Hello, my pretties! I’m back with yet another instalment of Entrepreneurs in Singapore! So! One blazing Sunday, I was out with my friends on a food hunt (not knowing where we were going, to be honest) and we came by this nice little pristine looking shop along Serangoon Road, after Moonstone Lane.

Within it, were many neatly arranged long-tables and chairs, and leg room. Sitting down and picking up our menus, we ordered some bak kut teh. Well, okay. It’s a bak kut teh store so most of the menu is bak kut teh. But sematics.

Anyways, the food came quickly and we tucked in. For me, I ordered pork ribs soup with a side of rice and braised peanuts. The soup was a nice blend of sweet and salty, with a nice herbal tang to it. The rice was very fragrant as well.

Wanting to find out more about this establishment, I sought to speak to the chef about her food but she seemed pretty busy cooking. So I spoke to the cute little munchkin serving us.

Hi everyone! I’m with one of the people of Precious Bak Kut Teh. Take it away!

Oh… hey! Precious Bak Kut Teh is a family business. This store just started in Singapore. (pause) This business was actually started by my mom’s side. This shop is still new so, for now, we are made up of just family members – my cousins, my aunt and me. I am considered the youngest generation.

That’s quite a legacy! Just a quick question: This place is kinda out-of-the-way. Why here of all places?

We wanted to find a shop rather than a stall so that it looks more professional. A shop area also provides more space so that customers don’t get cramped together. We sourced out a few potential spots but they didn’t have the right “feel” to it. Then, we came upon this place.

It might be a bit out of the way but it’s the best we can find because we don’t want to compete with others too much or cannibalize other bak kut teh businesses. I mean, everyone’s just trying to make a living here. So… yeah.

This place is really new but that lady over there looks like she really knows what she’s doing. Is there any hidden history to this business?

(looks around) Oh! That’s my mom!

We just started this store in 2 July so we’re still fairly new. For now, we’re still in the period of inviting friends and getting word out regarding our location. There’re quite a few other shops along this stretch so we try to bring those passers-by in as well.

Answering your question, we have quite a long history. Our bak kut teh is “Klang” style so our roots are in Klang. We have shops that then ventured out other parts of Malaysia, like Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh. The oldest store is currently around 25 years old – in Ipoh, Perak. That stall belongs to my aunt.

Her son came down to Singapore and decided to expand here and bring our unique flavour here.

Hm! Not newbies at all, then! In that case, any specialty dishes?

Our most important signature dish would be our bak kut teh soups. We currently serve only herb-based soups – none of the pepper-based one. Our soups contain 11 different kinds of herbs. Our recipe is also a family secret so you can’t find it anywhere else outside of our shops.

For our soups, we have various kinds of meat to choose from. Currently, we don’t serve mixed soups so you’ll have to buy different bowls if you want to try all the flavours.

For special dishes, we offer both sour and spicy pig trotters (which can’t be found outside) and vinegar pig trotters. Both are our specialties from Malaysia. There’s a new trend of dry bak kut teh so we offer that as well. We use ee-mian for our bak kut teh noodles instead of the common yellow noodles or hor fun, as it is more fragrant.

We serve home-brewed Chinese tea like Pu-erh, chrysanthemum tea, jasmine tea and even the popular Gok Poh by the pot for the full authentic experience.

That’s a very tasty-looking menu! On to the formal stuff. What were the main challenges in starting this up?

I wouldn’t say a challenge but more like a new thing that we learnt. Starting a business in Singapore is very different from starting one in Malaysia. It is true that the measures and screening process here are a lot stricter. We needed to hunt the area for a shop space (quite difficult in Singapore) and then had to go through an entire approval process before we were cleared to start our business. That actually caused a delay in our opening date, which was supposed to be in early June, but no real harm done.

Hm… what are your hopes and plans for this business?

Firstly, we want to get the business on track. After that, we hope to bring in more people so that we can share the authentic taste of bak kut teh with everyone. We’ll probably look into expanding into more locations in Singapore after that so that good food is not just limited to Malaysia.

What do you think is the strongest selling point of the business?

Our herbal soup and the flavour of our dishes that you can’t really find outside! For those who are more health-conscious, we also do not use MSG in our soup bases. Everything within the soup is cooked from scratch.

We also renovated our shop to have a more homely feel. Our customers comfort is important to us so we’ve also installed air-conditioning, to use on hot days, and a well-stocked toilet.

Speaking of toilets and home, I went scouting your toilet just now. It’s remarkably clean. Any reasons behind this?

First and foremost, it’s hygiene. We wanted to achieve a homely feel. I mean, who likes a dirty and smelly toilet, or feels comfortable in it? So… we make it a point to keep it as hygienic, clean and fresh-smelling as possible.

It’ll probably become a challenge as more people come in but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Any last words?

Come and eat! :D

Well, you’ve heard the girl! Check out this handy little map I snagged from their Facebook page if you want directions to the place to satisfy your bak kut teh cravings!