Xhin Fhong Bak Kut Teh, Sungai Way

In food blogging or column writing, people may or may not agree with your point of view. While I get one or two angry emails about my negative reviews every once in a while, I also get plenty of emails on good food recommendations. I have to thank one of my readers TL for recommending Xhin Fhong Bak Kut Teh to me. He took the trouble to email me the details of the place and some pictures for easy reference — one of the tips he gave me was to call to reserve their yau char kwai. It runs out fast.At close to 12.30pm, people were starting to crowd the place. As soon as we were seated, I quickly ordered 3 bowls of yau char kwai (fried crullers), Bak Kut Teh (RM9 per person) and oil rice (RM0.80 per bowl). I think we were very lucky that day, because there was no more yau char kwai left after our order. Service was good — the aunties were very friendly, and the uncle who manned the cooking station was shy, but accommodating. Though they were busy serving their customers (most of them were regulars), there was always a smile on their faces.For the uninitiated, Bak Kut Teh (also known as meat bone tea) is a herbal soup base made from pork ribs and pork bones, and seasoned with dry herbs and spices. I don’t know about you, but Bak Kut Teh is a good hangover cure for me. There is something about this soup that clears my sinuses and jolts me out of my zombie mode. While some people like their Bak Kut Teh pale and peppery, I like my soup dark, concentrated and strong. Our order of Bak Kut Teh came with ingredients such as taufu pok, fu chuk, pork ribs, pork belly, straw mushrooms and some greens. It is usually eaten with minced raw garlic, chopped chilli padi and light or dark soy sauce. I skipped the garlic, as I didn’t want to go back to work with garlic breath.The soup was dark and flavourful from the herbs, although not overpowering. The meat, especially the pork belly was meltingly tender — a result of hours of cooking. The yau char kwai (RM3 per bowl) was average, but it tasted very good with the herbal soup. It would have been super yummy if it was freshly fried — nothing beats freshly fried yau char kwai.

Oil rice

I liked that they were not calculative, and gave us three soup refills to go with the yau char kwai. Ah Sang is so stingy; they won’t entertain your soup request. Even if they do, it will come in a puny bowl. Lunch came up to RM43 for the three of us, and I didn’t feel thirsty after that. We were all very satisfied with lunch — I don’t think I will ever go back to Ah Sang, unless this place is closed. Thanks so much TL, for your BKT recommendation. A great find indeed!

Ambiance: 5/10
Price: 6.5/10
Food: 7/10 (non-halal)
Verdict: Forget Ah Sang. This is better in taste and service.

557 Jalan SS9A/2
Sungai Way 47300
Petaling Jaya
03 78744154
GPS Coordinates: N3 05.301 E101 36.938