Good Master (食王) Dry Bak Kut Teh @ Taman Mutiara, Bukit Mertajam

I have less chance of blogging about Penang food now because I have moved to Selangor. So, whenever I go back to my home in Bukit Mertajam I would compile a list of food to be included in my blog, which I deem worthy to try. And because the duration of my stay is really short, I rarely travel all the way to the island anymore. While looking around for interesting food to blog, I accidentally found that an old [tag]Bak Kut Teh[/tag] shop near my house actually sells Dry Bak Kut Teh!
Good Master or 食王 (Shi Wang) is actually one of the busiest BKT restaurant in BM. It was also featured as one of the top 20 Bak Kut Teh restaurants in Malaysia by Guang Ming daily. So, I had rather high expectation and really looked forward to try it.

One thing I want to be clear is that I actually anticipated the Dry Bak Kut Teh to taste like those I have tasted in Puchong. Well, simply because that’s the only [tag]Dry Bak Kut Teh[/tag] I have ever tasted so far.

When I ordered for it, I was told by the cook that they need at least 30 minutes to prepare it, and customers usually reserve earlier by phone! I was surprised, as the one in Puchong only takes 10 minutes to cook.
Well, I had no choice but to sit there watching TV and bought the next day’s newspaper to read for the next 30 minutes, alone. I had a feeling the Dry Bak Kut Teh would be totally different from my expectation. Finally, the food arrived and this was how the Dry Bak Kut Teh looked like. It cost RM18 for the smallest serving, which is actually meant for 2 pax.

*Sorry for the blurry photo* Taste wise, I can safely conclude that it is nothing similar to Selangor’s version of Dry Bak Kut Teh. I am guessing Good Master’s chef took the dish’s name literally and proceeded to cook the soup version till it became dry. So, you still can actually taste the herby flavor in it.
One of the ingredients used was a type of vegetable, the dish was full of it. I don’t know its name but it packed an overwhelming taste so strong that I didn’t like at all.

When I paid for the food, the taukeh soh asked me to comment on their Dry Bak Kut Teh. I responded by saying I actually preferred the Selangor version with dried cuttlefish and okra, lol. Her reply to my comment was that she tried it in Klang before, and this was actually their own recipe.
I do recognize the fact that each restaurant has to have their own unique recipe for preparing their dishes in order to stand out. But, if the recipe is modified till the extent of the dish became bad tasting.. is it worth it? Hmm.
GPS Coordinates: N5 21.628 E100 26.670