ong Kok Leong is stationed in Taipei to oversee the setup and initial operations of the new outlet.



Business was off to a booming start on Day 1 as the reputation of Founder Bak Kut Teh well preceded its arrival in Taiwan. Founder BKT's Taipei fans have long been waiting for its opening in their city.

Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan Opens 1st Restaurant in Taipei @ ATT 4 Fun beside Taipei 101 台北.發起人肉骨茶

Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan is a contemporary, simple, bright and comfortable restaurant.

Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan Opens 1st Restaurant in Taipei @ ATT 4 Fun beside Taipei 101 台北.發起人肉骨茶

Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan serves the full range of sides and accompanying dishes to complement their signature bak kut teh. There're pig intestines, kidney, pork ball, stomach and even fish all served in the same signature Founder BKT soup. There're also claypot dishes such as stir fried mixed organ, lean meat, stomach, kidney, liver, intestines etc. Braised dishes include pig trotter, small and large intestines etc.



Founder Bak Kut Teh's famous Singapore prime rib soup right here in Taipei for NT240 (S$10.50). The prime rib is commonly referred to as "dragon bone" 龍骨 because of its huge size and the best lean meat to fat ratio for ribs.

Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan Opens 1st Restaurant in Taipei @ ATT 4 Fun beside Taipei 101 台北.發起人肉骨茶

The tea colour soup has a smooth medium body with well balanced savoury herbal spicy sweet flavours from a blend of herbs, garlic and various peppers. The garlic and peppery heat is gentle and enhances the taste of the pork. There's a subtle herb aroma.



Founder's signature prime rib bak kut teh is fall off the bone tender with layers of lean meat and visceral fat - I can peel the meat off the bone easily like a banana 🍌 😮 One of Founder Bak Kut Teh's main selling points is their emphasis on best quality pork. Fresh, never chilled pork is a must from Founder's first restaurant to every one of their outlets in Singapore and overseas.


Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan Opens 1st Restaurant in Taipei @ ATT 4 Fun beside Taipei 101 台北.發起人肉骨茶

It's the same for Founder's here in Taipei which uses fresh high quality Taiwanese pork which is never chilled 溫體肉 (literally "warm body meat"). The prime rib is tender, juicy and tastes savoury sweet. The tender meat is expertly cooked so it has a gentle squeaky feel to the bite (as it is neither mushy soft nor chewy). My favourite is the juicy fatty layer as it is the sweetest.

Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan Opens 1st Restaurant in Taipei @ ATT 4 Fun beside Taipei 101 台北.發起人肉骨茶

I love the generous free flow of lovely Founder Bak Kut Teh soup to enjoy, just like the custom in Singapore.

Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan Opens 1st Restaurant in Taipei @ ATT 4 Fun beside Taipei 101 台北.發起人肉骨茶

When you are in Taipei and want to taste a top Singapore pork rib soup, get it at Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan. If you have tasted Founder BKT before in Singapore, come here to taste the same signature soup with fresh high quality Taiwanese pork for a top BKT experience.


The day after (second day of business). The response was good and customers were served the best premium ribs bak kut teh in town.

Disclosure: Please note that this was an invited tasting.

3 Kingdoms of Singapore Bak Kut Teh in Taipei 👈 click

Founder Bak Kut Teh in Singapore (Boss Hotel outlet) 👈 click

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Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan Opens 1st Restaurant in Taipei @ ATT 4 Fun beside Taipei 101 台北.發起人肉骨茶

Restaurant name: Founder Bak Kut Teh Taiwan 發起人肉骨茶
Address: 信義區松壽路12號5F Taipei, Taiwan
GPS25°02'07.3"N 121°33'57.1"E 🌐 25.035366, 121.565855
Nearest MRT station: Taipei 101 or Xiangshan
Tel: 02-77379905
Hours: 11:00am - 10:00pm




Date visited: 6 Sep 2019


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