In recent years, Founder Bak Kut Teh has expanded their business into a few branches. With home grown businesses, branches have always had a thing with quality control. It's usually inconsistent or lower. This was Founder at Bugis (#01-01, 530 North Bridge Road, tel : +65 6255 3889).
If you're wondering if those premium long ribs of theirs looked dry - it was. Meat wasn't as tender as I had imagined. I suppose one could euphemistically describe them as meaty or hearty but I would definitely prefer something more tender. Their bak kut teh broth was also less peppery than I remembered them.
Stewed tau kee was quite nice. Sweet even. There was a robust star anise flavour from the spiced stewing liquid. But it looked nothing like the menu. This was much darker, dryer and chewier than what the pictures on the menu suggested. Those pictures could be construed as....misleading.
Mee sua (面线) was oddly al dente. It was firm, a little clumpy but not unpleasant. I don't know if that was the intention but I didn't dislike it; although I was expecting the texture of the vermicelli to be smoother.
We got an order of dough fritters/fried Chinese crullers/油条/you zha kuey for their bkt broth which was refillable. Crispy they were but not as soft on the inside as those from Old Street which did a better job soaking up the broth.
This was their trio steam egg, a dish of custardy steamed egg with diced bits of salted egg and century egg. Hence trio. Very nice. The soy sauce that they used over the dish was very pleasant; tasted like the better quality type used in Hong Kong styled steam fishes.
I'm on the fence regarding this Founder.
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