Do you love going to Johor and getting the Malaysian claypot herbal version for your Bak Kut Teh fix? Kota Zheng Zong Bak Kut Teh started as just a small pushcart at Kampung Kelantan, Kota Tinggi during the 1980s and has expanded past Johor, right into Singapore. Specialising in the herbal claypot version of Bak Kut Teh, you’ll be able to find an authentic recipe that will leave you craving for more.
In Singapore, you’ll be able to find Kota Zheng Zong Bak Kut Teh at 2 locations, Serangoon Gardens and Holland Village. Located in the heartlands, you’ll find that the places are also cozy, taking on a traditional vibe that pairs well with the traditional herbal style bak kut teh that they will be serving.
We started off with the bak kut teh, of course we ordered it, if not it would have been a wasted trip. Other than bak kut teh, we got pickled vegetables, ngoh hiang, pig trotters and you tiao as sides as well.
Being the main attraction, this is the signature herbal claypot bak kut teh, and it’s filled with ingredients. You’re able to order more ingredients to be added to the claypot as well, with separate a la carte orders if you believe that it might not be enough or you would prefer to have more of a certain ingredient.
Using a special mix of 18 different herbs as the base of the soup, the herbal taste was heartening and did not overpower the rest of the ingredients, creating a really nice cacophony of taste within and letting you enjoy the soup. The meat within absorbs the soup so that you may enjoy the meat with the taste of the soup as well. As a general dish, if you’re a fan of the herbal taste you’re sure to find this a comfort dish. If you prefer the peppery Singapore version, you’ll be sure to find this very different from what you’re accustomed to.
Being cooked slowly over a long time to let the trotters absorb the gravy, the trotters were filled with lots of collagen that seemingly melts in your mouth. With the trotters absorbing much of the gravy, it had a sharp acidic taste that whets your appetite and just makes you crave for more. We would recommend getting rice to go well with this dish as some people might find the vinegar gravy flavour a bit too strong.
The prawn ngoh hiang was fried til a crispy dark layer and was a nice accompaniment to the herbal bak kut teh. If you’re a ngoh hiang critic, although this ngoh hiang was of decent quality, it would only serve to satisfy your craving but it is nowhere near being the best.
Kota Zheng Zong Bak Kut Teh
Overall, the signature bak kut teh was an authentic traditional herbal bak kut teh and really helped with the herbal bak kut teh fix. It went well with you tiao and fried bean curd skin. If you’re looking at the other claypot dishes, based on the pig’s trotters it seems to be of quite a good quality, but don’t expect too much from basic chinese dishes as the ngoh hiang was decent but leaves much wanting. Do come by as a group as the portion size is meant for sharing.
Kota Zheng Zong Bak Kut Teh
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📍 68 Serangoon Garden Way, Singapore 555964 | 15A Lor Liput, Singapore 277730
🕒 11 am – 2.30 pm, 5 pm – 9.30 pm (Mon-Thurs) | 11 am – 2.30 pm, 5 pm – 10 pm (Fri) | 11 am – 10 pm (Sat) | 11 am – 9.30 pm (Sun)
