Bak Kut Teh is a meal in itself

The ‘Bak’ here is pork and the soups come in giddy varieties.

Sliced Lean Meat Soup, a variant of Bak Kut Teh at Founder Bak Kut Teh

There is a certain edge of excitement in stepping into a restaurant with a name that sounds so quintessentially oriental for the surprises it can throw up. As I was proffered two choices of place for lunch on a Saturday afternoon at Downtown East in Pasir Ris Close, Singapore, the pick was hardly a brain-teaser, considering how much of the commonplace continental chow one has gobbled all his life back home.

So, with the swagger of an all-consuming Epicurean, I saunter into the buzzing Founder Bak Kut Teh, a franchise famous for its ‘Rou Gu Cha’, better known as the eponymous ‘Bak Kut Teh’ in the Hokkien/Teochew dialect. I am instantly hit with an irresistible whiff of a mix of spices wafting from the fuggy kitchen.

A quick scan of the place attests to its popularity in the multi-cultural city-State, with umpteen celebrity photographs adorning a testimonial wall. The dense single-page food menu enlightens me about the meat and potatoes of the overall concept. The ‘Bak’ here is pork and the soups come in giddy varieties.

Slices in soups Sliced lean meat soup is a variant of Bak Kut Teh at Founder Bak Kut Teh harikumar jsHarikumar J S

I go for a chef-recommended flavoursome sliced lean meat soup, along with the good old white rice (rather to be on the safer side when you also have pig’s stomach, kidney, liver, intestine and mixed organ soup so conspicuously on the menu). Apparently, rice plays the part of a ‘small dish’. A gregarious Vietnamese in our group pointing to the highly favoured ‘Founder Bak Kut Teh’, (yes, a namesake dish) thankfully, diversifies my tasting options. As an after thought, my friend recommends that we try some no-frills ‘dough fritters’, to be soaked in soup and savoured, which actually prove a neat little accompaniment.

I politely set aside my chopsticks and ravenously grab hold of a spoon for the rice as the dishes arrive on the wooden table in spotlessly-white porcelain bowls. Large chunks of well-cooked, pale-looking pork bathe in translucent, golden soup that proves an easy-downer. A casual enquiry informs me that a combination of herbs and spices such as cinnamon, garlic, cloves, pepper and a dash of soy sauce are at play.

The piece de resistance , Founder Bak Kut Teh, packs in a large long bony rib portion, well dunked in succulent broth. I am told some prefer to chomp on only the tenderer outer crust, while you can always go all the way down to the juice-leaching bones.

Even as I slog to polish off my generous bowl, comes the soup refill sans the Bak. It turns out that’s unlimited. I beckon to the smiling waitress for a liberal top-up.

The writer was in Singapore on invitation from Downtown East