Fong Keow Bak Kut Teh

Since I'm such a regular visitor of the charming city of Klang, I ought to do a review about their most famous export, which is none other that their Bak Kut Teh! While the Singaporeans have their Teochew version of bak kut teh, with its clear soup and excessive use of black pepper, the Klang version is of Hokkien origin, with darker soup and strong herbal taste.

For those who are uninitiated, Bak Kut Teh literally means "Meat Bone Tea", it is basically pork stew, with main ingredients like star anise, pepper, cinnamon, and garlic. And of course, lots of pork, from everywhere part of the pig. And when I say everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE! Even the internal organs!

While I've tried countless BKT restaurants in Klang, today I'm just going to share with you all one particular. This lucky one would be Fong Keow BKT Restaurant, located in Taman Intan (formerly known as Taman Rashna). I'm blogging about 'em not because they are the best, but because they are open for dinner till 9:30pm which suits me just right as I'm not a morning person.

In Klang, you have to eat BKT the old school way. Means you would have to clean the cups and utensils yourself, and get yourself the hot boiling water from the stove located throughout the restaurant.

Before that, the waiter/waitress will bring a basket filled with packets of tea leafs. You can choose the type and brand of tea leaf, according to your own personal taste.

Put the tea leaves into the ceramic pot, and then pour the boiling water in and then cover it with the lid. After about 3/4 minutes, you can start pouring those aromatic tea into those mini little cups.

There is something else also that you might not able to get in BKT restaurants in Kuala Lumpur. Here in Klang, apparently it is the norm to ask for fried shallots (bawang goreng) and sprinkle them on top of the rice. Trust me, its simply wonderful eating those fried shallots together with the rice and the pork.

Before long, a big claypot filled to the brim with pork will be served. Yummm....now just close your eyes and smell the strong aroma of the herbal soup and the succulent pork!

For someone with a VERY-BIG-APPETITE like me, you'll probably feel guilt eating such an inbalance meal. But fear not, throw those guilt away by ordering a healthy green vegetable with oyster sauce! Now your mum/gf/wife will have no excuse not to let you eat these wonderful food.

Fong Keow closes at about 9:30pm, but some types of the pork might be sold out early. So its advisable to be there as early as possible. I have no idea what time the shop opens as I don't really fancy eating such a hearty meal for breakfast. Parking won't be a problem at night as there are ample spots available after working hours.