ABC Herbal Claypot Bak Kut Teh – Authentic Malaysian-Style BKT!

Bak Kut Teh is a perennial favourite amongst Singaporeans and Malaysians. If you’re a fan of the Malaysian version, which serves the herbal variety of bak kut teh, you’re in luck! Situated in Midview City is ABC Herbal Claypot Bak Kut Teh, which delivers bowls of Malaysian-style bak kut teh. The owner, who comes from Malaysia, has been working in Singapore for over 6 years. “We were interested to bring a taste of Malaysian bak kut teh to Singaporeans,” shared the owner.

I’ve always preferred bak kut teh to be cooked over a charcoal fire, as I enjoy watching chefs control the blazing fire with an old-fashioned straw fan. The Herbal Claypot Bak Kut Teh ($5) here is prepared using a gas stove, so I didn’t get to see any intense fanning. The garlicky broth boasted a light herbal taste. However, I was expecting this Malaysian bak kut teh to deliver a much more robust herbal flavour. I thoroughly enjoyed the sweet tones of the broth’s aftertaste though. The pork ribs were decent, but not outstanding. Some ribs were tender, while some were tough. The delightful garlic-chilli mix will be able to save the tough ribs. The broth also came with pork intestines, enoki mushrooms and tau kee. I loved that the intestines were cleaned well. Portion-wise, each serving is definitely sufficient for one.

Since the stall specializes in Malaysian bak kut teh, we definitely had to order the Dry Bak Kut Teh ($6.50). Watching it being prepared right in front of eyes made us drool! A clay pot is placed over the fire, and ladies’ fingers and chilli are added. Shortly after, the cooked pork ribs are thrown in before the entire mix is doused in a sweet soya sauce. The beautifully caramelized pork ribs and charred spices in a sizzling clay pot will captivate you with just its aroma. Each pork rib carried a strong wok hei. The sauce could have been sweeter though. Thankfully, the light heat in the sauce made up for it. We suspected that this dish was overcooked during our visit.. Similar to the herbal clay pot version, the texture of the pork was pretty inconsistent. 

I was pretty surprised by the Sesame Oil Chicken ($4). While the ones I had in Malaysia usually come in a thicker and more flavourful sauce, the version here is different. The sauce was pretty watered–down and lacked that crucial sesame oil flavour. What you get is a watery gravy with a hint of ginger. Unfortunately, the chicken was not well-executed too. It took some effort to chow down the fibrous and stringy flesh. While the dishes can use some work, the portions are pretty generous. 

ABC Herbal Claypot Bak Kut Teh’s usage of clay pots definitely contributes to the authenticity of their dishes. However, there is still some room for improvement.

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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