Hokkien Street Bak Kut Teh @ Hong Lim Food Centre • Menu & Food Review 福建街肉骨茶

Hokkien_Street_Bak_Kut_Teh_Hong_Lim_福建街肉骨茶

Singapore bak kut teh is synonymous with the cloudy-clear, peppery soup type commonly called Teochew bak kut teh. There are a handful of Hokkien bak kut teh stalls which sport a dark soup of herbs and black soy sauce but these are the last remnants from the Hokkien BKT heyday of 1960s Singapore.

Stall name: Hokkien Street Bak Kut Teh 福建街肉骨茶

Address: 531A Upper Cross Street, stall #01-66, Singapore 051531 (inside Hong Lim Food Centre)

Hours: 8:00am - 7:00pm

Hokkien Street Bak Kut Teh stall #01-66 at Hong Lim Food Centre is one of these last Mohicans.

The stall serves bak kut teh ribs, stewed pork trotter, tail, offal, various small side dishes and also steamed fish. But, no pork skin 🤔 Items and prices are clearly displayed. Fish prices are seasonal.

We had ribs, intestines, kidney, liver and pork trotter.

The dark soup was mildly, mellowly herbal with underlying savouriness from dark soy sauce. There's cinnamon, angelica root (dang gui), liquorice, garlic, pepper, etc. The herbal savoury flavours infused the fall-off-the-bone tender moist meat.

Fresh liver and kidney done tender with a bit of soft crunch.

Well cleaned braised pork intestines, soft with a subtle crunch, well infused with herbal savoury flavours.

The unctuous braised trotter was soft-tender and juicy. The herbal savoury sauce infused the trotter and complemented the meat and fat's natural sweet taste well. I love the mouth feel of the soft gelatinous tendons and skin.

We also had a pomfret steamed Teochew style. The fish was fresh and steamed just right, so we can taste the fish's natural sweetness.

My must-have side for bak kut teh is you char kway (Chinese fried crullers) as the crisp-chewy fried dough is perfect for soaking up the herbal savoury flavour of the soup.

Yam rice, the signature carbs here to complement the dishes. At Hokkien Street BKT, the yam (& cabbage) rice is cooked by boiling in bak kut teh soup so the sweet rice is well infused with herbal savoury flavours.

Eat bak kut teh, of course, must have teh or Chinese black tea. Our favourite tea for bak kut teh is an aromatic Nanyang tea blend known as "Unknown Fragrance" from Pek Sin Choon Tea Merchants available at Hokkien Street Bak Kut Teh. Ask them for it.

One of my favourite Hokkien BKT stalls with a more robust herbal taste is Nankin Street Bak Kut Teh at Maxwell Food Centre 👈 click

My favourite stalls at Hong Lim Food Centre 👈 click