Was planning to go to Starbucks at Seletar Mall to work and thus alighted at Jalan Kayu first to grab some lunch as food choices at the mall were pretty limited. We settled for Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh as we had never tried their bak kut teh (bkt) before.

While waiting for our food, I was drawn to the wall print story about their founder and I remembered reading news about him previously. If you’re not aware, Soon Huat is actually a social enterprise with a mission to provide ex-offenders a second chance in life. It is founded by Mr Jabez Tan who was put behind bars for 15 years because of drug offences. Check out this Straits Times article to find out more.

Their Homemade Barley ($2) was extremely refreshing and cooling in this crazy hot weather. Came with little bits of barley at the bottom and it wasn’t too sweet.

I had to specially feature the Fried Tow Kee (beancurd skin) in the middle because I love tow kee! And of course, a bkt feast wouldn’t be complete without side dishes of you tiao, salted vegetables, etc.

The Fried Tow Kee ($4.90) was crispy and very addictive. Came doused with a savoury sauce that was similar to that of their Dried Bak Kut Teh. Tow kee was something that I would always eat in hotpots and they tasted really good with bkt too. Must order!

The sides of Salted Vegetables ($2.20), Dough Fritters ($2.20) and Braised Eggs ($1.60 for 2) were decent.

The Bak Kut Teh ($6.90) had a generous amount of pork ribs in it and also came with enoki mushrooms and fried tow kee. The broth was the Hokkien herbal kind (not the white Teochew peppery type) which is what I normally like. Fragrant and sweet but not overly powering in herby flavour. The meat wasn’t super tender but wasn’t too tough or chewy too. Not the best herbal bkt I had but it was still a deliciously comforting bowl of soup.

I preferred the Dried Bak Kut Teh ($7.50) with its flavoursome sauce that was intensely perfumed by the threads of dried squid that really imparted a lovely umami flavour. This is the kind of dish that will make you crave for another bowl of rice. 😛

Plain rice is chargeable at $0.80 per bowl. There is no GST and service charge.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty satisfying bkt meal. Great service from the crew as well who would come round our table to ask us how the food was. Would we come back? Definitely! 😉