With that piece of news, I decided to go back and try Ng Ah Sio.
And boy, I never regretted my decision. For I discovered the secret behind Ng Ah Sio's success and why it was so good.
And I am going to share it here.
I believe, Ng Ah Sio is famous enough that there isn't much need for me to do a detailed review.
The soup is super peppery, which I find is the distinct style of Singapore bak kut teh. People have their own views on this, some love it, some don't. Personally, I am ok with it.
The pork ribs are the most tender ribs I have tasted for bak kut teh.
The pork trotters aren't good at all.
The pig skin was random, some tough, some tender.
The special one didn't like the chai buey.
The list can go on and on.
Enough of that. Here's the secret.
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The secret to Ng Ah Sio, is the TEA!
Ok, you might be wondering...it is bak kut teh, of course there is tea.
But Ng Ah Sio's Tea is DIFFERENT!
They provide a special type of tea whereby I was unable to find any information on the internet. And when I ever walked into a chinese tea specialty shop in Liang Court and enquired about it, I was chased out of the shop, with the shop owner claiming that the tea is poison.
Poison or not, that tea is the secret to enjoying Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh.
Before Jumbo took over, it used to be 小月甘, which, loosely translated, probably means dew of the small moon.
Now, it has changed and become 小叶甘, dew of the leaflet.
When I heard of the change, I was disappointed as I was worried if it would have the same secret taste, especially when it was the special one's first visit here. Regardless, I ordered it anyway.
Ok. Enough of the long story. I'm going to cut straight to the point.
1. Order 小叶甘.
2. Order a bowl of peppery bak kut teh.
3. Prepare the tea. If you do not know how to, ask the servers. I am not going to teach you the methods. (first, wash cups, then, throw away first brew etc.)
4. Wait for the bak kut teh to be served.
5. Drink one small cup of the tea.
6. Drink one spoonful of hot, peppery soup.
7. Drink one more cup of the tea.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before Jumbo took over, it used to be 小月甘, which, loosely translated, probably means dew of the small moon.
Now, it has changed and become 小叶甘, dew of the leaflet.
When I heard of the change, I was disappointed as I was worried if it would have the same secret taste, especially when it was the special one's first visit here. Regardless, I ordered it anyway.
Ok. Enough of the long story. I'm going to cut straight to the point.
1. Order 小叶甘.
2. Order a bowl of peppery bak kut teh.
3. Prepare the tea. If you do not know how to, ask the servers. I am not going to teach you the methods. (first, wash cups, then, throw away first brew etc.)
4. Wait for the bak kut teh to be served.
5. Drink one small cup of the tea.
6. Drink one spoonful of hot, peppery soup.
7. Drink one more cup of the tea.
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Why, you might ask, do I need to do this?
Let me explain to you.
The tea, is special. This tea has a very specific, sweet aftertaste to it. And I literally mean it. The first small cup of the tea will let you have a rough idea how the aftertaste is like. NOTE: AFTERTASTE. NOT THE TASTE OF THE TEA.
Here's the fun part. Somehow, coupled with the hot, peppery soup, that specific aftertaste gets enhanced.
It is so sweet that it is something I have never tasted before. I won't say out of this world, but it is just so special. The thing is, the sweetness of the enhanced aftertaste lingers in your mouth, in your saliva. That after you swallow the tea, you will just keep on swallowing your saliva just to get that taste of sweetness.
It is something that you really have to try to understand what I am talking about.
One thing to really note however, is that the change in tea did affect some criteria.
First, every brew must be long enough such that the colour of the tea is dark brown. More gao, in Singaporean terms. As such, each brew can really take at least 5 minutes to achieve that state.
Secondly, the soup MUST be pipping hot. The soup is refillable, but we have the tendency to get greedy and ask for refills while waiting for the brew, hence when the brew was ready, the overall effect wasn't as good.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I highly recommend you to try this yourself. So far, I have only told 4 people of this, and despite one of them totally disliking peppery bak kut teh soups, he was amazed and impressed with the tea. Another one loved the soup to begin with, but after the tea, she felt that Ng Ah Sio is the best bak kut teh in town.
To all those who do not like peppery soup, try this method and taste it for yourself.
And this is why, Ng Ah Sio is my favourite bak kut teh.
*note* anyone familiar enough with the situation or with tea, can you kindly educate me on why they say 小月甘 was "poison?"
Let me explain to you.
The tea, is special. This tea has a very specific, sweet aftertaste to it. And I literally mean it. The first small cup of the tea will let you have a rough idea how the aftertaste is like. NOTE: AFTERTASTE. NOT THE TASTE OF THE TEA.
Here's the fun part. Somehow, coupled with the hot, peppery soup, that specific aftertaste gets enhanced.
It is so sweet that it is something I have never tasted before. I won't say out of this world, but it is just so special. The thing is, the sweetness of the enhanced aftertaste lingers in your mouth, in your saliva. That after you swallow the tea, you will just keep on swallowing your saliva just to get that taste of sweetness.
It is something that you really have to try to understand what I am talking about.
One thing to really note however, is that the change in tea did affect some criteria.
First, every brew must be long enough such that the colour of the tea is dark brown. More gao, in Singaporean terms. As such, each brew can really take at least 5 minutes to achieve that state.
Secondly, the soup MUST be pipping hot. The soup is refillable, but we have the tendency to get greedy and ask for refills while waiting for the brew, hence when the brew was ready, the overall effect wasn't as good.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I highly recommend you to try this yourself. So far, I have only told 4 people of this, and despite one of them totally disliking peppery bak kut teh soups, he was amazed and impressed with the tea. Another one loved the soup to begin with, but after the tea, she felt that Ng Ah Sio is the best bak kut teh in town.
To all those who do not like peppery soup, try this method and taste it for yourself.
And this is why, Ng Ah Sio is my favourite bak kut teh.
*note* anyone familiar enough with the situation or with tea, can you kindly educate me on why they say 小月甘 was "poison?"
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