My next guest in gluttony is no stranger to food or fame, having presented wildly popular TV shows such as City Beat, Ah Ma Can Cook and Old Taste Detective. The recent Star Awards Best Actress winner has more credentials than a buffet spread, while mine could fit on a side plate – so it was with butterflies in my stomach that I met with bilingual superstar Kym Ng. She had agreed to play guide and translator on our hunt for excellent bak kut teh. The local delicacy of pork rib soup literally means “meat bone tea”. Emphasis on the tea, as I soon discovered…
- READ: the full story at CNA Lifestyle.
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Our first destination was Chinese tea merchant Pek Sin Choon, where we learnt how integral tea is to the evolution of bak kut teh. Just shy of a century old, the company supplies tea to over 80 percent of Singapore’s bak kut teh establishments, largely thanks to the efforts of fourth-generation owner Kenry Peh.
But Pek Sin Choon’s history goes back a little further to his family’s tea-farming roots in China at the end of the 19th century. And by 1910, following the death of his great-grandfather, Kenry’s great-grandmother Bai-Zhuang Dan Niang moved to Singapore in search of a better life. Together with her son Pek Kim Aw, she played a pivotal role in transforming the family’s trade from tea farmers to tea merchants.
By 1925 (the Year of the Buffalo in the Chinese zodiac), the family’s first tea shop was established at George Street by Pek Kim Aw. Pek Sin Choon is a combination of the family name and the Chinese words for new spring, symbolising their hopes for new beginnings and a prosperous future. Those hopes became reality and the brand has become a leader in Singapore’s Chinese tea market.
In 1998, Pek Sin Choon moved to their current location along Mosque Street and under Kenry’s stewardship, the brand has left an indelible mark on Singapore’s F&B history. However, the one thing that keeps the family rooted to their humble beginnings is Nanyang tea.
In the past, tea leaf shipments were inconsistent due to unpredictable harvests and logistical challenges. “Because of survival we had to blend (teas from) the north and the south of Fujian so that it became something unique here,” Kenry shared, revealing that this is where the connection between his family’s Nanyang tea and bak kut teh began.
Every pork rib soup meal usually begins with gongfu tea (tea made with skill), a ritual characterised by the use of smaller teapots, a shorter brewing time and a higher leaf-to-water ratio than the Western-style.
According to Kenry, in the 1920s, tea served with bak kut teh was usually offered for free and tended to be of “the cheapest and lowest range”. But the Pek Sin Choon strategy was to develop affordable yet superior teas to suit the local palate, so in the 1950s, a new blend was created. Founder Pek Kim Aw was lost for words when he tasted it, so he named the tea “Bu Zhi Xiang”, or Renowned Unknown Fragrance, to let the fragrance and flavour speak for itself.
“We call it gongfu tea because practise makes perfect. So we actually fine-tuned this tea and brought it to bak kut teh,” Kenry said, offering us a taste of his family’s signature brew.
Both Kym and I agreed that the tea was strong and robust. “But that goes well with your bak kut teh, with all the garlic, with all the herbs,” Kenry noted. “All the fats,” Kym added. Certainly, the dish needed to be balanced by a tea of equal intensity. It was also a tea that could withstand multiple infusions without losing flavour, perfect for lingering over a bak kut teh meal.
“Good food must come with a good tea,” Kenry declared with a smile.
Kym and I were eager to put his words to the test at our next destination, a well-known bak kut teh establishment that Pek Sin Choon also supplies tea to. Out of the many famous brand names in Singapore, Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh at Rangoon Road was Kym’s choice. There, its founder Mr Ng Siak Hai was meeting us for lunch.
His first instruction before we ate was: “Drink tea.” Another reminder of how intertwined the stories of Pek Sin Choon and Ng Ah Sio are. In the mid-1960s, Mr Ng would help his parents in their River Valley stall at the foot of Government Hill (known today as Fort Canning). lt was named Ng Mui Song Bak Kut Teh, after his father.
Before taking over the stall in 1977, Mr Ng was a taxi driver but already brimming with ideas to further the family business. The stall relocated to New World Amusement Park and he extended the menu as well as opening hours to attract more diners. To distinguish his family’s distinctive bak kut teh from imitators, he followed in his father’s footsteps by renaming the new stall Ng Ah Sio Pork Ribs Soup Eating House after himself.
Fun Fact: Ah Sio is a malapropism. Mr Ng’s actual childhood nickname is Ah Soi, meaning “small” in Teochew. “I was a very small baby, that’s why they called me Ah Soi,” he said with a chuckle. The letters were mixed up in the registration process but the name has stuck ever since. A little self-promotion and a whole lot of hard work paid off for Mr Ng, as his bak kut teh stall began packing in crowds. When New World shuttered in 1988, Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh moved to its present location.
We got down to savouring the soup, which was clear, yet rich and boldly peppery. Kym and I agreed that this was the kind we preferred over herbal-style bak kut teh. Whole garlic cloves and white pepper in sinus-clearing amounts gave the broth a piquancy I really enjoyed, its spiciness mitigating any porky pungency.
“Yes, very intense. Very shiok,” was Kym’s verdict.
Though the soup recipe remains untouched from his father’s time, Mr Ng has made changes to keep up with evolving tastes and customer demand. Previously, his father only sold pork ribs, pig tail and rice, but now the extensive menu includes different cuts of meat. The most coveted is the premium loin rib, also known as long gu (“dragon bone”) found in their signature S$12.80 set.
But really, you can’t go wrong with the superior pork ribs set (S$11.80), boasting a generous fat to meat ratio. “Very tasty. See the fat here? That’s why after boiling, the pork becomes very soft,” Kym noted. Luscious and tender, this was a good choice eaten with white rice between dips of dark soya sauce infused with red chilli slices.
Even without any meat, the invigorating and warming broth would have been delicious enough to enjoy on its own. But again, Kym and I were in agreement that non-negotiables were salty-sweet chye buay (preserved vegetables for S$3.80) and you tiao (dough fritters for S$2.20). “It acts like a sponge, so you dip it in the soup and put it in your mouth and all the soup is like, wow, bursting out,” she enthused.
In a larger group, I would have been tempted to order more from the menu of Teochew braised specialties but was delighted to have the platter of big intestines ($8.80) all to myself. If a bak kut teh set doesn’t fill you up, homemade ngoh hiang (deep-fried pork roll) or Teochew style braised pig trotter rice with onsen egg should do the trick.
In 2010, the Jumbo group of restaurants (Mr Ng is a founding shareholder) acquired the brand and though now officially retired, he remains the name and face of Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh. With plans for local and global expansion in place, there are now outlets on Hainan Island in China and at Clarke Quay Central, a new location not far from his father’s original stall. Quite the full circle moment for Mr Ng.
Taking stock of his achievements, he said: “I was once just a street hawker selling food by the five-foot way. I’ve come a long way and I feel very fulfilled.”
- TASTE:
Pek Sin Choon Pte Ltd
Address: 36 Mosque St, Singapore 059514
Open Mon – Sat: 8.30am – 6.30pm
Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh
Address:208 Rangoon Rd, Hong Building, Singapore 218453
Open Daily: 9am – 9pm
Makan Kakis on Gold 905 