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1. 1
School of Architecture, Building & Design
Foundation In Natural & Natural & Built Environment
Presentation Tittle:
Research Assignment Report (Bak Kut Teh restaurant)
Group Members:
Name Student ID Presentation/ Research Report Roles
Angela Wee Kah Man 0322970 Description, competitors and strategy of Teo
Chew Bak Kut The, references.
Cha Yun Xian 0322048 Description, competitors and strategy of Kee
Heong Bak Kut Teh, bibliography.
Chan Koon Qi 0322000 Video
Chia Keh Chian 0322062 Grammar checker, compile and overall report
checker.
Darren Tan Quan
Wen
0322662 Key Summary, competitive analysis summary
table, differences and similarities between
both shops, conclusion and nature of market.
Tang Ying Jien 0322357 Artistic cover, presentation slides, history,
obstacle, recommendation.
English 2 [ELG 30605]
Lecturer: Cassandra Wijesuria
Submission Date: 26th November 2015

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Table of Content
No. Tittle Page Number
1 Key Summary 3
2 HIstory of Bak Kut Teh 4
3 Brief Description of Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh 5 – 6
4 Strategy employed by Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh 7
5 Competitors of Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh 8 – 9
6 Brief Description of Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh 10 – 11
7 Strategy employed by Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh 12 – 13
8 Competitors of Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh 14
9 Competitive Analysis Summary Table 15 – 16
10 Summary Table of the similarities between both
business
17
11 Summary Table of the differences between both
business
17
12 Conclusion 18
13 Obstacles faced by new business 19 – 20
14 Nature of their market 21
15 Recommendation 22
16 Appendices 23 – 42
17 Bibliography 43
18 Reference 44

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Key Summary
This report is a comparative analysis of two Bak Kut Teh businesses in different
geographical locations. The business we have chosen must be operated for at least
10 years. The selected Bak Kut Teh restaurants are Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh in Melaka
and Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh from Old Klang. Interviews have been conducted in each
of the respective Bak Kut Teh restaurant in order to obtain further information from
both businesses. The collected information has been analysed and justified through
research carried out with reliable sources in references. It is concluded that Kee
Heong Bak Kut Teh is more successful than Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh due to greater
number of customers and also good quality dish. Moreover, several impactful
recommendations such as advertising could be undertake by the businesses in order
to improve their competitive edges have included into the report based on our
careful analysis so that the business could compete in the market with their full
potential.

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History of Bah Kut Teh
Bak Kut Teh, also known as 肉骨茶 in Chinese is a very popular Chinese soup that
people in Malaysia and Singapore indulged in it as a satisfying choice of food. As the
name literally translated into English, “Meat Bone Tea”, this particular dish does not
always start out as an exciting meal back in the old days.
Bak Kut Teh was believed to have been found when Hokkien immigrants from China
came to Malaysia to find a living. The old days were hard and the pay was measly, so
the immigrants started to find other sources of food to eat instead of plain white rice.
Back then, the old ports of Klang was famous for importing herbs and spices, the
immigrants that worked there picked up spices that had fallen from the cargo. They
started to add different types of herbs and spice into a pot of clear water and broth
it. Finally, the outcome of the simple dish was Bah Kut Teh, which the immigrants
mixed it with white rice. Since then, it has become a staple food for workers as it was
cheap to make and was filling for those who worked long and backbreaking tasks of
the day.
Today, as our taste palettes and salaries have increased, the meal added new
components, such as tofu, fried dough, vegetables and mushrooms. And one of the
most important component that crafted the Bak Kut Teh that enrich itself from the
plain soup, was the Pork Rib meat that enhance the taste of the soup itself. Despite
the name of the dish includes a word, “tea”, the Bak Kut Teh was not made by tea,
rather than that most of the Bak Kut Teh is served with Chinese Tea. People believed
that tea would help to get rid of the fat that is found in the meal and the Tea is able
to neutralize the alkaline in the dish. As traditional ways maintain, Bak Kut Teh is still
served with delicious white rice. The modern world also tweaked the white rice into
oily rice, fried onion rice and yam rice to spice up the whole dish.
This meal started out as a popular breakfast dish, but now you eat Bak Kut Teh
whenever you crave it. The meal is even a popular lunch for those in a hurry during
business hours. So, next time you are craving Bak Kut Teh, remember this beloved
dish has provided hard workers nourishment for centuries.

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Brief Description of Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh
Teo Chew Bah Kut Teh is a famous Bak Kut Teh restaurant in Melaka. It is located in
Jalan Melaka Raya 4, Taman Melaka Raya, Melaka, Malaysia which is just beside the
La Boss Hotel. It is a small but concentrated food business that sells Teo Chew style
herbal pork dish as its major product, but what make it so special is because of the
soup which has a tad bit different from the other Bak Kut Teh soup, in the sense that
the soup has distinct herbal and black pepper flavour and is garnished with celery.
Everything comes in a clay pot. Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh restaurant has its loyal
customers gained over the years. It is now run by a couple named Eng Khim Hor and
Ng May Ling with the help of their children after the boss, Mr Eng’s father, who was
the owner of the restaurant which had passed ago few years ago.
The business was originally founded in the 1980s by Mr Eng Khim Hori’s father from
just a stall to a restaurant and then handed down to his children. Mr Eng’s father
taught him how to prepare the Bak Kut Teh dishes in order to let Mr Eng take order
of his business. After his retirement, Mr. Eng did also teach his sibling how to
prepare all the dishes too. All of them have now owned thier Bak Kut Teh business
with different name in Melaka and Teo Chew Bah Ku Teh which is now owned by Mr
Eng is one of the famous Bak Kut Teh restaurant in Melaka. It is named Teo Chew
Bah Ku Teh because My Eng family is from Teo Chew dialect.
Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh opens from 7.30 in the morning to 3 o’clock in the afternoon
every day, and closes on alternate Monday. Unlike the other Bak Kut Teh restaurant,
Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh only focus on 3 main types of dishes, the Bak Kut Teh, stir
fried vegetables and the marinade pig trotter which serve together with Yu Char
Kuew and yam rice. Although there are only 3 main dishes in Teo Chew Bah Ku Teh,
but all of it is delicious and unique in taste and this make Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh
different from the others.

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Bak Kut Teh restaurant includes Mr Eng’s sibling’s Bak Kut Teh restaurant which
serve more and different dishes. Besides that, the idea of focusing only in 3 main
dishes is actually Mr Eng’s idea too, this is because in order to produce the best taste
of his dishes, focusing only in 3 dishes allow him to keep on improve in his skill. And
this is the reason why the 3 dishes in his restaurant is graded the best in Melaka by
the customers. The food is not prepared in the kitchen but right in the middle of the
shop itself. And the interesting and unique part of the restaurant is, the boss which is
also the cook would yell non-stop for as long as you are there. Preparing and cooking
takes up maybe 20-30 per cent of the seat layout. And despite being very helpful for
customers to really watch him cook, the yelling in normal kitchen also comes alive at
the shop. Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh is famous of it soup which has a distinct herbal
flavour. The Bak Kut Teh serves some celery instead of the usual green lettuce. And
some standard ingredients like the assorted pork and mushrooms. And the pork
from the soup and the marinade pig trotter is tender and falling off the bone. And
not to forget the yam rice which is nicely cooked with small chunks of yam and Yu
Char Kew (fried beard stick), the combination is always perfect.
Mr Eng and his wife Ms Ng have put a lot of effort in the restaurant. As the owners
of Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh, they will make sure their customers receive honest
services and best products in order to maintain the reputation of the business. They
will make sure all the ingredients are fresh. To maintain the traditional taste of the
soup, Mr Eng will always be the one who in charge of preparing all the dishes.
Overall, Teo Chew Bah Kut Teh is a successful, historical and well-known Bak Kut Teh
restaurant that stands up in Melaka.

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Strategy employed by Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh
Strategy Description
Pricing
The prices of the food are affordable and
reasonable. They did not raise the prices and take
extra charge of 6% due to GST.
Service and products difference
Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh only serves 3 main dishes
which is the Bak Kut Teh, Marinade Pork Trotter
and the stir fried vegetables. All of them are
served in clay pot including the stir-fried
vegetables. The soup has a very distinct herbal
flavor, which serves with celery instead of lettuce.
What are inside the soup to make the Bak Kut Teh
so delicious are the innards, mushrooms, meatball
as well as the thick 3-layer pork. The pork of the
soup and marinade trotter is tender and falling off
the bones, this makes the pork more chewable.
And for the marinade pork trotter, the sauce is
dense with pig trotters, streaky pork and
mushrooms. Overall, the Bak Kut Teh is very well
cooked and goes extremely well with a bowl of
yam rice that is nicely cooked with small chunks of
yam together with the extra side dish such as Yu
Char Kew (fried beard stick).
Quality of service
Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh provides good services to
its customer. Although it is now very successful
and famous, the boss is still the one who prepares
all the dishes on his own. The workers’ jobs are
just assisting the boss, cleaning and passing stuffs.
The workers there will welcome the customers
politely while the lady boss is the one who is in
charge of taking orders. Besides that all of the
dishes are cooked at the middle of the restaurant
but not in a closed kitchen. Orders come fast and
correctly according to the customers’ needs.

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Competitors of Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh
1.SH Restaurant Bakuteh
Located in Jalan Melaka Raya 14, Taman Melaka Raya, Malacca Town, 75000,
approximately 1km away from Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh, SH Bak Kut Teh is one of the
famous Bak Kut Teh establishments in Melaka. It is famous for its way of traditional
way of preparing the Bak Kut Teh which is using charcoal. Besides, it also serves
more dishes. For example, ginger wine chicken is one of the most famous dishes in
their menu.
2.Restoran New Tasty Bu Kut Teh
Located in Jalan Melaka Raya 14, Taman Melaka Raya, Malacca Town, 75000,
approximately 1km away from Teo Chew Bah Kut Teh and just a few block from SH
restaurant Bah Kut Teh, New Tasty is another Bak Kut Teh restaurant in Melaka as it
offers a very wide variety of dishes including the dry clay pot dishes.

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3. Ah Hui Bak Kut Teh
Ah Hui Bak Kut Teh is located in No. 268, Jalan Melaka Raya 3, Taman Melaka Raya,
75000, Melaka, Melaka, Malaysia, approximately 300 meter away from Teo Chew
Bah Kut Teh. It is one of the very well known Bak Kut Teh in Melaka. Ah Hui Bak Kut
Teh is a family based business where the company name Ah Hui Bak Kut Teh is came
from the last word of the founder's Chinese name HUI (辉). Ah Hui Bak Kut Teh
principal is provided the best quality food at the best taste for all valuable customers.
Ah Hui Bak Kut Teh is well known of their wide variety of dishes especially Special
Bak Kut Teh, Prawn & Squid Sambal, Black Vinegar Trotter and Red Grain Wine
Kidney & Liver. Their food prices are also acceptable.

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Brief Description of Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh
Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh is one of the well-known Bak Kut Teh restaurants in Klang
which located off Lorong Kawansari 4A in Taman Eng Ann, with a big red sign over its
shop fronts. It is a small but concentrated food business that sells Hokkien style
herbal pork dish as its major product. With its mouth-watering and traditional taste
of Bak Kut Teh, it has its loyal customers gained over the years who are willing to
come all the way down from other cities just to have a good and hearty meal. The
restaurant is run by a woman named Tan Shan Mei, with the help of her family after
his husband, who was the owner of the restaurant, died nigh 10 years ago. The
business was originally founded in the 1980s by Madam Tan Shan Mei’s father in law,
she claims her father in law invented Bak Kut Teh. Her father Mr Lee Wen Tee was a
chinese chiroprator. Back then he uses the chinese herbs to cure people sprain and
used it to cook “Tika”, which is known as pork leg in Hokkien. So he used those herds
to make bak kut teh, and then handed down to his son. When the son took over the
business, he moved the business to Taman Eng Ann and named it “奇香” (Qi Xiang),
which is pronounced as “Kee Heong” in Hokkien, meaning very appetizing.
Kee Heong Bah Kut Teh opens from 7 o’clock in the morning to 4 o’clock in the
evening every day, and closes on alternate Monday. At here, people can find the two
main types of Bak Kut Teh, which is the traditional ceramic bowl Bak Kut Teh and
clay pot Bak Kut Teh that most of the Bak Kut Teh restaurant in Klang only sells
either one type. Kee Heong's Bak Kut Teh has large pork hocks stewed for long hours
until the pork-skin acquired a translucent, gelatinous quality, and the meat is
meltingly tender. The soup is more like a sticky, viscous stew, bursting with sweet
flavours from the meat, garlic and Kee Heong's own secret blend of Chinese herbs &
spices, finished off with dark & light soy-sauces. Moreover, Kee Heong's clay pot Bak
Kut Teh includes various other cuts of pork, pig's innards & organs, shitake
mushrooms, tofu puffs and bean curd sheets, and served topped with large lettuce
leaves, which one can push into the bubbling cauldron of soup-stew to slightly cook
the vegetable. On the other hand, Kee Heong also offers the dry version of Bak Kut
Teh which, instead of pork in soup, pork is cooked in the same special blend of herbs

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and spices, to which dried chillies, cuttlefish and okra were added. The dish was
absolutely delicious, and went extremely well with lard-flavoured steamed rice.
It is obvious that Madam Tan Shan Mei has put a lot of efforts in restaurant Kee
Heong Bak Kut Teh. As the shop keeper of Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh, she works hard to
let her customers receive honest services and best products in order to maintain the
reputation of the business. Overall, Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh is a good place to have
sweet-smelling herbal soup of perfect consistency that will satisfy the craving for Bak
Kut Teh.

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Competitors of Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh
1. Restoran Mo Sang Kor
Located in Taman Berkeley, approximately 1km away from Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh,
Mo Sang Kor is one of the oldest and famous Bak Kut Teh establishments in Klang. It
is famous for its potent broth, and its stinginess in providing extra broth. The chef at
Mo Sang Kor Bak Kut Teh is very careful when it comes to order for more soup, they
never dilute their broth with water so that the broth remain thick and slimy.
2. Restoran Pao Xiang
Located in Taman Berkeley, approximately 1km away from Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh,
Pao Xiang is a very well-known Bak Kut Teh restaurant in Klang as the very
entrepreneurial people behind Pao Xiang have six branches run by the original
owners, and six more franchise outlets, five in the Klang Valley and one in Singapore.
It offers a very wide variety of pork cuts, from the very popular Tua Kut (shank in
Hokkien), to the fat, melt-in-your-mouth Neng Kut.

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3. Restoran Ah Her & Samy Bak Kut Teh
Restoran Ah Her & Samy Bak Kut Teh is located a couple blocks away from the main
stretch of shops at Taman Berkeley, approximately 1.5km away from Kee Heong Bah
Kut Teh. It is very famous for its traditional bowl Bak Kut Teh. The broth is thick and
concentrated with the pork and herbs and the tender pork is bursting with herbal
sweetness. It is a place for those who like their Bak Kut Teh strong and intense.

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Strategy employed by Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh
Strategy Description
Pricing
The prices of Bak Kut Teh are affordable and
reasonable.
Service and products difference
Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh serves both traditional
bowl Bak Kut Teh and clay pot Bak Kut Teh. For
clay pot Bak Kut Teh, customers have the choice
of the dry and the soup version of Bak Kut Teh.
The soup Bak Kut Teh is served with the thick soup
broth and plentiful of ingredients, this includes
the innards as well as the thick 3 layer pork. The
ingredients are perfectly enough and they are
serving more to the meaty side and the fragrant
herbal taste is pretty good too. As for the dry Bak
Kut Teh, it brings a like spiciness in it. Well mixed
the thick black gravy with the chillies together, the
dried Bak Kut Teh always goes to the sweater side
of the taste instead of the usual herbal taste.
Overall, the Bak Kut Teh is very well-cooked and
goes extremely well with a bowl of lard-flavoured
steamed rice.
Quality of service
Kee Heong bah kut teh provides good services to
its customer. The workers there will welcome the
customers politely and take orders immediately.
Orders come fast and correctly according to the
customers’ need before the food cool down.

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Competitor Analysis Summary Table
Competitive Traits
Teo Chew Bah Kut Teh
(Malacca)
Kee Heong Bah Kut Teh
(Klang)
1. Number of
Competitors
10-30 30-70
2. Barrier to Entry
Weak barriers to entry.
Entering the market of Bak Kut
Teh in Malacca is easy due to a
few factors:
1. There is less Bak Kut Teh
restaurant in Malacca and the
competition between each
restaurant is not strong.
2. Bak Kut Teh is considered
something special for Malacca
people since it is the most well-
known delicacies in Klang, and is
less common in Malacca.
Weak barriers to entry.
Entering the market of Bak
Kut Teh in Klang is more
difficult than in Malacca due
to a few factors:
1. There are too many Bak
Kut Teh restaurant in Klang
and the competition
between each Bak Kut Teh
restaurant is very strong.
2. Most of the Bak Kut Teh
restaurant has been open for
more than ten years, they are
experienced and famous, and
have gained a lot of loyal
customers.
3. People used to go to the
Bak Kut Teh restaurant that
they usually go to. They are
not likely to try Bak Kut Teh
restaurant because they have
stuck to the old taste.
3. Differentiated or
Standardized
Products
Standardized products Standardized products

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4. Pricing Power
Price taker. They have the weak
pricing power because the
businesses have no ability to
charge a higher price than the
market price unreasonably. This
will cause customer to turn to
other competitors.
Price taker. They have the
weak pricing power because
the businesses have no
ability to charge a higher
price than the market price
unreasonably. This will cause
customer to turn to other
competitors.
5. Other
Characteristics
Teo Chew Bah Kut Teh only
focuses on 3 main dishes. For
example the Bak Kut Teh, stir
fried vegetables and the
Marinade Pig Trotter which
serve together with Yu Char
Kuew and yam rice. The most
important part is, all of these
dishes are actually prepare by
the boss himself. The food is not
prepared in the kitchen but right
in the middle of the shop itself.
The boss which also the cook
would actually yell non-stop and
despite being very helpful for
customers to really watch him
cook, the yelling in normal
kitchen also comes alive at the
shop.
Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh
provides both traditional
ceramic bowl Bak Kut Teh
and clay pot Bak Kut Teh.
There are two versions of the
clay pot Bak Kut Teh, which
are the soup version and the
dry version. Kee Heong Bah
Kut Teh also sells stir fried
vegetables, such as small
Chinese cabbage (Pei Tsai),
Ching-Chiang cabbage (Pak
Choy), etc.
6. Verdict Monopolistic Competitive. Monopolistic Competitive.

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Summary Table of The Similarities Between Both Businesses
Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh Similarities Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh
o Number of branches o
Bak Kut Teh Main Product Sold Bak Kut Teh
Lead by owner Leader Lead by owner
1 Founder 1
Interest What prompted to start
this business
Interest
Private Annual Revenue Figure Private
1 Number of shops 1
Pass the shop to the next
generation. Leave it up to
them to decide.
Future Plan Pass the shop to the next
generation. Leave it up to
them to decide.
Providing quality food and
services
Strategy Providing quality food and
services
Home based Business Operation Home based
Summary Table of The Differences Between Both Businesses
Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh Differences Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh
1980 When it was founded 1974
Mr. Eng’ father Founder Mr. Lee Wen Tee
Jalan Melaka Raya 4,
Taman Melaka Raya,
75000 Melaka, Malaysia
Location 7, Lorong Kasawari 4a,
Taman Eng Ann, 41150
Klang, Selangor
8 Number of employees 11
50-100 Per day Number of customer 80-120 Per day
People living nearby and
tourist
Who are the customer People living nearby
3 Number of competitor 7
7.00 AM– 3.00 PM Business Hour 7.00AM – 4.00PM
Soup with distinct herbal
and black pepper flavour.
Special Dish Hokkien-style herbal pork-
rib soup

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Conclusion
Based on the comparative analysis, it has been concluded that Kee Heong Bak Kut
Teh in Klang is more commercially successful as compared to Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh
in Melaka.
Firstly, the average number of customer for Kee Heong is greater than Teo Chew Bak
Kut Teh. They may not have many branches but quality of the food makes customers
dying to come back and even introduce their friend to try their food.
Secondly, Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh has been in the business longer than Teo Chew Bak
Kut Teh. Even though it is few years longer; however they have more experiences
and loyal customers. They also have more varieties of food. This shows a strong
advantage because it is able to attract more customers. The prices of both
businesses are almost the same, which is not too costly and the customers are
willing to pay for it.
In conclusion, Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh is more commercially successful then Teo
Chew Bak Kut Teh due to the supporting reasons as stated above which includes a
higher average of customers and quality of food.

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Obstacle faced by New Business
Financial Problems
As faced by many new restaurant owners, start-up capital is not an easy stuff to get
onto their hands. To open and run a new restaurant, they need a large sum of
funding to cover expense such as, shop rental, hiring new staffs, stocking the kitchen
and buying new furniture for the new restaurant. Mostly when a new restaurant had
just established, their reputation is not well recognize, and the owner will suffer as
there is no good profit for several months. Sometimes, the new restaurant is forced
to close down when there is no profit to cover up the expenses.
Heavy Competition
Most people who want to eat Bah Kut Teh usually will flock to old and well-
established restaurant, rather than going into a just started Bak Kut Teh restaurant.
If considered opening a new Bah Kut Teh shop in Malaysia, a lot of competitors are
already ready to conquer your business as there are more than 500 shops selling the
same Bak Kut Teh, and some of them are famous and the quality of their Bak Kut Teh
is tip top. On the other hand, the old restaurant doesn’t need any form of advertising
to attract their costumers while newly opened restaurants needs to greatly promote
their food. Worst come to worst, people will tend to think again to either try their
luck and dine your Bak Kut Teh or just eat a Bak Kut Teh made by old professional
cookers.
Unique Selling Point
Bak Kut Teh is a well-known dish and it is not easy to be made. It requires great skills
and experience to bring out the real taste that most people would want to taste.
New owners of Bak Kut Teh restaurant cannot create a simple herbal soup and
expect people will start to flock into their shop. They need to come up with better
ingredients and components that add a unique selling point to counter the
traditional taste of Bak Kut Teh made by other competitors. As all people have their
own different preference and fondness towards the taste of Bak Kut Teh, they also
need to reconsider the taste of the Bak Kut Teh, whether it is suitable for the
costumer, would it be too salty? Would it be too sweet? Would it be too heavily
flavoured with herbs and spices? They need to take into all accounts to beat other
competitors which already have their own unique taste and regular customers.
Management and Staffs
As said in the previous point, Bak Kut Teh is not someone who can master it easily.
So, the restaurant owner needs to carefully pick the staffs and the right employees.
They cannot just simply hire a foreigner worker and ask them to learn how to cook
and then tell them to manage the whole kitchen while they sit on the cashier area.
This will make an irreparably damage to their shops reputation and future customer
as the quality of the Bak Kut Teh is not up to the expectation of the customers.
Owners at least have one good chef to control the whole flow of the kitchen while
still maintaining the foreigner workers to do the side jobs so that the good chef can
control the quality of the Bak Kut Teh soup. There will be a miscommunication if a
foreigner worker is hired as a waiter who doesn’t even understand simple Chinese.

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Waiter for the restaurant should be employees that are fluent in Chinese language as
most Bak Kut Teh customers are Chinese.

21. 21
Nature of their market
Both Bak Kut Teh shops are in a competitive market. There are a lot of Bak Kut Teh
shops in the same area, which creates lots of competition. The Bak Kut Teh shops
have weak barriers to entry. This means new firms are able to enter and exit the
market freely. Besides, the Bak Kut Teh shops have weak pricing power, because
they have no ability to charge a higher price than the market price unreasonably.
This will cause customer to turn to other competitors. Therefore, having a good
quality food will bring back trustworthy customers.

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Recommendation
Add Variety
Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh and Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh is very famous for their Bak Kut
Teh and their technique to make the soup is well-establish. So to improve more
customers to come to their shop, they can update their menu with other different
types of Chinese dishes like steamed fish, Yong Tau Foo or special porridge to
incorporate with their Bak Kut Teh. This will attract people who want to not just eat
Bak Kut Teh, because they have more choices to select from the menu, creating a
different taste when enjoying their meals. These days, youngsters from the new
generation are tired with the traditional ways of typical Chinese restaurant as it is
not appealing with other trending modern restaurants. By doing so, they can also
introduce new beverage rather than going with the traditional making tea, like start
selling bubble tea or milk tea to attract youngster to their shop.
Getting an Upgrade
Both of the Bak Kut Teh shop runs in a very traditional way with simple plastic chairs
and creaking celling fans. With this set up, only regular customer will step in and
they cannot attract new customer in the future. So, both of the restaurant should
renovate their shop to accommodate with the current trend. They may repaint their
walls, replace plastic furniture with wooden chairs and tables and also change into
air conditioner. They should also create an identity by making a standard T-shirt for
the workers in the restaurant so the restaurant’s employees look more formal and
appealing. With a conventional mindset, they can also hire a modern Feng Shui
master to help them improve the whole layout of the restaurant and on the other
hand, improves their luck and economic too.
Expand Territory
Supposing Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh and Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh is long-established,
they should consider expanding their business by opening up more shops. They
should pass down their recipe of making their Bak Kut Teh soup to their apprentice.
Through expanding, everyone can able to taste their soup without going far away to
their shop, reducing transport distance for their customers. This is also a form of
advertising which increase their reputation too.
Going High-Tech
Both of the restaurant use newspaper or magazine to promote their business. This is
considering very old fashion way of advertising. So instead of that, they can create a
website page through Facebook or Instagram. This can heavily gain attention from
young people who tends to use high tech gadgets on their daily lives. This is a great
way to connect the customer with the restaurant through virtual interaction. They
can also change or make adjustment to their working etiquette through responses
and reviews that customers had written on their website page, making them more
favourable to revisit.

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Appendices
Appendix 1: Interview Questions
INTRO
1. What is your name?
2. What is your job position in this business?
3. How old are you?
4. How long have you owned this shop?
HISTORY
1. Did you start this business or did you inherit it?
2. Who is the key founder of this business?
3. Why or what made the founder start this business?
4. How and where did this business start?
5. How many generations has this shop been inherited?
ABOUT THE BUSINESS
1. How many types of dishes do you sell? Which are your main dishes?
2. Who usually are your customers?
3. What is the annual or monthly revenue figure for this business? Ask with
caution and politely with permission from the person
4. Do you have any branch? How many? Where?
5. Does the name of the shop hold any meaning? What is it?
6. How long has this business been going on?
7. How the dishes are bring cook? Is there a special way? Who cook it?
8. What are the future developments you plan for this business? Eg. Expand
shop, more branches
9. Are most of the employees hired or from the family?
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
1. Do you plan to add new dishes to your menu?
2. Who is going to inherit this business from you?
3. How are you going to improvise your business?
SUCCESS
1. How did you maintain your business so long, up until now?
2. Do you think your business is successful or improving?
3. Have you faced any crisis before in this many years? What is it?
4. How many customers do you have every day? Estimate.
5. Did you have any recent development for this business?

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COMPETITION
1. Who do you consider as your competition?
2. Do you think they are strong competitors?
3. What are your strategies to compete with them? How?
CURRENT MARKET
1. Do you think at current time and economy, it is a wise choice to start a new
business same as yours? Would it be easy or hard?
2. What obstacles would they face?
3. How would GST affect this kind of business?

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Appendix 2: Interview Questions with answers
Interviewquestionswithanswers
Teo ChewBah Kut Teh
Date: 7 November2015
Time:3.00pm – 3.30pm
Location:JalanMelaka Raya4, Malacca, Melaka,Malaysia
InterviewedPerson:NgMei Ling
JobPosition:Owner’swife
Q: Who isthe ownerof TeoChewBah Kut Teh?
A: OngQing Fu.
Q: What is your(Madam Ng Mei Ling) jobpositioninthisrestaurant?
A: I’min charge of takingordersandservingthe customers.Actually,ourbusinessisquite
simple,we focusonsellingBahKut Tehand pig’sknucklesonlysothere’snothing
complicated.
Q: May I knowhowoldare you(Madam Ng Mei Ling)?
A: I’m51 yearsold thisyear.
Q: How longhave you(Madam Ng Mei Ling) beenworkinginthisrestaurant?
A: I’ve beenworkingathere about30 yearssince itopened.
Q: What is yourrelationshipwiththe ownerof TeoChew BahKut Teh?
A: Actually,we are runningafamilybusiness.Myfather-in-lawisthe manwhostartedthis
businessandthenhe passeditdowntous. Now that my sonhas grownup, I thinkwe will
retire soonandhand overthe businesstohim.That’sit;passingdownthe business
generationbygenerationandmysonwill be the thirdgenerationthattake overthis
business.
Q: Do you knowwhatwas yourfather-in-law’sfirstintentiontoopenthisrestaurant?
A: I’mnot so sure aboutthisand he had passedaway.
Q: Is this(MelakaRaya) the place where TeoChew Bah Kut Teh started?Where isthe first
Teo ChewBahKut Tehrestaurant?Is there anyotherTeo Chew BahKut The restaurantin
otherplaces?
A: We openedatanotherplace before.Manyyearsago, my father–in-law startedselling
Bah Kut Tehat a small stall.Afterwards,he openedhisownshopand broadens hisbusiness.
Whenhe retired,he passedhisbusinessdowntomyhusband.There’sonlyone TeoChew
Bah Kut Tehrestaurant. However,there are BahKutTeh restaurantsthatare openedbyour
relatives,whichhasthe similarBahKutTeh style asus,but theydon’tshare the same name.
For example,the AhLangBah Kut The,whichis openedbymysister-in-law.

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Q: What kindof customersdo youhave?
A: Usually,ourcustomersare regularcustomers,includesfamilies,students,andmore.
Some of the studentshave beenvisitingusformanyyears,man andboy.
Q: Are there any Indiancustomers?
A: Yes,there are but not as muchas the Chinese.We alsohave customersfromSingapore,
and there are regularcustomersbecause theywill alwayscome backtous whentheywant
to eat Bah KutTeh inMalacca.
Q: Why isthisrestaurantnamedTeo Chew BahKut Teh?
A: TeoChewisour the native place of our family,that’swhywe nameditTeoChew Bah Kut
Teh.
Q: Did the Bah KutTeh here cookedaccordingto the TeoChew’scookingstyle?
A: Yes, sort of, because we cooked according to our taste andwe are used to Teo Chew taste.
Q: Teo ChewBahKut Tehhas openedfor30 years?
A: For thisshopat here,MelakaRaya,it has onlyopenedfor20 years,but it’sbeen30 years
since mygenerationtookoverthisbusinessfrommyfather-in-lawwhichisthe last
generation.
Q: Who is the chef in this restaurant? Is it your family members or workers from the outside?
A: The one who workinthe kitchenare ourown familymembers.We onlyemployedsome
foreignworkerstodothe clean-uporothersunskilledwork.
Q: Have youeverthoughtof openingabranch at otherplacesor broadenyourbusiness?
A: To be honest,we are quite satisfiedwithourbusiness.Ithinkwe have hadachievement
inour generation.We are oldnow,and are goingto retire soonso we will letthe next
generationtodecide onfurtherdevelopmentonthisbusiness.
Q: What is the barrierthat made yourefusedtoopena new branch?
A: The biggestproblemwe are facingnow isthe numberof workers.Nowadays,itisvery
difficulttoemploynew workersandwe are afraidthat we can’t handle abusiersituation.
Lack of workerscan reduce the productivityof ourbusinessandwe don’twantthatto
happen.
Q: How manyforeignworkersare there inyourrestaurant?
A: For now,we onlyhave 5 foreignworkers,othersall are ourownfamilymemebers.
Q: How many familymembersare there inyourrestaurant?
A: There’sme andmy husband,plustwoof my sons.Once ina while,mydaughterwill come
and helpusafterschool.
Q: Have youeverthoughtof addinga new varietytoyour menu?
A: I think focus on what we have now and make it the best is enough. In our owner’s opinion,
concentrate ononlya fewdishesisthe bestdecision.
Q: How do youmaintainyourbusinessandkeepyourreputationhigh?
A: Actually,there’snothingspecial.Firstandforemost,we doeverythingourselves.We

27. 27
neverletforeignworkerstocookinthe kitchen.Second,we keepeverythingcleaninour
restaurantbecause environmental hygieneorfoodhygiene are veryimportant.
Q: Overall,are yousatisfiedwithyourbusiness?
A: I mightnotbe able tohandle thisbusinessif there are more customers.SoIthinkI’m
quite satisfiedalready.Regardingfurtherdevelopment,IthinkIwill leaveittothe next
generations.
Q: Did youface any problemsthroughouttheseyears?
A: The biggestproblemthat we facedislabourissue.Nowadays,itisverydifficulttoemploy
workers.Iusedto have 8 foreignworkersbutIfoundthatsome of themare not suitable for
thisjob,so I sentthemback to theirhome.
Q: How manycustomersdoyou have ina day?
A: I’mnot reallysure aboutthisbutusuallythere will be more customersonSundaysand
duringholidays.
Q: DoesTeo ChewBahKut Tehopenseveryday?
A: No,it closesonMonday.
Q: Is morningthe busiestbusinesshours?
A: Notalways,sometimesthe busiest businesshoursare duringlunchhours.
Q: Whenis yourbusinesshour?
A: Our businessstartsat7.00am and usuallyitclosesatl 2.00pm, depends.
Q: We’ve realizedthatthere are some othersBahKut Teh shopsaroundhere,doyou findit
competitive?
A: For me,I thinkaslongas we choose the bestmaterialsforourcustomers,keepourfood
freshandclean,and be honestwiththem, ourbusinesswill notbe affectedbythe others.
Q: Accordingto currentBah Kut Tehmarket,do youthinkit’seasyfor people to enterthis
marketnow?What are the barriersto entryfor new BahKut Tehbusiness?
A: I thinkit’sisdifficultforall businesstostartup nowadays,accordingtoour country’s
economiccondition.
Q: What do youthinkisthe mostimportantthinginopeningaBah Kut Tehrestaurant?
A: Aswhat I’ve mentionedearlier,Ithinkusinggoodmaterialsandkeepingyourfoodfresh
and cleanare the mostimportantthingsinopeningaBah Kut Teh restaurant.

28. 28
Interviewquestionswithanswers
Kee Heong Bah Kut Teh
Date: 9 November2015
Time:1 pm-1.30 pm
Location:7, LorongKasawari 4a, Taman Eng Ann,41150 Klang,Selangor,Malaysia
InterviewedPerson:TanShanMei
JobPosition:Owner
Q: What is yourname?
A: Tan ShanMei.
Q: May I knowhowoldare you?
A: I’m65 yearsold thisyear.
Q: How longisthisbusiness?
A: 30 years.
Q: Are you the founderof thisbusiness?Where diditstarted?
A: The founderof thisbusinessismyfather-in-law,Mr.Lee WenTee.The firstshopwas not
openhere,butanotherplace in Klang.For thisshop,ithas onlyopened20 years.
Q: Is thisa familybusiness?
A: Yes,the businesspassesdowngenerationby generation.I’mthe secondgenerationwho
tookoverthis business,andmychildrenare the thirdgeneration.
Q: How didthe businessstarted?
A: The businesswasstartedbymy father-in-law.He usedtoknow a lotabout Chinese
medicine sohe decidedtoopena restaurantbecause thatsellsChinese herbalsfoodwhich
isBah Kut Teh.
Q: Have youeverthoughtof broadeningyourbusiness?
A: I think I’mtoo oldforthat. I will leave ittomychildren.
Q: Who didthe cooking?
A: We employedworkersandteachthemhow tocook.
Q: What are the most populardishesinyourrestaurant?
A: Customersusuallyordertraditional ceramicbowl BahKutTeh, dry versionclaypotBah
Kut The and alsosoupversionclaypotBahKut Teh. In myopinion,traditional ceramicbowl
Bah Kut Tehis the best.
Q: What is the price range for the Bah Kut Teh?
A: Traditional ceramicbowl RM11 person,forclaypotRM12-13 per person,all excluded6%
GST.

29. 29
Q: Did youface any problemsthroughouttheseyears?
A: The biggestproblemthatwe facedislabourissue.Nowadays,itisverydifficulttoemploy
workersandsometimesthe workersare hardtoteach.
Q: How manyworkers doyou have inthisrestaurant?Are theyyour familymemebers?
A: We onlyhave five workers,onlyone of themismyfamilymember.
Q: Are there any competitorsaround?
A: Yes,there are.There are manyBah Kut Tehshopsin TamanBerkeley,suchasMao San
Kor Bah KutTeh, PaoXiangBah Kut The and more.
Q: Are theycompetitive?
A: Sure theyare.
Q: How do youoverstepthese competitors?Whatare your strategies?
A: The onlysecretisto make sure the materialswe use are good.Goodmaterialsmake
qualityfood.
Q: Accordingto currentBah Kut Tehmarket,do youthinkit’seasyfor people toenterthis
marketnow?What are the barriersto entryfor new BahKut Tehbusiness?
A: I thinkit’sisvery difficultdue toourcountry’seconomiccondition.Plus,GSTmakes
startinga businessevenharderforpeople.The capital of sellingBahKut The is high,and
therefore ourprofitdecreases.
Q: How didyoucame up with the name “Kee Heong”?
A: It wasmy husband’sidea.Kee Heonginhokkienmeansveryappetizing.
Q: Have youeverthoughtof addinga new varietytoyour menu?
A: We usedto sell onlythe traditional ceramicbowl BahKut Teh.Now we’ve addedthe dry
and soupversionof claypotBahKut Teh,and fried Chinesecabbage.Youngpeople
nowadaysusuallypreferclaypotBahKutTeh.
Q: Whenis yourbusiestbusinesshour?
A: Usually,duringlunchhours,around12.00pm to 2.00pm.
Q: Whenis yourbusinesshour?
A: Our businessstartsat7.00am and usuallyitclosesat9.00pm.

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Appendix 3: Business Card
Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh

31. 31
Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh

32. 32
Appendix 4: Website
Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kee-Heong-Klang-Bak-Kut-
Teh/199345890086884
Teo ChewBak Kut Teh
Website:https://foodeverywhere.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/teo-chew-bah-kut-teh-
melaka/

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Appendix 5: Minutes of meeting
Meeting 1
DATE: 3 November 2015 (Tuesday)
TIME: 12 pm – 2 pm
VENUE: Outside Library
NAMES OF GROUP
MENBER
TUTORIAL GROUP ROLE
Darren Tan Quan wen Wednesday Leader
Angela Wee Kah Man Monday Secretary
Chia Keh Chian Monday Member
Cha Yun Xian Monday Member
Chan Koon Qi Monday Member
Tang Ying Jien Wednesday Member
NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY
1. Introduction
- The main purpose of the meeting is to decide
the type of business to research.
All Member
2. Discussion
- Decision the choices regarding the location of
the business
All Member
- Listing the interview question All Member
- Minutes of meeting will be recorded by Angela
Wee Kah Man.
Angela Wee
- Artistic cover will be design by Tang Ying Jien. Tang Ying Jien
- Video Editing will be done by Chan Koon Qi Chan Koon Qi

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3. Conclusion
- We decided to pick Klang and Melaka for
location.
All Member
- The interview question has yet finalize All Member
- Next meeting will be on 6 November 2015
(Friday)
All Member

35. 35
Meeting 2
DATE: 6 November 2015 (Friday)
TIME: 8 pm – 10 pm
VENUE: At Angela House (Melaka)
NAMES OF GROUP
MENBER
TUTORIAL GROUP ROLE
Darren Tan Quan wen Wednesday Leader
Angela Wee Kah Man Monday Secretary
Chia Keh Chian Monday Member
Cha Yun Xian Monday Member
Chan Koon Qi Monday Member
Tang Ying Jien Wednesday Member
NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY
1. Introduction
- Distribute the role of member during interview. Darren Tan
2. Discussion
- Distribution of roles between group member
Chia Keh Chian: Interview
Cha Yun Xian: Interview
Chan Koon Qi: Videographer
Tang Ying Jien: Photographer
Darren Tan: Photographer
Angela Wee: Record all notes of interview
All Members

36. 36
- Finalize the business question and location
Melaka: Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh
Klang: Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh
All Members
- Check the equipment for interview All Members
3. Conclusion
- Next meeting to be confirmed

37. 37
Meeting 3
DATE: 9 November 2015 (Monday)
TIME: 10 am – 2 am
VENUE: E8.02
NAMES OF GROUP
MENBER
TUTORIAL GROUP ROLE
Darren Tan Quan wen Wednesday Leader
Angela Wee Kah Man Monday Secretary
Chia Keh Chian Monday Member
Cha Yun Xian Monday Member
Chan Koon Qi Monday Member
Tang Ying Jien Wednesday Member
NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY
1. Introduction
- Roles of group member for report
assignment
Darren Tan
2. Discussion
- Distribution of roles between group member
Chia Keh Chian: Slides
Cha Yun Xian: Description, competitors and
strategy of Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh.
Chan Koon Qi: Video
All Member

38. 38
Tang Ying Jien: Cover page, history, obstacle,
recommendation and references.
Darren Tan: Key Summary, competitive analysis
summery table, differences and similar between
summary, conclusion and nature of their market.
Angela Wee: Description, competitors and
strategy of Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh.
3. Conclusion
- Work must be 80% done on 16 Nov 2015 All Member
- Next meeting will be on 19 Nov 2015 All Member

39. 39
Meeting 4
DATE: 19 November 2015 (Thursday)
TIME: 10 am – 12 pm
VENUE: Outside Library
NAMES OF GROUP
MENBER
TUTORIAL GROUP ROLE
Darren Tan Quan wen Wednesday Leader
Angela Wee Kah Man Monday Secretary
Chia Keh Chian Monday Member
Cha Yun Xian Monday Member
Chan Koon Qi Monday Member
Tang Ying Jien Wednesday Member
NO. ACTIVITY ACTION TAKEN BY
1. Introduction
- Finalization of the compile report Darren Tan
2. Discussion
- Need to finish the appendix All Member
- Video let a bit more to complete Chan Koon QI
- Others part are done. All member
- Preparation of Presentation Tang Ying Jien
3. Conclusion
- Compete all the work by 22 Nov 2015 and
printed
All Member

40. 40
Appendix 6: Photos
Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh Restaurant
The exterior of the restaurant The interior of the restaurant
Food preparation by the boss and Choices of food served by the restaurant
worker
Interview session Group photo with the lady boss

41. 41
Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh Restaurant
Exterior of the restaurant Lines of verse that consist of the word ‘Kee’
and ‘Heong’ hanging on wall
Cooking area Workers preparing food
Interior of the shop crowded with Dry and soup Bak Kut Teh served in clay
customers pot

42. 42
Interview session Group photo with the lady boss

43. 43
Bibliography
1. Pas, D. (2013, July23). Bah Ku TehTeow Chew,TamanMelakaRaya.Retrievedfrom
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ie=UTF-8
2. Teo ChewBah KuTeh (潮州肉骨茶).(n.d.).Retrievedfrom
http://www.hungrygowhere.my/melaka/teo-chew-bah-ku-teh/
3. Teo ChewBak KutTeh.(n.d.). Retrievedfrom
http://www.gomelaka.my/teo-chew-bak-kut-teh/
4. 潮州肉骨茶Teo ChewBakKut Teh.(n.d.).Retrievedfrom
https://foursquare.com/v/潮州肉骨茶-teo-chew-bak-kut-teh/4e7558d4a809582dd5e95a84
5. Kee HeongBak Kut Teh,Eng Ann - Klang.(2009, May 19). Retrievedfrom
http://juliansi.blogspot.my/2009/05/kee-heong-bak-kut-teh-eng-ann-klang.html?m=1
6. Jotaro. (2014, March 9). YummY! - KlangBak Kut Teh@ Kee Heong.Retrievedfrom
http://jotarofootsteps.blogspot.my/2014/03/yummy-klang-bak-kut-teh-kee-
heong.html?m=1

44. 44
Reference
1. Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh, Melaka - Restaurant Reviews & Photos - TripAdvisor (Teo
Chew Bak Kut Teh, Melaka - Restaurant Reviews & Photos - TripAdvisor)
https://www.tripadvisor.com.my/Restaurant_Review-g306997-d3504428-Reviews-
Teo_Chew_Bak_Kut_Teh-Melaka_Central_Melaka_District_Melaka_State.html
2. My Favorite Teo Chew Bah Ku Teh 喜德潮州肉骨茶馆. (2012, February 9).
Retrieved from http://carolslifejourney.blogspot.my/2012/02/my-favorite-teo-chew-
bah-ku-teh.html
3. Bah Ku Teh Teo Chew 潮州肉骨茶. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://my.openrice.com/malacca/restaurant/bah-ku-teh-teo-chew-malacca-
town/387057
4. Skycookies (2012,October 20).TEO CHEW BAH KUT TEH @ MELAKA
Retrieved from https://foodeverywhere.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/teo-chew-bah-
kut-teh-melaka/
5. 10 Best Bak Kut Teh in Klang. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://my.openrice.com/klangvalley/article/10-best-bak-kut-teh-in-klang/498
6. Yeoh, K. (2012, May 26). Kuala Lumpur - Kee Heong Bak Kut Teh @ Taman Eng Ann,
Klang. Retrieved from http://www.chowhound.com/post/kuala-lumpur-kee-heong-
bak-kut-teh-taman-eng-ann-klang-851029