Bak Kut Teh ramen now a real thing in S'pore

Only available in Singapore from Feb. 1 to April 30, 2018.

Joshua Lee | January 29, 2018, 10:08 PM

Singaporean director Eric Khoo's latest film is about Bak Kut Teh and ramen.

The movie, Ramen Teh, is also the name of a fusion dish that will be publicly available in Singapore.

Ramen Teh

In Ramen Teh, a young ramen chef Masato (played by Takumi Saito) comes to Singapore to find out more about his Singaporean mother, played by Jeanette Aw, after finding a suitcase of her stuff at home.

Along the way, we find out that Masato's mother used to sell bak kut teh (pork bone tea). The ramen chef then gets inspired to combine bak kut teh and ramen to form a new fusion dish.

The movie also stars Mark Lee, Beatrice Chien, and Seiko Matsuda, while chef Keisuke Takeda (founder of Ramen Keisuke) and food blogger Leslie Tay of ieatishootipost.sg were attached as culinary advisors.

Via Facebook.

Filming started in July 2017, and is expected to hit Singapore screens on March 29, 2018.

According to an interview with Channel NewsAsia, Khoo said that Ramen Teh has been a film he wanted to make "since forever" and it was a tribute to his mother's cooking.

The movie combines Bak Kut Teh and ramen, both of which are soul foods, as described by Khoo.

[related_story]

Fusion dish brought to life

Movie aside, perhaps what is more interesting is how a fictitious fusion dish has been brought to life courtesy of Takeda. 

The founder of Ramen Keisuke decided to come up with his version of Bak Kut Teh ramen which will debut together with the movie screening.

Via Ramen Keisuke Facebook.

The Bak Kut Teh ramen was previously available at Ramen Keisuke's Japanese outlets, where only 15 bowls were served daily.

In Singapore, the dish was previously made available to Gold VIP and Legendary VIP members of the Keisuke Ramen membership programme during special events.

A member described the dish as having the distinct peppery taste of Bak Kut Teh, with tender meat that falls off the bone.

Bak Kut Teh ramen at Keisuke Ramen. This was previously made available to Gold VIP and Legendary VIP members of the Keisuke Ramen membership programme. Courtesy of Clement Chai.

Come Feb. 1, 2018, Singaporeans will be able to try this dish at Ramen Dining Keisuke at Suntec City. Be there fast though, because this fusion dish will only be available until April 30, 2018. 

Via Facebook.