Deciphering the History of KLANG Bak Kut Teh between Myths, Grandfather Stories & Marketing PR

Four Eyes Bak Kut Teh

The origin of Klang bak kut teh 巴生肉骨茶 is as clear as their famously delicious dark brown, viscous, savoury herbal stock. The vacuum left by lack of records is filled by myths, grandfather stories and "creative" marketing spiel - so the origins of this iconic dish is in the realm of speculation, fertile ground for contention. (So, I am treading on sensitive ground yeah.... .)

Teck Teh Bak Kut Teh

One version (reported by The Star newspaper) has it that the Teh of bak kut teh came from the Teh in the name of Lee Boon Teh 李文地.

Kee Hiong in Singapore by Lee Boon Teh's grandson

Lee Boon Teh was a pioneer of Klang bak kut teh and is the most successful one. His seven sons and many grandchildren now run numerous different bak kut teh brands in Klang, Kuala Lumpur, all over Malaysia and in Singapore (until it closed during the Covid-19 pandemic). If you go to Klang and eat a random bak kut teh today, chances are you are eating at one of Lee Boon Teh's family's restaurants.

But, this origin of teh doesn't hold water and is a little hard to swallow for one simple reason - Lee Boon Teh came to Klang from Fujian only after the Second World War which ended in 1945.

〈苦力工人工資今昔比較〉

《南洋商報》

1934年1月8日 

旅居本坡華僑，計有三十餘萬，而大半多屬苦力工人，在過去數十年之苦力工，倘能節食，不久即能成爲大腹賈，此無他，就一九二五年之苦力工人而言，起卸鹹魚者，每日可得十元以上，故每晨在起床之後，即赴「茶槕」，叫「肉骨茶」，泡好茶，大嚼特嚼，最低限度，亦需一元八角。不料近年來，受不景氣之壓迫，土產跌價，兼工人日多，以致供過於求，除工資減低之外，而件數之重量增加......至於成捆之鹹魚干，前每捆連打包起卸，每件一角，現減低至五占，前每名苦力工人，日可賺十元左右，今每星期間，可得五元者，以屬幸事。今昔不同，別如天淵，且工人日多，競爭日烈，爲維持生活計，不得不自行減低工資，因而惹起爭鬭，時有所聞...... .

This article in Nanyang Siang Pau from 1934, mentioned that bak kut teh in Singapore cost $1.80 a meal in 1925. This is evidence that bak kut teh already existed in Singapore in 1925 i.e.at least 20 years before Lee Boon Teh arrived in Klang.

For founding the most successful name in Klang bak kut teh, yes, it is Lee Boon Teh. For the origins of Klang bak kut teh though, we need to delve a bit further back in Klang's history.

Image credit: National Archives Singapore

The last imperial dynasty of China was in its death throes in the 1800s to 1911 when it finally collapsed. Rebellions, wars, and famines displaced millions in China which became worse after the Qing dynasty fell. Many people from Fujian (and Guangdong) left for British Malaya to work as coolies.

British Malaya was booming, hungry for labourers to work its plantations, mines and ports. Many from Fujian province ended up in British Malaya's Port of Singapore and in Port Swettenham (today's Klang).

So, bak kut teh in both Klang and Singapore started out with the Hokkien version. The savoury herbal Hokkien version remained the mainstay in Klang today while in Singapore it was edged out by a peppery "Teochew" version that emerged later in the 1950s.

For the history of Singapore bak kut teh 👈 click

In a conference paper presented in 2017 by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Master in Ethnic Studies student Lee Han Ying, she highlighted the similarities between 红烧牛排骨 braised beef ribs, a food icon from the Fujian port city Quanzhou and Klang bak kut teh. She noted that the two dishes are practically the same in terms of spices and taste profile except for swopping beef for pork.

Klang bak kut teh must have drawn some inspiration from Quanzhou cuisine - that's for sure as Quanzhou was many coolies' hometown.

But, bak kut teh was created more to meet the specific needs of coolies in British Malaya at that time - and, less of an attempt to replicate a hometown dish with a few tweaks for nostalgic or sentimental reasons. Bak kut teh is unique because the circumstances that created it in Klang (and Singapore) is unique.

Port Swettenham in the 1920s. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Present day Klang bak kut teh is rather different from the coolies' bak kut teh in old Port Swettenham in the early 1900s or even 1800s. As there are no written records, we can only rely on grandfathers' stories and deductions from developments in a parallel universe - bak kut teh in the Port of Singapore of the same period.

Image credit: National Archive of Singapore

A coolie's life was hard, even brutal. Lonely, far from home in a strange land. Toiling on unfamiliar foreign soil with high humidity and blistering sun. Almost penniless but owed a fortune in exchange for passage from China. Lived in dilapidated premises 20 or more to a room. Their joints ached from heavy loads, their bones wrecked by rheumatism from soaking in the rain and sleeping on damp floors. Muscles sore and painful from sprains and torn ligaments. Falling sick from malaria, cholera, and homesickness was common. Many turned to opium for solace.

But no, the coolies cannot afford opium. They only smoked second hand opium i.e. re-smoking the towkay's ashes which still had some residual effect.

The side effects were a weakened body and, dry and sore throat. But, coolies still had to work because of the money they owed. They needed energy to carry their heavy loads and something to smoothen and moisten their dry throats.

Traditional Chinese medicine shop in Singapore. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

According to grandfather tales, a Chinese physician from Quanzhou concocted a remedy from their hometown. Pork bones with little or no meat (yes, bak kut is literally just pork bones) boiled with dark soy sauce and Chinese medicinal herbs. There was an abattoir upriver in Klang which was a source of discarded or cheap pork meat bones (which were otherwise thrown into the Klang River causing crocodile infestation). 

The bone marrow was supposed to fortify the immune system. The scraps of meat here and there in the bones provided energy and some collagen to lubricate the joints. The dark soy sauce replenished minerals lost from heavy sweating. The medicinal herbs like liquorice and dang gui moisten the throat and, regulate and balance the qi in the body.

Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

The coolies would buy the medicinal herbs from the medical shops or street side vendors, and boil cheap pork bones with dark soy sauce to make their own bak kut herbal tea at home.

OK... now I am in the realm of speculation. It is called bak kut teh as it has bak kut 肉骨 and teh 茶 because it is a liang teh 凉茶, herbal tea - hence, bak kut teh 肉骨茶. So, the dish had also been called bak kut teh and not because of the "teh" in Lee Boon Teh.

Seng Huat Bak Kut Teh

Tea drinking is always associated with bak kut teh culture.

Mo Sang Kor Bak Kut Teh

But, going by the liang teh 凉茶 theory, that pot of Chinese black tea at the side is not the teh in bak kut teh. Yeah... I am going to receive a lot of brickbats for saying this... as this is contrary to conventional bak kut teh wisdom.

The teh in bak kut teh is not the bridesmaid but the bride herself. 

From this originally energising and health fortify tonic for poor coolies, bak kut teh evolved into a popular dish which in many ways is unrecognisable from its humble roots.

Teck Teh Bak Kut Teh

The first restaurants selling bak kut teh as a dish first appeared around the 1940s. Lee Boon Teh's Kedai Makanan Teck Teh was one of the first.

From here on, the humble poor coolie's improvised health tonic evolved into a local staple and gourmand's favourite. Klang people eat bak kut teh for breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper or anytime of the day and night 😄 There are a hundred bak kut teh restaurants and stalls in this relatively small city (population 290,000 in 2017).

Lai Hing Sam Mei Bak Kut Teh

Mo Sang Kor Bak Kut Teh

You know..... from the lowly bak kut or meat bone, the cut could go anywhere - in Singapore, loin ribs became the cut of choice. In Klang, it was meaty parts of the leg - knuckle, trotter, shank, shoulder, and my favourites are elbow, known locally as kar wan 脚弯 and hind trotter or sai kuat 小骨.

Few now judge a bak kut teh restaurant by the medicinal merits of their dish but they are instead rated based on how tasty their food is. So, bak kut teh now boasts premium cuts of pork and minimal medicinal herbs are used. The taste profile of Klang bak kut teh is today mainly savoury sweet with little, if any herbal taste at all.

Dry Bak Kut Teh @ Teluk Pulai Bak Kut Teh

In the intense competition for customers, Klang bak kut teh restaurants are extremely creative. There are too many variations to mention, and some like stir fried "dry" bak kut teh have become mainstream. That's a long way from its roots which is a herbal soupy tonic 😄

For the old health tonic medicinal kind of bak kut teh, the one of a handful I know that still exists is at Singapore's Maxwell Food Centre stall #01-89.

The stall Nankin Street Bak Kut Teh 南京街肉骨茶 has its roots in Ong Say Bak Kut Teh 李旺世肉骨茶 which was founded in 1920s Singapore. It was doing a thriving business but closed down when its shop at Nankin Street was demolished for redevelopment in 1989. The founder's family passed the recipe to one their workers to continue the Ong Say Bak Kut Teh legacy.

The stock is dark with black soy sauce and has a pronounced medicinal herbal taste. The bones are really bones with just bits of attached meat (not fancy loin ribs). As expected, Nankin Street Bak Kut Teh has a low profile and you won't find it mentioned in any recent viral "top 10 best bak kut teh in Singapore" list.

But, it is a historical artefact of what bak kut teh was like in 1920s Singapore, and perhaps not that far off from Klang bak kut teh of the same era. (Can anyone who has tasted old school Klang bak kut teh share what it was like?)

Today's Klang bak kut teh is not for the faint hearted

Please help fill the gaps in Klang bak kut teh history with your insights. Thank you.

My favourite Klang bak kut teh places 👈 click

History of Bak Kut Teh from Coolie's Tonic to a President's Favourite 👈 click

Acknowledgement: Thanks to Crawler from Klang for insights on Klang bak kut teh history.

Date: 20 May 2020 | Reviewed 30 Mar 2024