YA HUA BAK KUT TEH INDONESIA

Very important for a restaurant to keep the authentic taste of a dish, especially if these dishes come from other countries. If you read our previous post about Bak Kut Teh in Bugis, we have shared that we are always looking for Bak Kut Teh when in Singapore. And now, we found Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh in Mall Taman Anggrek, Jakarta serving Bak Kut Teh with its original taste we’ve ever tried in Singapore, even though we had never visited their outlets in Singapore. Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh is originally from Singapore since 1973. They already have 2 outlets in Singapore, located on the Haverlock Road in Isetan Office Building, and on Keppel Road at Tanjong Pagar Complex.

Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh Indonesia located on 4th floor of Mall Taman Anggrek, West Jakarta. The restaurant is spacious enough so spacing between the table not too close. The interior is nicely decorated with traditional-chinese style. There is many antique decorations items like kerosene lamp, wooden bucket, wooden crate, gunny sack, chinese pattern partition, etc. Round marble table and wooden stool also build an impression of traditional chinese style.

Bak Kut Teh is a traditional Chinese soup and the name itself actually means “Meat Bone Tea” and at its simplest, consists of meaty pork ribs simmered in a complex broth of herbs and spices. The broth was made from pork ribs bone. Despite its name, there is in fact no tea in the dish itself; the name refers to a strong oolong Chinese tea which is usually served alongside the soup in the belief that it dilutes or dissolves the copious amount of fat consumed in this pork-laden dish.

Short Ribs

This is the signature menu of Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh. The pork ribs was absolutely great and so tender. I like a bit of fat in it making the texture a bit more tender. The base soup is light and have like an acquired taste. It tasted a little bland at first, but we start to like after sipping some spoons. The soup is so tasty, very strong on the pepper, and do not need to add other condiments. The best part is, you can refill the soup as much as you want!

Liver and Kidney Soup

Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh have many choices for internal organ soup, there is pig’s tail, kidney, intestines, stomach, and liver. If you want to try more than one kind, there is a packages that you can choose the combination of 2 (liver / stomach / kidney / intestines). So, we decided to order Liver and Kidney Soup. They do add a couple of richness to the broth, but if you dont’t like or doesn’t take internal organs as food, we recommend you to Prime Rib (besides Short Ribs) or Sliced Pork Soup if you dislike eating meat with bones.

Braised Trotter

Since Pig’s Trotter is one of my favorite food, so we also ordered Braised Trotter. Surprisingly, this Braised Trotters is crazily good. The meat is really tender, probably one of the most tender meat I’ve ever eaten and the skin is also soft and juicy. The soy sauce based soup is very tasty with bits of red chili. This is absolutely a mandatory order besides their Short Ribs. Very recommended!

Seaweed and Mushroom Soup

For a lighter dish, this Seaweed and Mushroom Soup is very recommended. The seaweed has a mushy texture because submerged in the soup, but it tastes good. FYI, there is many choices for vegetable soup, such as spinach, watercress, chye-sim, and many more..

Mee Sua

There is something lacking if you eat Bak Kut Teh without Mee Sua or Cakwe. They are the best companion every time we eat Bak Kut Teh. Mee Sua is a type of Chinese noodles made from wheat flour. It is very thin and soft, while the soup was very refreshing.

You Tiao / Cakwe

This is chinese long golden-brown deep-fried strip of dough. Besides Mee Sus, this one is also best companion for Bak Kut Teh (and also for rice congee). It’s very cruncy with the right level of crispness.

Chinese Tea

After a heavy meal, we would drink Chinese tea, slowly sipping and enjoying every bit of its “golden” taste. This is a perfect pairing with Bak Kut Teh, since it helps to ‘wash’ down greasy food.

Overall, Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh definitely one of the best Bak Kut Teh restaurant in town. They offer authentic recipe and original taste of Bak Kut Teh with fresh and high quality ingredients. Will come back for sure!