bak kut teh ( 肉骨茶） is one of the popular food for the Chinese especially the Hokkiens in Malaysia. Its name is a direct translation from the Hokkien dialect. The specially cook food consist of most part of a pig like the leg, thigh, etc) It is boiled in the form of soup together with a series of herbs normally are secret.
The soup is normally thick after the pork are well cooked with the soup. Over the years, bak kut teh is no longer the classified food for the Hokkien in Malaysia. Other Chinese dialects also cooked well an as tasty. It is normally taken together with rice.
According to my friend who lives in Port Klang which is one of the most popular place of original for bak kut teh, this food was initially cooked for the workers in the harbor. As the pork meat is full of protein, it serves a full meal that provides energy for the harbor worker. Later, it was discovered that Chinese Herbs were added to boost the energy level of the harbor workers after consumed the soup.
From then on, bak kut teh was the preferred meals for the harbor workers. As time goes by, the regular residents who tasted the bak kut teh also take the food as their regular meals. From Port Klang, its popularity spread over to the nearby township called Klang and around it and even spread over most town of Malaysia.
If you have a chance, do try out out this food specially available in Port Klang and surrounding township