Founder Bak Kut Teh Restaurant, Balestier Road

Patronized by celebrities, politicians and nobodies (myself included), I have finally tried the famous not-media-shy-at-all Founder Bak Kut Teh (347 Balestier Road, New Orchid Hotel). Is the hype all hogwash? Nah, not as far as my inexperienced tastebuds are concerned. Can I add, the weather was perfect - we ate through a heavy downpour and by the time we were ready to leave, it had toned down to a light drizzle. 

To cut the heaviness of the meal, we ordered a bunch of side dishes, namely stir-fried beansprouts, tau kee, salted vegetables and dough fritters. These dishes weren't sidelined due to a generous dash of salt and oil during the cooking process. But don't even try to swallow a dry and dense chunk of dough fritter without dunking it into the soup as I almost choked on one in haste and out of hunger.

The trotters were incredibly soft and flavourful, and I had little trouble persuading myself to lap up the collagen. Judge me if you must as words will just bounce-ounce-ounce off me. 

As for the bak kut, only prime ribs would do as because we aren't the type that would order lean pork or chicken breasts under any circumstances. The pork ribs were tender yet chewy enough to remind you were eating meat, while the broth was well-rounded and flavourful, which meant re-fills on a particularly rainy afternoon.