If you love Teochew food, then you’d probably know or hear of Chui Huay Lim Teochew Cuisine that is located in the club of the same name along Keng Lee Road.
Within the same club also houses 1 of 4 outlets of one of Singapore’s popular bak kut teh (pork ribs soup) eating houses, Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh which is also one of the pioneers of this famous Teochew dish since the 1950s.
This Ng Ah Sio BKT outlet is more of an air-conditioned restaurant so patrons can dine in comfort when here. And if you do drive, it’s very easy to park at the club too.
The items on the menu cost more here than other outlets which wasn’t surprising to me given its location and set up. Besides their signature pork ribs soup and side dishes, they also served local delights like nasi lemak, chicken rice, kaya toast and the like.
And once you’re done with your order, just hand over this chit to any service staff who will speedily process it.
What is bak kut teh without a pot of kung fu tea? That’s how bak kut teh should be enjoyed traditionally. The husband and I ordered Tie Guan Yin ($2.00 for 1-2 pax). The service staff promptly brought a big kettle of water to us and then left it on the induction cooker next to our table to boil so we could brew tea on our own and take our time. That was just the fun of it.
In the next couple of minutes, our table was immediately filled with food. We had the Signature Spare Ribs Set ($11.80) that came with a small bowl of rice, preserved vegetables and fried you tiao. We also added a Braised Pig Trotter ($8.00), Braised Peanuts ($2.50) and a big bowl of rice ($0.70).
The spare ribs soup was flavoursome with a strong taste of pepper, typical of Teochew style BKTs. Although I normally prefer Klang or Hokkien style BKTs to Teochew ones, I liked the sensation from drinking this soup as it made my tummy feel warm and fuzzy. My only gripe was that the broth was too greasy – just look at that layer of oil floating on top. It kinda made me feel sickly after a few mouthfuls. Probably that was why the hot tea was essential to wash away that sickly feeling in the throat. The meat was tender, but not like those that would fall off the bone with a few pokes of the chopsticks. I found it quite enjoyable as it still had that meaty and slightly chewy bite to it. The husband loved this so much, he had to have a second bowl of rice to go with it, lol.
The Braised Pig Trotter was the star dish for me. A whole pig trotter that was chopped to pieces for easy eating. Despite the amount of fats present, there were also a lot of solid lean meat. While I do like those braised trotters that are cooked and simmered till they melt in the mouth, these slightly chewy, gelatinous layers of skin and fats were just crunchy and equally addictive. The braising sauce was also a bomb. Full of robust flavour and wasn’t too salty.
The Braised Peanuts were soft and full of flavour from the same braising sauce as the trotter. As good as those out of a can.
The preserved vegetables and you tiao were standard dishes that we’d normally order when having BKT. Pretty ordinary, nothing to shout about.
Overall, this was a good meal even though the pork ribs soup fell a little short of my expectations as the flavour wasn’t as spectacular as the last time I had it years ago before Ng Ah Sio became part of the Jumbo Group. Perhaps I should go back to the Rangoon Road outlet again next time. For now, I’m satisfied with their braised pig trotter and will definitely come back for it again.
Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh @ Chui Huay Lim Club
190 Keng Lee Rd
#01-03
Singapore 308409
Tel: 6250 4537
Website: http://www.ngahsiobkt.com/
Operating hours:
9.30am to 9.30pm daily