Buk Kut Teh VS. (Pork Bone Soup)

We got a chance to try and compare the Buk Kut Teh from Malaysia and Singapore.

I had Buk Kut Teh when I was growing up but not often.

I only remembered it being tasty.

“Buk Kut Teh”‘s pronunciation is Hokkien dialect, which literally means “meat bone tea”.

The soup is popular in Malaysia and Singapore are and it was of Chinese origin.

The 2 countries neighboring each other serve up vastly different Buk Kut Teh and it was a fantastic experience to have both!

Let’s start with the Singapore one.

We went to Ng Ah Sio, one of the famous spots in Singapore.

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Traditional Malay Breakfast and Indian dinner

We had a traditional Malay breakfast at this corner store with lots of food and drinks!

The best part about visiting friends was that everything was taken care of for us.

We sat down and food were ordered; we just ate!

Hence, I was not sure whether the place was self-serve,

or that we ordered (there was also a counter behind the self-serve area with food)

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Amazing Malaysian Dinner

This place in Johor Bahru was fascinating.

It was an outdoor food court with stores on the outskirt of the plaza, and under the moonlight seating at the inside of the courtyard.

My friend said that the shops in this food court area were owned by Chinese, hence pork were served and Chinese influenced Malay dishes were abundant.

We had a FEAST!

We got a lime juice with salty sour plum and DH got sugar cane juice.

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A Food Day in Melaka, Malaysia

We went from Johor Bahru for a day trip to Melaka.

It was a town laced with tremendous history and its historical center had recently received recognition by UNESCO.

Many people came through its port and settled dating back to 1400s with Chinese, 1500s with Portuguese and eventually 1800s under British rule.

The descendents of the early Chinese settlers and Malay in this area were called the Peranakan, and their background were also expressed in their food.

Lunch was at Nancy’s Kitchen in Melaka.

We got popiah as appetizer.

Popiah was a Hokkien traditional food involving a thin flour crepe with protein and vegetables (ingredients varied dependent from family to family).

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More Malaysian Food: Mee Siam, Otak-Otak and Nasi Lemak

Breakfast was at the tiny store serving Mee Siam, Nasi Lemak and most importantly, Otak-otak.

Mee Siam was a stir-fried rice noodle with sauces of tamarind, salted soy beans and chili paste.

It was a cheap and quick local breakfast food.

The shop also sold grilled fish balls and stuffed tofu.

Nasi Lemak was probably the quintessential Malay food.

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