A hidden hawker gem in Jurong with a multi-generation following for their peppery bak kut teh, Teochew steam fish and asam fish enjoyed with Nanyang tea.
Stall name: Hua Xing Bak Kut Teh 華兴肉骨茶
Address: 347 Jurong East Ave 1, stall #01-171, Singapore 600347 (Yuhua Place Market & Hawker Centre)
Nearest MRT: 5 minutes walk from Chinese Garden station
Tel: +65 9818 2588
Hours: 8:30am - 7:00pm (Monday off)
Third day of 2021, we came to Hua Xing Bak Kut Teh stall at Yuhua Place for lunch. Business was frenetic. The hawker centre was bursting with people after the skies cleared following two days of continuous rain that washed out the first two days of the new year.
He's the man, the boss Phua Swan Yeow, second generation owner of Hua Xing Bak Kut Teh. Ah Yeow ran Hua Xing for the last 21 years, after taking over from his father who founded the stall nearly 40 years ago.
The last time I was here was in the 1990s - Hua Xing then was just one stall unit and its signboard was in Japanese as their bak kut teh was well loved by Japanese expatriates working and living in Jurong. The Japanese factories and expatriates are gone today but Hua Xing now spans two stall units supported by a large loyal following of multigenerational local customers.
Pardon the messy tabletop shot. Six of us squeezed into one table as the hawker centre was full house. We were half way through our meal of bak kut teh and we also had a steamed grouper and asam snapper fish head. Yeah..., Hua Xing is more like a small Teochew restaurant than just a bak kut teh stall.
First things first, the bak kut teh. Hua Xing's BKT soup is peppery, savoury, sweet typical of Singapore Teochew bak kut teh. I like its flavour profile with a peppery leading edge and aftertaste of natural porcine sweetness. A mild savoury flavour held the two (peppery sweet) together.
The prime loin rib (dragon bone) has a good balance of lean meat and fat, so it is tender and juicy. The tenderly juicy meat-fat bursts porcine sweetness with every bite.
My impression is that Hua Xing's bak kut teh tastes similar to Ya Hua bak kut teh. Yeah..., Ya Hua's fans will want to kill me 😱 Hua Xing's fans will also want to kill me 😝
The kidney was fresh and well cleaned, so all we got was a nice natural sweetish taste from the soft crunchy slices.
The red grouper came steamed Teochew style smothered with strips of preserved vegetable (kiam chye), tomato, ginger, cilantro and a strip of pork fat.
Whatever ingredients that went into their steamer with the red grouper, their job was to bring out the fresh fish's natural flavours. They did an excellent job of that. The tender juicy flesh was rich with natural sweetness of fresh grouper fish.
Yeah..., the asam snapper fish head doesn't look too elegant - the fish partially hidden under a heap of cubed pineapple, tomato, onion, cilantro, etc.
But, I can vouch that the fish tastes really good. The asam sauce is sourish, zesty from the pineapple and tomato, sweet from the onion and tomato, with a subtle bit of heat from the spices in the sauce. Yeah, the dominant flavours were sourish sweet.
You know, we are regularly challenged to find a reliable place for family or groups of buddies to gather over a consistently, good meal. You may want to check out Hua Xing Bak Kut Teh. I am adding it to my list of places for makan outings with kakis.
Hua Xing serves Nanyang tea from Pek Sin Choon with their bak kut teh the traditional Singapore way to complete your meal.
Hua Xing Bak Kut Teh is a hawker stall in Yuhua Place Market & Hawker Centre.
It is around 5 minutes walk from Chinese Garden MRT station. Almost the entire walk is under shelter, so it is very comfortable rain or shine.
Hua Xing Bak Kut Teh was awarded 2.5 pairs of chopsticks by Makansutra in Mar 2021. Read the details in the Makansutra online Singapore food guide 👈 click
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