I’m extremely confused... This place is consistently voted as Singapore’s best bak kut teh, trumping both Ya Hua and Founder, but after finally trying it today, I’m having a lot of trouble figuring out why. In my opinion, this doesn’t even come close to Ya Hua, let alone Founder which tops my list.
We ended up here for an early lunch on Saturday quite by accident; we were actually trying to find a furniture store in Macpherson, got lost and decided to try looking for the “famous Rangoon Road bak kut teh”.
We ordered our usual – the ‘long’ pork ribs, the giam chye and you tiao, as well as bowl of pig’s liver. When the ribs arrived, they looked promising in a dark broth. I took a sip – it was slightly peppery and quite thick, but at the same time it lacked, I dunno, depth and body. Never mind, I thought. Maybe, like at Ya Hua, the ribs are the highlight.
To my surprise, the ribs were really tough and chewy. This is surprising, because one of the reasons we order the pork ribs rather than the chopped up spare ribs, is that they come a premium because of their tenderness. You usually can’t go wrong when you order the long pork ribs, but here they were dry and didn’t even fall off the bone.
Needless to say, I was puzzled. “Am I missing something?”, I thought. I even ordered a bowl of the spare ribs, thinking that maybe those are the ones that are famous, not the pork ribs. Wrong; they were even drier and harder.
The liver didn’t fare much better. The slices were so thin that they were overcooked by the time they arrived, and ended up being chewy and tasteless.
Someone help me out. I’m really not being biased; I came here with an open mind, expecting this to blow me away if it was rated above Ya Hua and Founder. After tasting it, I really can’t see how, in any sort of taste test, anyone could put this above those two joints. To me, based on what I had today, it’s not even in the running.
A says:
Service is super efficient. But bak kut teh wise, I much prefer Founder.
Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh
208 Rangoon Road
Hong Building
Tel: 6291-4537
7 am to 3 pm (Closed Mondays)
2 comments:
Their standards dropped after their management got taken over by a catering company.
I see.... i have the exact sentiments as you re the pork being hard ..... I thought maybe they bought frozen pork?
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