Surprisingly Good Dried Bak Kut Teh
**Restoran Bak Kut Teh FEN FANG**
Bak Kut Teh, literally means "meat bone tea," but is actually a soup consisting of meaty pork ribs simmered in a broth of with herbs and spices including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds, cloves, coriander and garlic for hours. Despite its name, there is in fact no tea in the dish itself.
Most recently, I was invited to review one of the BKT shop somewhere in Kepong. Located in a new housing estate, Restoran Bak Kut Teh Fen Fang opened it doors to customers around a month ago. The owner, Jason explained that they had another outlet located in Kuala Selangor which has been in business for quite some time.
My favourite place to eat Bak Kut Teh is at the famous Heng Kee Bak Kut Teh (PJ Old Town). Been patronising this shop for many years as they maintain their quality and standard in their food mainly their aromatic and thick flavour soup.
Located in Laman Rimbunan, Kepong ... this restaurant is one of the many more Bak Kut Teh outlets mushrooming in and around Kepong. I was told that they are at least more than 100 BKT shops in this area! Well, I think Kepong is fast-making it's name as a mini haven for BKT lovers similar to Klang.
Restoran Bak Kut Teh Fen Fang has a typical Chinese coffee shop setting with plenty of seating. They even had a outer seating area, most probably it's the smokers area.
Attractive Menu with its Signature Dishes
Their menu boasts of wide array of dishes ranging from its signature bak kut teh dishes which comes in soup or dry version. You can choose to have spare ribs, soft bone meat, pork bellies or guts too for your bak kut teh or a mixed of everything else.
They not only serves Bak Kut Teh alone but a variety of other dishes like pickled vegetables with pork stew (mui choy stewed pork bellies), Mushroom & Sesame Chicken, vegetable (choy po egg) or onion omelette and vegetable in oyster sauce. The adventurous menu also includes Thai styled Dried Beancurd and Chicken Feet with Thai chilli sauce.
Food Pictures adorn the wall in Fen Fang BKT
The walls were adorned with photos of dishes gracing the restaurant while savouring the delicious treats Fen Fang have to offer.
Bak Kut Teh - Soup Version
RM 12 per single serving
We started off with Bak Kut Teh in Clay Pot. Plentiful portions of meaty pork served with a mixtures of succulent spare ribs, pork bellies, pork innards and chunky pieces of lean cuts. It was loaded with extras of tau pok, foo chok and lettuce too making this a very complete meal with a bit of everything inside this delicious porky soup.
Sinful yet Succulent Pork Bellies
Fen Fang's version of bak kut teh is a bit lighter and sweeter and didn't meet my expectations as I was used to Klang's version with the thick, dark broth and strong herb taste, aromatic infused with strong herb of tong kwai which I love so much!
Well, according Jason the owner, he actually tone it down and make a less stronger version to cater to the local Kepong's taste buds. I would say that Fen Fang's BKT is slightly lighter than the Heng Kee (PJ Old Town), but if you re looking for Klang's version you will be deeply disappointed like me!
Selections of Tofu pok, Foo Chok, Button Mushroom, Enoki Mushroom & Twisted dough (Yau Char Kwai)
While this Fen Fang might not have the best tasting broth, their tofu pok and foo chok are one notch better. What I like about them is they offers these side dishes in individual bowls great for those foo chok and tofu pok lovers.
I welcome this move because I always have this naggy feeling that these sides especially the golden needle mushrooms (enoki mushrooms) would introduce some foreign taste into the soup and eventually affecting the flavour.
I welcome this move because I always have this naggy feeling that these sides especially the golden needle mushrooms (enoki mushrooms) would introduce some foreign taste into the soup and eventually affecting the flavour.
Bak Kut Teh - Dry Version
RM 13 per single serving
Without a doubt, everyone favourite that day was the splendid 'Dry version ~ Bak Kut Teh', the restaurant speciality. Served on a claypot, it was very aromatic and savoury. The pork bellies was top-notch and the gravy was splendid, a wonderful accompaniment with white rice. The julienned cuttle fish brings out the smoky flavour cooked with some thinly sliced ladies fingers, the whole dish was just heavenly. Good one, should not be missed!
Standing Out Dish ~ Melt-in-mouth Pork Bellies
Pork bellies specially cooked with Bak Kut Teh soup, dry chillies, dried sotong, lots of minced garlic and seasoned with thick soya sauce, this dish needs at least 20 minutes of cooking time for the flavour to be fully absorb into the pork before it can be served. Great dish, a must-try for Bak Kut Teh's fans!
Pickled Vegetables with Stew Pork Bellies ~ RM8
Pork Bellies was never my favourite due to the thick layer of unhealthy fat and skin. Being on a strict no fat diet, be it the chicken skin or pork skin, these parts can never come in contact with me. Under circumstances, I will gracefully 'dissect' the fat or skin from the meat, leaving the lean meat to be eaten. My pork loving friend will always say " Aiyah, Lilly ... whylah you don't how to enjoy this dish? You're taking away the best part of the meat. So sayanglah !"
Any how, I just can't simply resist this special 'Mui Choy Stew Pork' dish as it was one of favourite to eat during my younger days. I tried cooking it but failed miserably, either getting it too salty or too tasteless.
Fen Fang's got the recipe right, and resulted in a great comfort food for me. Very flavourful with pickled vegetables (mui choy), well-cooked as the pork was soft and tender with melt-in-mouth sensation.
Gravy and all, an excellent single dish complete with protein and vegetables, this makes a wonderful accompaniment to any rice meal. Reasonably priced too at RM 8 only. Something I would pack (tau pau) back home to add into my home cooked dish for my family as a add-on dish on my lazy days!
Gravy and all, an excellent single dish complete with protein and vegetables, this makes a wonderful accompaniment to any rice meal. Reasonably priced too at RM 8 only. Something I would pack (tau pau) back home to add into my home cooked dish for my family as a add-on dish on my lazy days!
Mushroom & Sesame Chicken ~ RM 12
The next dish on the menu was the Mushroom & Sesame Chicken. Well, I actually didn't get to try this dish maybe I was too busy savouring the rest of the scrumptious 8 dishes lunch spread that day.
Well, I guess this dish can't go wrong in any way as the rest of the dishes fares quite well under my rating. If you like chicken and mushroom and not too much of a porky lover, then perhaps you should give this dish a try!
Well, I guess this dish can't go wrong in any way as the rest of the dishes fares quite well under my rating. If you like chicken and mushroom and not too much of a porky lover, then perhaps you should give this dish a try!
Chicken Feet with Thai Chillies Sauce
Here's one unique dish that may not goes well with many. The 'Kwai Lou' (Westerns) will run a hundred miles if you force them to try this. "How to eat chicken feet, so gruesome and dirty, ah?"
Anyway, this is an acquire taste for many. Those who loves the chewy and crunchy texture will gives thumbs up for this cold chicken feet dish. Fen Fang got it right again with the right concoctions of Thai chilli sauce, fresh chillies, calamansi lime and garlic to flavour the otherwise tasteless chicken feet. A good mix of onions, pickled cucumber, coriander and scallions brings out the savoury taste making a great appetiser for any meal.
Thai Styled Dried Beancurd ~ RM 7
Next on the menu, is the Thai Styled Dried Beancurd. This dish will goes well with tofu lovers like me. Fried till perfection, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside ~ I loves the special sauce as it was a nice accompaniment to the other wise bland taste of plain tofu.
I enjoyed eating this dish as it's really tasty, non greasy, full of protein, light on the stomach and most of all, not fattening at all. After all, this is a healthy vegetarian dish filled with the soy goodness!
(Mustard Leaves) Vegetables in Oyster Sauce ~ RM 7
Every Bak Kut Teh restaurant will definitely offers this version of vegetables, be in lettuce, spinach, mustard leaves or even bean sprout (taugeh). Blanch in hot water and seasoned with soy sauce, oyster sauce and a dash of shallots, this is a simple and plain vegetable dish to go with the meat-laden dishes.
(Choy Po) Vegetable Omelette ~ RM 7
I was quite surprised to find out that they serves 2 choices of egg dishes - onion omelette and choy po omelette. I guess the owner, Jason wanted to let his diners have a wider options of not only savouring pork dishes but with add-ons of these side dishes to make your dining experience a fulfilling one.
Wonderful Spread of Fen Fang's Offerings
Overall, every dish was up to mark at Fen Fang Bak Kut Teh Restaurant in Kepong KL. Thumbs up for their mouth-watering Dry Bak Kut Teh. Serving was decent as the boss didn't sting on the servings and pricing was decent and reasonable too.
I would probably come back to eat my favourite dish as he did a good job in coming close to Klang's Dry version of BKT. So, if you are craving for some Bak Kut Teh... you need not travel all the way to Klang, just drop by to Fen Fang in Kepong instead!
Fen Fang Bak Kut Teh Restaurant
No. 130, Jalan Rimbunan Raya,Laman Rimbunan, Kepong,
52100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 019 5555218
Without a doubt, everyone favourite that day was the splendid 'Dry version ~ Bak Kut Teh', the restaurant speciality. Served on a claypot, it was very aromatic and savoury.
ReplyDeleteOverall, every dish was up to mark at Fen Fang Bak Kut Teh Restaurant in Kepong KL. Thumbs up for their mouth-watering Dry Bak Kut Teh. Serving was decent as the boss didn't sting on the servings and pricing was decent and reasonable too.
ReplyDelete