SONG FA Bak Kut Teh Jakarta

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...

SONG FA BAK TUH TEH IS FINALLY OPENING IN JAKARTA!!!

I like Bak Kut Teh, I've been to the Singapore so many times that most of my trips were "seasoned" by visits to Bak Kut Teh outlets and some my favorites are Founder at Balestier Road, Ng Ah Sio at Rangoon Road and certainly, Song Fa (near Clarke Quay), and I was more than thrilled to know that it's opening in Jakarta, well at least I don't need to travel 1,5 hours to Singapore anymore, just 30 minutes (and please don't count the traffic jam) away from where I stay, at Pantai Indah Kapuk to be exact is where Song Fa located.

First of all, if you guys don't know what Bak Kut Teh is, it's actually a traditional Chinese soup and the name itself actually means "Meat Bone Tea" and yes the broth was made from pork ribs bone (it's NOT halal), Oolong Chinese tea and some spices like: anise star, cinnamon, cloves, garlic, fennel seeds and ginseng, that's probably why the soup was savory and rich in spices, you can actually smell the scent of the spices on every sip of the broth, and there are two kinds of soups: the lighter one (with garlic and pepper) and the darker one (with medicine).

I used to go to PIK a lot, especially since my cousin loved going there for the bubble drinks, but ever since he's moving to China for study purpose, I have been visiting PIK less and less, the last time I think around two months ago (before the taping - keep reading), it's amazing but in the same time overwhelming to see how PIK changes in time and I'm talking about the tenants, some comes and some goes. I noticed that Song Fa was going to open when I went to Tzu Chi to tape my interview session with DAAI TV around two weeks ago - and it's coming soon in the blog -, I was looking around by the window and I was quite stunned when I accidentally saw "Opening Soon SONG FA" in this coming-soon Ozone Mall I literally open my eyes wider! And just a few days later, it was officially opened for public (thanks to my favorite food blogger, Ivy for uploading a photo on her Instagram, she's like the queen of updates FYI!) and just earlier today I went with my friends Ian and Ellyna to have lunch there!

Okay, first of all, I love the venue, it's located on the 1st floor of Ozone Mall, but however the way to SONG FA wasn't really pleasant as the mall was still under construction, it's almost like SONG FA is the only one with 'life' in the whole building, and the view wasn't something I fond of, it's a freaking hospital -.-", but anyway I love the space and the lighting as the building was surrounded by glass! It was quite spacious, approximately could accommodate 100 people and the scent of the spices lingered all over the room :).

Bird cage with lights, creative!

I was so grateful that I didn't need to queue like crazy to enter, some of my friends went a few days before me and the queue was just insane, one of them even needed to wait around 2 hours (67 freaking queue). I guess I've always been lucky with queues and I don't wanna run out of luck for it! Same thing when I was waiting for Tim Ho Wan in Singapore.

Packed days and busy business!

Here's Ian and Ellyna doing the rich socialite pose.

Pretty much everything we had for lunch! I was disappointed that they're running out of few menus that I initially wanted to try like the intestine, mee-sua and tenderloins!

Fried Dough Fritters (Cakwe)
IDR 18k
I was reading some reviews from fellow food bloggers claiming this to be really good but unfortunately what I experienced was just the opposite, not that they're bad but they were not special, just the common cakwe I had anywhere else, maybe I was expecting this to be fresh and hot.

Kailan
IDR 30k
The Kailan happened to be the one I like, it was cooked properly, the kailan was fresh and the sauce was pretty decent.

Beancurd Skin with Chicken Feet Mix
IDR 30k
This one I was pretty disappointed with, the seasoning was just way too bland, texture wise both the beancurd skin and the chicken feet were not bad, with proper seasoning and I mean bolder and saltier, this could be really good.

By the way the biggest chicken feet I've had in like...ever!

Pork Ribs Soup
IDR 68k (regular), IDR 88k (large)
The best seller and main-star, Pork Ribs Soup came in two sizes: regular and large, the regular one consist of two pork ribs chunks and the large one consist of three. I was pretty full as we had desserts in SumoBoo before so I went with the regular but Ian insisted on going with large :O, I know right which idiot actually have desserts before mains in order, well I guess that's me us. Anyway, back to the soup, I was actually felling a little down when I tasted the soup, I mean it was good but it was not what I expected. First, it wasn't searing hot (and I swear I took pictures so damn quickly), and the soup wasn't as peppery as how I wanted, but as for their pork ribs, it was delicious, the meat was so tender and juicy, close to perfect.

Good thing about their soup: YOU CAN REFILL AS MUCH AS YOU WANT! and by the time I asked for a refill, NOW THAT'S THE SOUP I WANT, instantly when it's searing hot and I mean HOT, the flavor of the soup suddenly tasted really good and kinda lifted up, but sadly that wasn't the first impression from the first sip.

I wouldn't say that SONG FA here is overrated, I don't know if it's just me who tried the one in Singapore before and totally satisfied hence I had a high expectation, but this particular outlet in Jakarta happened to (only) meet 50% of what I expected, but to be underlined, this was not bad, but this was just not the best I've had, but positive side about SONG FA, it's probably the current leading Bak Kut Teh brand in Jakarta as there are very little that actually served Bak Kut Teh.

I am not sure if the Bak Kut Teh trend is going to be HUGE like Ramen as seems to me, in a sense, it's more complicated to produce Bak Kut Teh, but you never know the market here, with what's currently trending and so many people with *ahem* money, there will be followers, but personally, I like Bak Kut Teh, but maybe I'm not crazy over it.

SONG FA Bak Kut Teh
Ozone Mall 1st fl. 05-05A (Next to Shell Gas Station)
Jl. Pantai Indah Kapuk Utara 3
Pantai Indah Kapuk, Jakarta Utara
021 - 2967 3670
Price Range: IDR 15k - IDR 100k
Opening Hours: 11.30 AM - 9.30 PM
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Map for RS. Pantai Indah Kapuk, Ozone Mall's located just across