Singapore Eat: Hokkien Street Bak Kut Teh (福建街肉骨茶) @ Hong Lim Food Centre
- Rick
- Mar 24, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 23, 2025
Bak kut teh (pork ribs soup) is a very popular dish in both Singapore and Malaysia. There are several variants of the traditional dish, such as the light-garlic-peppery Teochew-style, dark-herbal Hokkien-style, strong-herbal Cantonese-style and also the dry Klang-style of Malaysia. Teochew-style bak kut teh is very common in Singapore, whereas Hokkien-style bak kut teh are hard to come across.
Hokkien Street Bak Kut Teh (福建街肉骨茶), located in Hong Lim Market & Food Centre, has been around since the 1960s and still serves their bak kut teh the old traditional way. The stall is recommended by Michelin Guide since 2016 and probably the only Hokkien-style bak kut teh stall in Singapore that I have came across. Aside from its signature bak kut teh with short / long ribs with side dishes, there are pig's trotters, pig's offals in soup, meatballs, etc, and steamed fishes too.
The Bak Kut Teh (Short Ribs) can be paired with yam rice and fried dough to make a typical full meal. The rich and flavourful dark broth of the bak kut teh, made from dark soy sauce, has a mild herbal taste, non-bitter and savoury. Slurping the hot broth with pieces of soaked fried dough is the traditional way to eat the local delicacy. The large chunks of pork ribs meat is surprisingly very tender.
Aside from short ribs, going for long ribs is another way to have the dish with different meat textures. Pairing with fried dough and yam rice is the usual way to have Hokkien-style bak kut teh. The yam rice has nice flavours with small cuts of yam.
The old way of eating bak kut teh is usually accompanied by drinking some hot Chinese tea. If you like to have Chinese tea to go with your meal when dining at Hokkien Street Bak Kut Teh, ask the owner for it.
Address:
Hong Lim Market & Food Centre (芳林巴刹与熟食中心), #01-66
531A Upper Cross Street, Singapore 051531
Opening Hours:
8am to 7pm | Daily
Comments