How to tell if a JB BKT shop is worth a visit...

First, what’s BKT?

Bak kut teh is a pork-rib soup simmered for hours with Chinese herbs and spices. There are broad styles: the herbal, darker Hokkien/Cantonese-leaning broths and the clear, peppery Teochew style.

Malaysia is famed for the herbal camp, while peppery bowls are common in Singapore. Think star anise, dang gui, cinnamon, cloves and garlic doing slow magic with pork bones.

In JB, expect rich brown herbal, not boiled pepper water

(this is the author's personal opinion: as the author is very biased against white BKT)

Johor Bahru’s default BKT leans soy-savoury and herbal, usually without the face-tingling pepper many Singapore stalls use. If you see a claypot of brown broth loaded with ribs, beancurd skin and mushrooms, you’re in the right place.

Quality of pork

Good shops use a mix of cuts: prime ribs for bite, soft belly for richness, maybe tails or leg for gelatin. Meat should pull from the bone without falling apart into shreds. Cloudy soup from milky bone collagen is a bonus.

The broth

You want depth, not saltwater (or pepper water). Herbal notes should be aromatic but balanced, with natural sweetness from long simmering. A refilled pot that still tastes full-bodied is a green flag. Charcoal-fired pots often taste rounder and slightly smoky.

Generosity of ingredients (portions)

Look for proper ribs, fresh enoki or button mushrooms, bouncy beancurd skin and crisp yau char kway on the side. Serious shops let you customise add-ons like liver, kidney, intestines or tendon, and the offal should taste clean.

The add-ons

If the place serves add-on dishes that complement the flavor of the soup and the exquisiteness of your meal as a whole, then you've picked a clear winner. Yau Char Kway must still be slightly crispy and NOT soft and stale, the Salted Veggies must be a little salty with a slightly sweet aftertaste, yet not so oily. You get the idea...

Little tells from service

Fast, hot refills, consistent claypot boil and rice that isn’t mushy. If the queue is mostly locals and the auntie refills your soup before you ask, you’ve probably found the real deal.

Pro tip 1 (should be fairly obvious)

If the place you've picked has at least 4 stars on Google Map, congrats you've picked a winner.

Pro tip 2 (simple physics lesson)

If there's more than 2 of you, order a medium bowl instead of 2 small bowls. If there's 4 of you, order the large bowl instead of 2 mediums...

This is simple physics. Think of a bowl like a 3D curved container. When you make a bowl slightly bigger, its volume increases much faster than its height or width because volume grows with the cube of the size.

For example, if you double a bowl’s diameter, its capacity increases by roughly eight times, not just two. So one medium-sized bowl can actually hold more total liquid than two smaller bowls of the same shape, because the extra width and depth give it exponentially more space inside. It’s like how one big balloon holds more air than a couple of tiny ones combined.

Pro tip 3 (my personal rule of thumb)

The older and more rundown a place looks, the better the chances of the BKT tasting legendary. If the auntie there can't speak much English, lagi better...

Quick ordering playbook

• Pick your favorite parts: prime ribs for bite, belly for richness, mixed pot if you’re still undecided.

• Take a quick glance around you, see what the other tables are ordering, you can't go wrong there...

• Consider adding extra ingredients such as beancurd skin, button mushrooms, enoki.

• Test the shop's generosity and consistency: ask for a soup refill. Good places keep flavour even after topping up.

• Pairings: yau char kway, simple greens, and a pot of hot tea to cut the richness.

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Disclaimer:

The information in this article is based on the author's personal opinions and publicly available sources at the time of writing. Google ratings, prices, and operating hours may change without notice. Readers are encouraged to verify details directly with the eateries before visiting. Taste is subjective and what we find amazing may differ from your personal preference.