Bak Kut Teh was recently listed as one of the heritage dishes in Malaysia by the Malaysian Heritage Commissioner. The dish is one of the local’s favorites but not everyone is happy about seeing it being listed among Malaysia’s heritage food.
In Singapore, however, a food vendor took the opportunity to customise the dish so that everyone could enjoy it.
Since our Muslim friends are not allowed to eat pork, the Malay vendor altered the dish a little – changing the main ingredient, pork to beef, as revealed on a TikTok post by @mccysg, which was also recently shared by a Malaysian politician on his Facebook page.
The man, Kamal runs the stall at a hawker center in Singapore with his son, with Anak Bapak as the name of the business. Kamal revealed that he has been running his business for 25-long years, and he is certainly proud of how many loyal customers he has secured with his food.
Kamal’s circle of customers includes everyone from all races, which explains his creativity in tweaking the dish a little. His Beef Bah Kut Teh is actually the signature dish in his stall, which he sells at SGD7 (RM24.7) for a bowl.
“I use beef ribs, beef brisket, various fresh Chinese herbs, and a soup base that is cooked for hours.”
“It’s not all about the money but the satisfaction”
At Anak Bapak, Kamal specialises in various Chinese dishes, which are, of course, Halal, and everyone is welcome to dine at his place. Despite being Halal, his food manage to keep customers of all races coming.
Throughout his 25 years at Anak Bapak, Kamal has seen and mingled around with a lot of people, to which some are still loyally patronising his stall. For Kamal, it’s not entirely business.
“Sometimes, it’s not about the money. It’s the satisfaction of seeing the people eating and appreciating your food. I don’t think race matters.”
Watch on TikTok
One of the best things about food is you can always tweak the recipe a little according to your taste, or to cater to everyone’s taste buds. Have you tried a different version of Bah Kut Teh before?
Also read: PAS MP Wants Asam Rom & Patin Tempoyak to be Recognised as Heritage Food Instead of Bak Kut Teh
