Song Fa Bak Kut Teh in New Bridge Road, Singapore

While most of our peers would fly off to Hong Kong or some even to the US for weeks of endless shopping during our school summer break, my family and I would frequent Singapore to visit the not-so-endless variety of touristy places available given that this was in the late 80s, earlly 90s. Every year, we would visit the zoo, the Science Centre, to my horror -- the Jurong Birds Park and eat in some of the well-known hawker places in town. You see, Singapore holds a special place in the hearts of every family member. After all, it's the only place on earth that Papa considers to be really safe that he would allow me and Pan to go around on our own.Mommy grew up frequenting Singapore too and loves sharing her childhood memories with us.

On of her childhood favorites is the Bak Kut Teh. I remember having this for breakfast and it was love at first sip. Unlike most kids who shy away from herbal-tasting soups, I love them very much! Having it the traditional way, we would have our bowls of Bak Kut Teh with a piece of dough fritters (bicho bicho) each. We love the tender pork ribs and the flavorful herbal soup. Yum...

So, when O suggested that we go try one of the best Bak Kut Teh in town one evening, that got me really excited. What made it special also was that Paul has never had authentic Bak Kut Teh before and I can't wait to share this yummy experience with him. Off to Clarke Quay we went to Song Fa Bak Kut Teh along New Bridge Road.

It was a busy Saturday night for the restaurant as both the main and the annex branches had long queues outside and it was almost 8PM. I'm glad though that service was really fast that we quickly got our table for 3 in no time.

Without opening the menu, we ordered three large bowls of Bak Kut Teh (S$8.50). I guess the wait made all of us extra hungry. Each order gives you three big pieces of tender pork ribs that you won't be able to resist using your hands with to fully enjoy. Dip it into the soy sauce with chili padi mixture for that slight spicy kick which will tease your palate even more. I love the herbal peppery broth. Should you want more soup, simply raise your hand and the server would gladly refill this for you. I love the whole garlic cloves added into the soup. Since it has been simmered for hours, the garlic was very soft and I enjoyed mashing it and spreading it on top of the pork rib before taking a bite. Enjoying my bowl of Bak Kut Teh surely brought back a lot of good childhood memories spent in Singapore.

Following traditions, I just have to order some you tiao (dough fritters) to go with my Bak Kut Teh. Some things never change eh?



We also tried the Braised Pig's Trotter (S$6 / S$8) which is very similar to what we call Pata Tim. The sauce wasn't as sticky and rich though but the meat was very good and definitely very chopsticks-tender. Since I was with two guys, of course we can't just have you tiaos right? We ordered a bowl of rice to perfectly complement this dish.

Lastly, we tried the Xiao Bai Cai (S$3.50) to complete our meal. It was just a-okay as I find the veggie a bit bitter and chewy. Will try the Cai Xin or Kai Lan next time.

It was a fun dinner reminiscing about my fun summer moments here in Singapore. Definitely, Bak Kut Teh played a big role in it and I'm glad that there's one good Bak Kut Teh shop that's just a short bus ride away.

Check out Song Fa Bak Kut Teh at 11 and 17 New Bridge Road, #01-01, Singapore. These two branches are closed on Mondays. They also have a branch in UE BizHub East which is open daily.