We Malaysians just love to eat, as evidenced by the wide variety of mouthwatering food we have anytime, anywhere. Among the local favourites we have are nasi lemak, bak kut teh and roti canai. While these are undoubtedly Malaysian fare, recently a Japanese man opened a bak kut teh restaurant in Tokyo after he had fallen in love with the porky dish when he first ate it in Singapore. #triggered
Source: Channel News Asia
Akihiro Takahashi went to Singapore back in 2014 for a business trip and visited Founder Bak Kut Teh where he was immediately charmed by the dish. According to Channel News Asia, bak kut teh is a Singaporean dish that Takahashi has brought to Japan as he had just opened a bak kut teh restaurant in Tokyo as of April 10. But Malaysians know that it is definitely from Malaysia first!
Describing the experience of eating his first bak kut teh, the 43-year-old says, “I was fascinated by how delicious it was. The taste was impactful. At the start, bak kut teh looks like a very simple dish but in just one mouthful, you can taste pepper, garlic and the juiciness of pork meat. I became so obsessed that I went to try another bak kut teh shop.”
Source: Chinapress
Takahashi returned to Japan but when he wanted to satiate his craving for bak kut teh, he found that none of the Singapore restaurants in Tokyo could produce the flavour he wanted. That was when he decided that he would cook the dish himself and this eventually led to the opening of his restaurant ‘Singapore Bak Kut Teh’ in Akasaka, Tokyo.
MMO reports that the origins of bak kut teh is unclear, but if you have tried Singapore’s version, you would know that theirs is different from the ones we have here. It is believed that Singapore’s Teochew version of the bak kut teh, which features a clear, peppery broth was brought over in the 1940s while Malaysia’s Hokkien bak kut teh, which is a darker herbal soup was brought over from Fujian, China in the 1930s. Which one do you like more?
Source: MMO
However, the journey to produce the classic dish was not easy, as Takahashi said that he took three years with his co-founder, Tomori Susumu and another food researcher, Ms Hideyo Ishii to perfect the taste. The trio made several trips to Singapore, where Ishii said, “We had more than 300 tasting sessions during the preparation period. From famous shops to the lesser-known ones, we ate from morning to night… to figure out what taste was more popular and understand the ingredients one by one.”
The restaurant currently serves two set meals on its menu priced at 980 yen (approx. RM38) and 1,280 yen (approx. RM49). To make the experience more authentic, Takahashi has also imported the black soy sauce we use liberally in bak kut teh since it is rarely available in Japan.
Source: Chinapress
Takahashi did not tweak the dish to suit the Japanese palate as he wanted his customers to experience the authentic flavour he loves, but he did make the dish healthier.
Takahashi says, “In Japan, which is a very health-conscious society, there are concerns about the addition of chemical preservatives to our food. That’s why, no MSG was an essential criteria for us to give our customers some form of assurance.”
Perhaps Takahashi should also try Malaysia’s version and bring it over to Japan as well!
Also read: Malaysia’s Pandan Cake Listed in CNN’s World Cakes, But They Think It’s from Singapore Too
