Ya Hua 亞華肉骨茶 @ Tanjong Pagar (2025)

This is my go-to place for bak kut teh whenever a friend visits from overseas, especially if they are from Hong Kong, as they are famous there as the Chief Executive’s BKT.

Founder Madam Gwee Peck Hua, together with her sister, Gwee Guek Hua, worked tirelessly to perfecting the recipe for the finest bowl of Teochew-style bak kut teh, at a stall in River Valley Road. Outram Park Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh first opened in 1973 at the bottom of the HDB flats at Outram Park.

When the Outram Park Complex was demolished in 1995, they moved to Havelock Road and then expand to Keppel Road in 2006, retaining the Outram Park Ya Hua name.

My dad used to bring me to BKT every Sunday morning, memories from as far as I can remember. And he would always start with a strong brew of “Iron Goddess of Mercy”, or Tie Guanyin. I had to say, the tea leaves here were quite bad, very bitter and not much fragrance. I understood that you can bring your own tea leaves. Maybe next time, I will do that.

This is a typical bak kut teh meal at Ya Hua – a bowl of spare ribs per person, some additional parts like pig offals, and side dishes. BKT was a poor man’s breakfast back in the day, as the legend states. Coolies and workers at the plantation could not afford proper proteins and used aromatics to boil pig bones to create this wonderful concoction to go down with a bowl of rice. And then it developed into this sumptuous spread.

Ya Hua’s Teochew-style bak kut teh soup is clear and full of peppery flavour.  The soup is tasty and the pepper taste is not overpowering to diners. It came in three versions – pork ribs, spare ribs, prime ribs. 特选正排骨 Premium Spare Ribs used prime ribs of the pork. The ribs were still juicy and tender, not cooked to death like in many lesser BKT stores. Soup can be refilled as many times as you want.

猪尾汤 Pig’s Tail Soup is another of my favourite. When cooked thoroughly, the pig’s tail simply slid off the bones. The fats would all be rendered, leaving behind the skin and collagen. And to eat the pig’s tail, you will need the sweet and savoury dark soy sauce and chopped chilli.

No BKT meal is complete without a few other side dishes, like braised pig intestines, dry bean curd, salted vegetables, etc. And the vegetable to go along with all this is Tang-O or daisy crown, with its slight bitterness and freshness unique to this leafy vegetable..

Outram Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh features a typical atmosphere of a coffee-shop setting, usually packed during meal times. The turnover of tables is very quick, and the serving is very prompt. The BKT is still one of the better ones in Singapore if you like a peppery soup. No reservations.

Outram Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh 歐南園亞華肉骨茶
7 Keppel Road #01-05/07 PSA Tanjong Pagar Complex 
Singapore 089053
Tel : +65 6222 9610

Visited Jul 2025