Founder Bak Kut Teh

In my second of my bak kut teh hunt, we went to Founder at Balestier Road and this has been a favorite of ours for quite some time.

We were there on a Sunday evening and as expected, there was a sizeable queue, which meant you had to wait about 20 mins or so before you could get a table.

But all this was quite worth the wait, as this establishment has certainly built its reputation over the years.

Whilst the decor and furnishing is very plain when compared to Song Fa, the service rendered and the food to follow certainly made up for this rather blander surroundings.

Prime Ribs Bak Kut Teh

We went for the prime ribs this time and as you can see for the photos, the meat looked really succulent, and whilst not exactly falling off the bone, it was tender enough and the soup, again not overly peppery and had a hint of sweetness in it.

The soup is the usually the distinguishing factor for most bak kut teh, and maybe it's the sweetness of the broth, but I do like this broth better than the other bak kut tehs, including Song Fa. You can't help but finish every drop of it and getting the servers to top up as you dunk more you tiaos into it.

Salted Veggies

We had a party of 4, and though I normally do not partake in salted veggies, I must say this plate was quite well done. Not too savory, the veggies had just enough combination of texture and flavor to make it very palatable and certainly did go down very well with the bak kut teh.

Pig Liver Soup

Just as with Song Fa, the pig liver soup comes in  the same soup base as the bak kut teh, though it did seem to have a darker color, maybe just a tad more dark soy sauce here. The pig livers are more tender, and had a bigger portion here ie. more slices. Thing is, the slicing here were also a bit thin for our liking.

Pig Trotter

We also had the soy sauced pig trotter and here, the portion again was considerably better and what was more important, we had more lean meat and less fatty skin. The sauce also had a herbal infusion and the meat was moist and juicy underneath. Overall, it is an excellent dish of pig trotter.

The pricing here does not differ too much from Song Fa, but we did feel the portioning here was much better, but again as to which is ultimately better can be quite subjective. It is more out of the way for most folks and the stall space is smaller, hence the usual waiting time to get a table.

But the servers are very friendly and they do take the effort to take your orders whilst waiting in line, so you tend to get your food almost immediately after you are seated. If I have to pick a personal choice, I will still go for Founder if I have to go for only one bak kut teh.

Founder Bak Kut Teh
347 Balestier Road