Rong Hua Bak Kut Teh: The First of Its Kind in the Philippines

Bak Kut Teh (BKT) is my 2nd favorite Singaporean dish of all time. Literally “meat bone tea'“, BKT is a Chinese pork ribs soup that’s popular in Singapore. It has two common varieties: Hokkien—which has soy-based, herbal broth and a lot of components—and Teochew—which has a clear, garlicky, and peppery broth (Hokkien and Teochew are Chinese ethno-linguistic groups). This dish is best paired with rice, youtiao (deep fried dough fritters), and beancurd skin.

I thought I would only eat BKT whenever I visit Singapore. Fortunately, Rong Hua Bak Kut Teh opened in the Philippines!

Rong Hua Bak Kuh Teh Ayala Malls Manila Bay

Rong Hua is a restaurant in Singapore that offers BKT and Chinese food. With the help of Silver Lush Food Corporation, they expanded to the Philippines back in 2019 with a flagship store at McKinley Hill (it closed down already). Currently, they have 2 branches over the Metro.

Let’s now talk about the food, starting with their Classic Pork Rib Soup. The meat is tender (but not fall-off-the-bone) and there are whole cloves of garlic, which I love. Eat it with minced raw garlic and chilies, and with rice, and it’s the perfect bite. My only issue is the broth; it’s too peppery for me.

Like the BKT spots in SG, Rong Hua also serves other Chinese dishes. For appetizers, we tried the Tasty Chicken Feet and Xiao Long Bao (XLB) or soup dumplings. The chicken feet is nicely braised and soft (I love chicken feet!). The XLBs has a thick skin; you can just skip this.

Tasty Chicken Feet (Left) and Xiao Long Bao (Right)

We also tried their Braised Pork Intestine and Honey Baked Char Sao (pork belly), which has the same flavor profile. It’s sweet and laden with Chinese flavors. I think it’s a good balance to the peppery BKT soup.

Braised Pork Intestine (left) and Honey Baked Char Sao (right)

To offset our sinful orders (LOL), we got the Bokchoy, which is crisp and topped with deep-fried shallots.

Honestly, I had better BKTs in Singapore. But if you want to try this classic Singaporean dish, then Rong Hua Bak Kut Teh is good place to start. So visit Rong Hua soon!

Have you tried BKT? Which of the dishes above have you tried or would like to try? Comment them below!

For branches and operating times, visit Rong Hua’s Facebook and Instagram pages, and their website.