My Bak Kut Teh adventure continues, lol. Right after having an unexciting BKT at Song Fa the day before, the husband insisted that we should go try the famous Founder BKT @ Balestier that so many people had raved about. Even celebrities like Jay Chou would always visit this place whenever he is in Singapore. Hmm, what’s so great about the BKT here, I wonder.
The moment we stepped into the restaurant, we could see a plethora of celebrity pictures adorning the walls. Nothing else but photographs and more photographs. All of local & international stars with the man behind Founder BKT. Truly a testimony to Founder’s success & fame and of course, an excellent feng shui idea to draw even more business and wealth too.
Before we were seated, our order was already promptly taken while we were queuing up outside so it didn’t take long for our little feast to arrive.
The normal Bak Kut Teh ($6.50) came with a good portion of chopped rib bones that were quite meaty. When I first tried a mouthful of the broth, I was disappointed that it tasted quite weak & bland in flavour but the refills that came thereafter were excellent – robust, peppery & slightly spicy – but it wasn’t overpowering so we could still taste the natural flavour of the pork ribs. And I also liked that the broth wasn’t oily at all.
The signature Bak Kut Teh ($8.00) came with a huge prime rib and 2 smaller but really meaty chunks of pork ribs. I really enjoyed chewing on the prime rib which I had to lift up with my fingers. The meat itself was tender (not fork-tender though) with a bite and had a bounce to it. We had several refills of the broth (free flow) that were swiftly served to us.
The Braised Pig Trotter ($8.00) was really meaty (the boss really knew how to pick the good cuts of the pig!). In fact, this was probably the leanest pig trotter I had compared to those from other BKT places. Much more meat than fats, it wasn’t as gelatinous as I would like it to be. The braising sauce was also more on the sweeter side. It was good but again, I still thought the one from Ng Ah Sio was the best.
The Salted Vegetables ($3.00) was ordinary, nothing to really rave about.
From the look of the Braised Peanuts ($3.00), it was quite obvious that they weren’t braised long enough so the texture wasn’t soft enough to melt in the mouth. The braise tasted pretty watered down too.
The You Tiao ($1.50) was cold and tasted old and bready just like Song Fa’s. What a shame.
Steamed rice was charged at $0.70 per portion. Our total bill came up to about $35 (incl. GST, no service charge) for 2 persons which was within the same price range as other BKT places. Before we came, we had really high expectations of the BKT here but after trying it, we weren’t particularly wowed. Well, I wasn’t sorely disappointed with the meal but I just thought this place was overrated. I wouldn’t mind coming back again if I’m in the vicinity and there’s no queue but I will definitely not wait anything more than 15 minutes for this.
We came by just 10 minutes before it opened for dinner and we were 4th in the queue. So if you want to avoid a long wait, just be there early.
Founder Bak Kut Teh Restaurant
347 Balestier Road
#01-347, New Orchid Hotel
Singapore 329777
Tel: 6352 6192
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/founderbakkutteh
Opening hours
12.00pm to 2.00pm and 6.00pm to 2.30am (Wed-Mon)
Closed on Tuesdays
Maybe you could tried the other outlet at Rangoon road. Thou its under the same family, but the taste is better than balestier outlet.
Thanks for the recommendation. Will definitely give it a try 🙂