When it comes to supper food, bak kut teh ranks high on the list of favourites. Most Singaporeans would be divided between two camps: the peppery, or the herbal broth-based versions. Accompanied with a bowl of warm, fluffy rice and a plate of golden-brown you tiao (deep-fried dough sticks), both versions are equally comforting to have.
A new spin
Enter Old Street Bak Kut Teh, a seven-year-old establishment looking to reach out to the younger generation with its creative takes on the traditional dish. Here, the traditional herbal soup is given a new spin; the herbal sauce is reduced and mixed with dark soya sauce and dry chilli to create the slightly spicy gravy for this dry version. The gravy-coated, juicy pork ribs are stir-fried with cuttlefish and then served with ladyfingers.
Enter Old Street Bak Kut Teh, a seven-year-old establishment looking to reach out to the younger generation with its creative takes on the traditional dish. Here, the traditional herbal soup is given a new spin; the herbal sauce is reduced and mixed with dark soya sauce and dry chilli to create the slightly spicy gravy for this dry version. The gravy-coated, juicy pork ribs are stir-fried with cuttlefish and then served with ladyfingers.
Old Street's version of Dry Bak Kut Teh.
Reaching out to the younger crowd
"Bak kut teh has been a very popular food in Singapore," says Jason Lim, owner of Old Street. "But I saw that bak kut teh is becoming a sunset industry. That made me determined to make bak kut teh very loud, very big."
To reach out to the younger generation, Lim added technology touch-points in many of his outlets. Customers, for instance, make their orders via an iPad, and their cups of Chinese tea — where the 'teh' in the name bak kut teh comes from — are kept warm thanks to induction cooktops. And if Chinese oolong isn't the younger generations cup of tea, they can opt for glasses of chilled soya milk instead.
"Bak kut teh has been a very popular food in Singapore," says Jason Lim, owner of Old Street. "But I saw that bak kut teh is becoming a sunset industry. That made me determined to make bak kut teh very loud, very big."
To reach out to the younger generation, Lim added technology touch-points in many of his outlets. Customers, for instance, make their orders via an iPad, and their cups of Chinese tea — where the 'teh' in the name bak kut teh comes from — are kept warm thanks to induction cooktops. And if Chinese oolong isn't the younger generations cup of tea, they can opt for glasses of chilled soya milk instead.
Chilled soya milk offers an alternative to younger guests less keen on having Chinese tea with their food.
Dare to innovate
Lim might have grown up on traditional flavours of bak kut teh, but he is not one to shy away from experimenting, either. In 2013, Old Street was the first few bak kut teh vendors in Singapore to open in shopping malls. Earlier this year, Old Street also launched new flavours on the menu such as the seafood bak kut teh with prawns and crabs, as well as a laksa version, where the aromatic paste is stirred into the peppery broth.
"(Our customers) enjoy it, from the response that we get, and we know that this (path) we're on is right," says Lim.
Lim might have grown up on traditional flavours of bak kut teh, but he is not one to shy away from experimenting, either. In 2013, Old Street was the first few bak kut teh vendors in Singapore to open in shopping malls. Earlier this year, Old Street also launched new flavours on the menu such as the seafood bak kut teh with prawns and crabs, as well as a laksa version, where the aromatic paste is stirred into the peppery broth.
"(Our customers) enjoy it, from the response that we get, and we know that this (path) we're on is right," says Lim.
