I was on my way to Marina Bay for some photoshoots at the new Apple store that sits on water and decided to drop by Song Fa Bak Kut Teh near Clark Quay for lunch.
It was my first-time at the New Bridge Road outlet that was opposite Clark Quay Central. Unlike the other outlets, which were mostly located in shopping malls, this outlet, located in a post-war shophouse, had a rustic Chinatown feel about it.
It was just after 12pm when I reached Song Fa and I thought I was in for a long wait, but there was no queue. I was lucky because the queue started forming 20 minutes later. Since I was alone, I opted for a small table outside the shop and took a peek at the rustic decorations inside.
I ordered their set lunch with pork ribs soup (of course), fried dough fritters and opted for the salted vegetables (the other option was groundnuts). The set meal was completed with a bowl of rice, a pack of dark soya sauce, sliced chilli and a drink. The lunch set promotion was priced at $10.99 and worked out to be $12.95 after GST and service charge.
The Teochew-style bak kut teh had clear and peppery broth with garlic flavour. There were three pieces of pork ribs in each bowl. Topping up of the soup was free-flow. The staff would come by and ask to top up the soup without having me to call for them.
Eating pork ribs with the sweet dark soya sauce was supposedly complementary but, as a local, I would say it's a must. The well-simmered pork ribs were tender and easy to separate the meat from the bones. I could not stop drinking the flavourful hot soup and made the staff top-up the soup not less than 5 times.
There was also a little note on how to enjoy bak kut teh to its fullest, which was meant for non-locals.
The usual way of eating the dough fritters (油条) would be to soak them in the soup. Let the fritters absorbed the soup before eating. The soup would add peppery and garlic flavour to the fried fritters. This would be another quick way to drink the soup and had more top-ups.
Other than pork ribs, soup and fritters, I also ate the garlic, which was non-spicy after long hours of boiling. It was meant to be eaten, otherwise, it would not be served with the soup.
Apart from going for the set meal at Song Fa, individual dishes could also be ordered a la carte style to try different Teochew dishes, especially when in a group.
Address:
11 New Bridge Road, #01-01
Opening Hours:
10am to 9pm | Daily