Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

DRY Bak Kut Teh @ Tan Kee Klang BKT – Chunks of pork cooked in a dark, thick and slightly starchy sauce with dried chillies, bird’s eye chillies (cili padi), lots of garlic and some halved button mushrooms. (A portion for one at RM8.00/USD2.40)

This supposedly “Klang-style Bak Kut Teh” on Gopeng Road (actually Jalan Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, though I seriously doubt one can identify the roads with their new names nowadays) has caught my attention since late last year when I went for a meal at Restoran Waritha. The restaurant was packed; almost overflowing with customers that evening, which surprised me because I never even knew about such a place before that.

Fast forward a good 8 months later (hehe, talk about being a slow poke … ), and we finally embarked on a maiden journey to Tan Kee Klang Bak Kut Teh; which is located a short distance away from the Ipoh’s famous Sam Poh Tong caves. Their specialties? Wet (Soup-based) & Dry Bak Kut Teh, Steamed Fish Head, Vinegar Pork’s Trotter and Thai-style Beancurd. Ready with the napkins? Here we go ……

Same old, familiar set up for a Bak Kut Teh feast; The Rice (lightly-oiled), The You Tiao (Yau Char Kwai or Dough Fritters) and The kick from Chopped ‘Cili Padi’ & Garlic.

They’re opened for late breakfast right up until supper (12 hours, non-stop!) daily, so you know where to go if you have a sudden hankering for something porky, herbal-ish and sumptuous. Traditionally believed to be heaty food, a bak kut teh dinner during this season (it’s rainy season here in Ipoh … a dastardly spell working against the traders at Pasar Ramadan) is almost too perfect.

Finally a place that serves the “Big Bone” (Dai Kuat) without being prompted. Soup Bak Kut Teh @ RM8.00/USD2.40 for a portion for one.

Ordering your food at Tan Kee Restaurant is simple. Pick your BKT, whether you like the common WETDRY or soupy version with your preferred cuts of pork (ribs, big bone, small bone, 3-layered meat, offal etc) in a herbal broth with sheets of ‘foo chook’ (beancurd) and leafy lettuce, OR you can pick their special version of BKT as depicted in the photo below.

Though not as robust nor flavourful as the ones in the Klang Valley, the dry BKT at Tan Kee was still passable and warrant an order if you’re curious as to what in the blue world is a DRY Bak Kut Teh.

If you’re wondering how this stacked up against Good Taste Chef or Tung Lok Hin (both places also serve the DRY version); my vote goes to Good Taste Chef’s. Tan Kee’s version lacked that oomph, maybe from the omission of (or lack thereof) dried cuttlefish, and an extremely oily base.

If you do not mind the distance, Yap Chuan in Puchong hands-down, serves THE BEST dry bak kut teh I have ever tasted. Though their wet version was a pale shadow of its dry counterpart. So you never get the best of both worlds at the same place.

Life’s unfair huh?

Thai Beancurd (RM6.00/USD1.80) – Deep-fried beancurd with toppings of julienned cucumber and onions with a dash of Thai sweet chili sauce.

The soup version of the Bak Kut Teh was good; thankfully not as diluted as Sun Tong Chew’s or even Tung Lok Hin’s (during my last visit in 2008). But they could have been a little more generous with the meat. The herbal soup was flavoursome and refillable, and a perfect dunking medium for the bowl of ‘you tiao’ served separately (RM1.00/USD0.30 per portion).

Restoran Tan Kee Klang Bak Kut Teh – Slightly out of the way for city folks but a short distance away from the Simpang Pulai’s toll exit.

On the whole I will not go all out and proclaim Tan Kee as THE BEST bak kut teh there is in Ipoh, but still above average even in comparison to some of the popular ones like Sun Tong Chew and Tung Lok Hin. Now it’s probably fine time for me to write about those places, and Soon Lee in Pasir Puteh, Yum Yum at Taman Boon Bak, and Chuk Yik Chin in Bandar Seri Botani (this one I knew from the All About Ipoh Facebook page).

TAN KEE KLANG BAK KUT TEH
No 51, Jalan Raja Dr Nazrin Shah,
Medan Soon Choon 1,
31350 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Telephone : 6016-236 8196 (Alan), 6012-646 0046 (Ming)
They actually encourage you to call 45 minutes before arrival, to place your orders and savour your food without the wait. How convenient huh?
Business Hours : 10.30am – 10.30 pm daily.
Closes on a consecutive Monday & Tuesday; usually during the last week of the month.
Here’s a GOOGLE MAP to Tan Kee Klang Bak Kut Teh
Same row with Tan Kee Klang Bak Kut Teh is a franchise of Nam Chau Coffee Shop.