[Singapore] Song Fa Bak Kut Teh

My encounter with Song Fa Bakut Teh wasn't planned at all. Actually, I've never had any interest towards Bakut Teh. Although I've never seen it before, I always thought that Bakut Teh is some kind of herbal soup that taste like some sort of medicine. Well Song Fa proved me that I was wrong, and I shouldn't be judging food foolishly just by it's name.

That day we were walking down the road looking for our hostel, when we passed by a crowded restaurant at the corner of the street. And yes, that was Song Fa. It was fully occupied and there were a bunch of hungry customers lining up even though it wasn't a proper meal time. Drawn by curiosity, we were up early the next day to give it a try.

Song Fa at 8 AM in the morning was a lot different than the day before. The place was not overcrowded, there's only a plenty customers enjoying their breakfast calmly and having friendly conversations. I'm glad we came early.

The menu were quite various, but most of them are organs. Since I'm not eating organs, I ordered the safest yet the best seller menu, the Pork Ribs Soup (Regular size, S$ 8) and also a plate of Xiao Ba Cai in Oyster Sauce (S$ 3.5) and rice. The soup was far from what I thought as herbal and medicinal, it was rich and garlicky and peppery and so heavenly, while the pork ribs was tender and seasoned well. And the best part is, the soup is refillable! The Xiao Ba Cai was another great dish to accompany the soup. The vegetable was fresh and it has strong flavor of oyster sauce.

Later I found out that Song Fa is one of the most popular Bakut Teh place in Singapore. It's been around for more than thirty years, and people still keep coming. Well that explains. If only I had another day in Singapore, I wouldn't think twice to get my breakfast there.

Song Fa Bakut Teh
11 New Bridge Road #01-01
Singapore 059383
Bussiness Hours : 
07.00 AM - 9.30 PM
(Closed on Monday)
Ph. +65 65336128

Also Available at:
UE BizHub East
6 Changi Bussiness Park
Ave 1 #01-38 S486017
Ph. +65 66948098


By the way while we're on this area, the hostel I stayed near Song Fa is called Bunc@Radius at Clarke Quay. For the price of S$ 35 a night, you'll get a clean shared room and bathrooms and they're air conditioned well. The service was also flawless, breakfast is provided, and there are free water, milk, and oranges all day. And it's less than 5 minutes walk to Song Fa. That could be a great choice if you're traveling to Singapore on budget. It was my first hostel experience, and I am really a satisfied customer.

UNION at Street Gallery Pondok Indah Mall

UNION is my favorite place to get cakes, and I believe most of you adore it too just as much as I do. Having heard that they've just opened their second branch at Street Gallery Pondok Indah Mall that serves new cake variants, I just can't stop myself to immediately visit their new joints several days ago.

Located at the end of Street Gallery, the venue is surely more spacious than the one at Plaza Senayan. Welcoming you at the entrance is the bakery, where the mouthwatering cakes and luscious danishes are displayed beautifully. A little further inside is the dining area, which is designed with similar concept as their previous outlet with the black framed windows, ceramic tiled columns and ceiling, and still bathed with sunlight. But while the Plaza Senayan's outlet connected to the outdoor plaza, the PIM's outlet is connected to the main road of Pondok Indah, so you might smell the exhaust fumes sometimes. 

Not wanting to be left behind in this Cronut Craze Season, of course I ordered their available cronut selections, which is called Flaky Doughnut here. There were three available selections, the Cinnamon Sugar, Boston Cream (Chocolate Vanilla), and Peanut Butter, at the price of IDR 35.000 each. Actually the Cinnamon Sugar looks more tempting for me, but according to the waitress' recommendation, their Boston Cream flavor is the best seller, so we decided to give it a try.

Their Boston Cream Flaky Doughnut came in a big size. It looks crunchy and chocolatey from the outside, but then I cut it through and the Vanilla Custard Cream started to flood outside. And as expected of cronut, you can see layered pastry inside. Taste wise, well, I always love UNION's creation for their pastry always match my not-too-sweet tongue. The cream is rich, but not too sweet, and with a slight bitterness taste from the chocolate, they're a perfect match to eat your cronut. A satisfaction indeed.

Moving on from the flaky doughnut, I also got a hard time choosing which cake to try. They got two new creations, the Nastar Crumble Cake and the Confetti Cake, which for now only available at PIM outlet. Nastar Crumble sounds very unique, but in the end, Confetti Cake won, simply just because it has cream cheese frosting which I love so much, lol.

The Confetti Cake (IDR 55.000) came in a rather pale colour (pardon my bad photography skill, it was actually not that pale), and the taste was just okay. Well as always the cake was moist and the cream cheese was superb, and when you eat the cake you could taste the sweet burst from the confetti, but I think it's kinda too ordinary? I think I should've ordered the Nastar Crumble instead as it sounds extraordinary.

Well don't worry, there's always next time for UNION.

UNION Brasserie, Bakery, and Bar

Street Gallery Pondok Indah Mall 1, GF

Jl. Metro Pondok Indah

Jakarta Selatan

ph. +62 21 29529781 - 82

web. UNIONJKT

Desanesia

It is getting harder to find local snacks in Jakarta, isn't it? I just realized that since I got my full time job, I hardly have time to find local snacks. My office is connected to a mall, so I stick to what the mall have to offer, but local snack is not on the list. I think the only time I bought local snacks is when I went to Bandung for weekend trip.

Just in time to cure my local snack craving, Desanesia offered me to try their products, which use 100% local products and made based on the recipe that has been handed down from generation to generation, but manufactured with advanced technology so there is no doubt that the quality is well maintained. Even better, their products could be delivered right to your doorstep. Who could resist such convenience?

There are currently two kind of snacks developed by Desanesia: Mini Ranginang and Spinach Chips. But they come in several taste variants, and here's what I got:

Original Cheese Mini Ranginang (IDR 19.500), Spicy Cheese Mini Ranginang (IDR 19.500), and Cream Cheese Mini Ranginang (IDR 28.000). Their Ranginang comes in perfect bite size and excellent crunchiness. It is crunchy, but surprisingly not oily at all. Amongst all flavor, my personal favorite still goes down to the Original Cheese flavor. I just can't stop myself to finish the whole pack that time (Ops). The Spicy Cheese flavor was slightly too hot for my tastebud, while the Cream Cheese flavor was definitely an inovation, but still for me, their Original Cheese flavor is the best!

In the other hand, from their two flavors of Spinach Chips: Original Spinach Chips (IDR 15.000) and Spicy Spinach Chips (IDR 15.000), I prefer the spicy flavor. Actually the seasoning was already nice, kinda reminds me of "Rempeyek", but this is using spinach as the main ingredient. But adding the spiciness is just feels right.

So how to get these fascinating local snacks? Easy, just mention them on twitter @desanesia or @desainovasi, or order it via distributor Adinda Soraya (+6285624249502) or Adjie Wicaksana (+62818143540). For more information, also visit their website desanesia.com.

Remember that as you consume their snacks, you are also supporting local products and help empowering the local people of Cikidang and Cikoneng Village. Ciao!