The guys went cycling at East Coast Park and we met for bak kut teh & pork knuckle at East Coast Lagoon Food Village hawker centre. I was quite blown away by Han Jia's braised pork knuckle (though it's obviously not for everyone).
The blazing sun was already beating down fiercely though it was not even midday yet. Most stalls at East Coast Lagoon ply the evening shift, so the hawker centre was
Two of us were banished to the non cyclists table 😂 Singapore's unofficial Brampton ambassador, Brent ordered for us as he had been eating at Han Jia since his dad brought him to eat at their old stall decades ago. Han Jia is a heritage food stall founded in 1963 in the MacPherson area, nearly 60 years ago. The stall is in the second generation now. Thank you buddy Brent for the treat 🙏
The bak kut teh meat was fall-off-the-bone tender. The meat didn't have the porcine sweetness which I like in my pork. The soup was peppery with underlying savouriness and subtle taste of pork & herbs. I finished the soup because I like its pepperiness, but am a bit ambivalent about its somewhat unconventional taste profile. It tasted and felt similar to Old World Bakuteh. Give it a try and let us know your impressions.
The intestines were braised till soft-tender and deeply infused with quite robust savoury sauce flavour. A little too soft and slightly flat tasting for my liking though flavours were robust which makes it great with sweet plain white rice.
The preserved vegetable was stewed till soft. It was savoury, had a subtle sweetness and not overly salty. I enjoyed this preserved vegetable, eating lots of it neat.
Saving the best for the last - I would come back to East Coast Lagoon just to whack another Han Jia braised pork knuckle with plain boiled rice and a cold beer! And, that would make my day great.
The pork knuckle, the size of my fist, was meaty and wrapped with skin and fat. The meat was tender (not soft) and infused with gentle savoury sauce flavour and subtle herbal notes.
To me, the skin and fat were the best parts of the knuckle. The skin and fat separated from the meat effortlessly like peeling off a thick coat, revealing the flesh below. Plenty of soft skin, gelatinous tissue and tender tendons in this dish. The knuckle's natural sweetness complemented the sauce's mild savoury herbal taste well.
Obviously, this is not for everyone. Actually, Han Jia also serve the same braised pork knuckle sans fat and skin. Just ask for it - it is item #2 on their menu.
Brent knows that I will scold him for wasting my precious calories, if he ordered that for me 😜
These guys had to work for their ter kar....., I mean pork knuckles.
Although the taste profiles are very different, Han Jia's braised pork knuckle reminds of how they do bak kut teh in Klang (Malaysia) where the favourite cut for BKT is pork leg "elbow" 脚弯 👈 click
Written by Tony Boey on 21 Dec 2021
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