20 Places For Comforting And Nourishing Asian Soups In Singapore
Feeling under the weather or just want to chase away those rainy day blues? Head to one of these for soul-warming soups in Singapore
By Priyanka C. Agarwal and Ho Guo Xiong -
Even in hot and sweltering Singapore, there are rainy and grey days when all you want is a comforting bowl of soup for lunch or dinner. Asian-style soups are the best — double-boiled, slow-cooked, packed with soul and nourishing ingredients, and big on flavour. These are the restaurants and hawkers to swing by for belly-warming soups in Singapore.
Weaved into its name, Li Bai is one of the places to go for authentic Cantonese dishes. True to its dialect roots (Cantonese people are known for their love for soups), Li Bai has a list of over ten soups to choose from.
If you’re feeling indulgent, get the Mini Bird’s Nest Buddha Jumps Over The Wall ($98 per pax), with bird’s nest added to elevate the already luxurious soup. Otherwise, you can pick between options such as Seafood Soup in Mini Pumpkin ($38 per pax), Shark Cartilage Soup with Fish Maw and Goji Berry ($36 per pax), and Thick Soup of Bird’s Nest with Lobster ($58 per pax).
Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant is at 39 Scotts Road, Sheraton Towers Singapore, Singapore 228230. Visit its website for more information.
Founded in 1946 by Chinese immigrant Tan Ah Sai, Tan Ser Seng is one of the few establishments still serving turtle soup. The Claypot Turtle Soup (from $31.10) is made with farmed freshwater softshell turtles from Indonesia reared for consumption and is simmered with over 20 herbs and spices.
But if the thought of consuming turtles is too much to bear, Tan Ser Seng also offers the equally comforting Ginseng Black Chicken Soup ($16.80), Cordyceps Chicken Soup ($16.80) and Fish Maw Soup ($33.30).
Tan Ser Seng Herbs Restaurant is at 29 Lor Bachok, 387791. Visit its Facebook for more information.
Hansang Korean Family Restaurant was founded in 2007 by two Korean sisters who wanted to serve authentic and nourishing Korean meals with quality ingredients sourced from South Korea.
One of its bestsellers is the Samgyetang ($25.80), Korea’s version of ginseng chicken soup made with glutinous rice and red dates. Consider one of the jjigaes or stews if you want something more impactful.
Hansang Korean Family Restaurant is at 10 Sinaran Dr, #03-33 Square 2, Singapore 307506. Visit its Instagram for more information.
With two branches in Goodwood Park Hotel and Dempsey, Chinese restaurant Min Jiang offers a variety of hearty soups. For more unique takes, try the Double-boiled ‘Song’ Fish Head Soup Shanghai-style in Stone Pot ($58 per pax) or the Double-boiled Chicken Soup with Monkey Head Mushroom, Cordyceps Flower and Conch Meat ($20 per pax).
Get the Min Jiang Hot and Sour Soup ($16 per pax) for something punchy. Traditionalists can opt for the Braised Bird’s Nest with Crabmeat in Shanghai-style ($68 per pax) or the Double-boiled Mini Buddha Jumps Over The Wall ($128 per pax).
Min Jiang is at 22 Scotts Rd, Goodwood Park Hotel, Singapore 228221 and 7A & 7B Dempsey Rd, 249684. Visit its website for more information.
For one of the most obvious spots in town for a hearty, comforting bowl that is healthy and affordable, look no further than one of The Soup Spoon’s many outlets. Each soup has its nutritional info, calories, and ingredients listed so you know exactly what is in your nourishing bowl.
For Asian-style brews, the Tokyo Chicken Stew (from $9.20) is a long-time favourite. It is dairy-free and packed with lotus root, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and more. The Soup Spoon also has vegetarian options. One of them is the Velvety Mushroom Stroganoff (from $9.20) which celebrates the earthy flavour of button and shiitake mushrooms. It also has different types of soups on a monthly rotation.
The Soup Spoon has multiple locations in Singapore. Visit its website for more information.
On the Michelin-approved menu of Putien, one of its simplest dishes is easily among the most popular. Putien’s Bian Rou Soup ($4.80 per pax) is a Fujianese speciality still prepared in the traditional way. Each bowl of the clear broth comes laden with pork wantons, where the wanton wrappers themselves are made with pork meat and a bit of sweet potato flour. The meat is hand-pounded 12,000 times to achieve a paper-thin consistency within which a savoury pork and spring onion filling is encased. It is served in a delicate, clear vinegar-laced broth flavoured with fried shallots and spring onions.
Putien has multiple locations in Singapore. Visit its website for more information.
Nothing works better or faster to clear up those sinuses than a steaming hot bowl of clear and pepper-laced ‘pork bone tea’. Its simplicity and consistency are what have ensured that Song Fa’s Teochew-style Bak Kut Teh (from $7) has been on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list multiple times. A long-simmered broth of pork, pork bones and nourishing herbs and spices such as pepper, garlic and star anise make the soup’s backbone. Ingredients range from pork ribs and tenderloin to liver and premium pork loins. Perfect on its own, but excellent with fried dough fritters.
Song Fa Bak Kut Teh has multiple locations in Singapore. Visit its website for more information.
Fancy Chinese restaurant Madame Fan serves reinvented Cantonese classics from a kitchen headed by head chef Pak Chee Yit. Its signature soup is the Four Treasure Soup ($30), where complementary sea flavours of sea cucumber, fish maw, dried Hokkaido scallops, and crabmeat are brewed together for several hours and served in a young coconut. The coconut itself adds a subtle sweetness and depth of flavour to the comforting broth — make sure to scrape some of the flesh into your soup spoons, it pairs excellently with generous chunks of crab meat.
Madame Fan is at 32 Beach Road, The NCO Club, Singapore 189764. Visit its website for more
At Real Food Grocer, all the food is free of processed or artificial ingredients and completely free of meat and meat products. Its Dumpling Soup ($11.20) is a healthy nosh-ers favourite with house-made vegetarian dumplings that are packed with at least 10 ingredients (carrots, mushrooms, bean curd, French beans, celery, turnips and more). Another is the Kombu Shiitake ($11.20). The mildly sweet broth is a clean-tasting brew of kombu and shiitake mushrooms with leafy vegetables and tofu. Suitable for vegans and anyone who prefers a healthy, light bowl packed with fibre and nutrients.
Real Food is at 181 Orchard Road, #02-16 Orchard Central, Singapore 238896 and 30A Yishun Central 1, #01-09 Tzu Chi Humanistic Youth Centre, Singapore 768796. Visit its website for more information.
Sore throats begone if you have a steaming hot bowl of pho in front of you. With this Vietnamese noodle soup. it’s not just the umami-rich, meat broth that hits the spot, it’s also the additional cocktail of fresh herbs. The Beef Combination Pho ($11.80) contains brisket, sliced beef, and tendon in a full-flavoured, mildly sweet broth that has been boiled for 12 hours that comes alive with a squeeze of lime, a dash of fish sauce and, for those who can take the heat — a stir of pounded red chillies. Adding basil, cilantro, and mint is welcome and adds to flavour and nutrition.
Mrs Pho has multiple locations in Singapore. Visit its website for more information.
Yun Nans serves food from China’s Yunnan province, and the Steamed Pot Chicken (S$31.80) is a soup that is its signature dish. Here, black feet chickens are pressure-steamed for three hours with no water added. The resultant tender meat and broth are served in a Jianshui claypot, a unique cooking method that retains all the goodness of the meat and results in a clear but rich and robust broth that is not greasy at all.
Yun Nans has multiple locations in Singapore. Visit its website for more information.
Chen Yu Luo Yan ($68) is one of the signature soups at the Michelin-starred Summer Palace at Conrad Singapore Orchard. The soup boasts extensive ingredients that go into its making — bird’s nest, fish maw, sea whelk, garoupa, ginseng, conpoy, red dates, dried longan, and wolfberries. Another equally impressive creation is Qi Yu Xuan Ang ($68), which contains abalone, An Xin chicken, sea cucumber, venison tendon, maca, cistanche herb, fuzi, dang shen, poria root, and wolfberries.
Summer Palace is at 1 Cuscaden Rd, Level 3 Conrad Singapore Orchard, Singapore 249715. Visit its website for more information.
A list of Asian-style soups would be incomplete without mentioning Buddha Jumps Over The Wall. Most Chinese restaurants serve this iconic, nourishing, and warming brew, but we prefer the luxurious Cantonese-style preparation by the chefs at St. Regis’ Yan Ting restaurant.
The broth itself is rich and indulgent and packed with nourishing and premium ingredients such as abalone, fish maw, dried scallops, Jinhua ham, pork tendons and mushrooms. Instead of the typically used shark fin, Yan Ting’s version ($148 per pax) features top-quality bird’s nest. Cooked for over six hours, the soup is collagen-rich, and the ingredients are cooked to tender perfection. Advance orders are needed, and the chefs are open to taking special requests if guests prefer their preparation style and modified ingredients.
Yan Ting is at 29 Tanglin Rd, Level 1U The St. Regis Singapore, Singapore 247912. Visit its website for more information.
Established in 2008, Lao Huo Tang serves traditional, naturally flavoured Chinese soups made from fresh vegetables, lean meat, or pork ribs. These nourishing, Cantonese-style tonics are thus naturally low in fat, calories, and sodium. They are also made without MSG.
Bestsellers include traditional favourites such as the Lotus Root Soup with Pork Rib & Peanut ($14.80), Ginseng Herbal Chicken Soup ($20.80), Pork Tripe Soup with Gingko ($16.80), and the decadent Buddha Jumps Over The Wall ($26.80)
Lao Huo Tang has multiple locations in Singapore. Visit its website for more information.
Soup Restaurant was born out of the love of food among four friends who met at university while studying engineering. They started with a restaurant in Chinatown and have since expanded locally and overseas with comfort food at its core.
For instance, the signature Double-Boiled Whole Coconut with Black Chicken Soup ($18.90) is a Nanyang speciality dish that contains antioxidants and electrolytes, promoting radiant skin and cell renewal. Other hot favourites include the Double Boiled Dried Scallop with Black Chicken Soup ($16.90) and Double-boiled Waisan & Ginseng Roots with Chicken Soup ($13.90).
Soup Restaurant has multiple locations in Singapore. Visit its website for more information.
This humble eatery in the basement of Republic Plaza caters mostly to the CBD crowd. It specialises in traditional Chinese soups passed down through the generations and also offers side dishes, bento sets, and desserts.
Each soup is double-boiled in porcelain pots to extract maximum flavour without using MSG and with lower amounts of salt, sugar, and oil. Tuck into cosy comforts like Ginseng Chicken Soup ($14.80), Mini Buddha Jumps Over The Wall ($15.80), Chinese Cabbage Fish Maw & Meatballs Soup ($14.80), and more.
The Herbal Bar is at 9 Raffles Pl, #B1-22 Republic Plaza, Singapore 048619. Visit its website for more information.
Haji M. Abdul Rajak Stall was a taxi driver's secret spot until it gained widespread fame. The hawker stall has been around for almost seven decades and is known for its mutton soup, or sup kambing (from $7). The gaminess has been tempered by a spice blend that results in a decadent broth that will warm you up on any cold, rainy day. Here, choose the cut of meat you would like, ranging from meat cubes and ribs to tongues and bones. Remember to get a portion of bread and dip it into the soup.
Haji M. Abdul Rajak Stall is at #01-03 Upper Boon Keng Market & Food Centre, 17 Upper Boon Keng Road, Singapore 380017.
Summer Pavilion is another restaurant with one Michelin star. It has been headed by chef Cheung Siu Kong since 2003. There are two soups in particular on the chef’s recommendations. The first is the Summer Pavilion Monk Jump Over The Wall ($108 per pax) and the other is the Double-boiled Fish Bone Soup with Fish Maw and Wolfberry ($48 per pax). Braised Superior Bird’s Nest ($148 per pax) is another luxury item too. Simpler takes, on the other hand, include Hot and Sour Soup with Seafood ($20 per pax) and Double-boiled Chicken Soup with Bamboo Pith ($20 per pax).
Summer Pavilion is at 7 Raffles Ave, The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore, Singapore 039799. Visit its website for more information.
Established in 1971 and headed by chef Daniel Cheung who has over three decades of experience, Shang Palace aims to celebrate the tradition and richness of Cantonese cooking with its food. True to Cantonese fashion, soup features heavily on its menu. Pick from the light but hearty Boneless Quail Filled with Bird’s Nest In Supreme Broth ($98 per pax) or the umami-packed Double-boiled Chicken Soup with Matsutake Mushroom, Fish Maw and Sea Conch ($70 per pax). Alternatively, try the Sweet Corn Broth with Fresh Crab Meat ($20) and the Braised Minced Beef Soup with Egg White and Coriander ($18 per pax).
Shang Palace is at 22 Orange Grove Rd, Shangri-La Singapore, Singapore 258350. Visit its website for more information.
ToGo Soup serves authentic Chinese cuisine that is both accessible in price and made with all-natural ingredients without MSG. There are five soups to choose from, all of which are beloved classics - White Fungus Pig Stomach Chicken Soup ($8.90), Lotus Root Pork Ribs Soup ($7.90), Watercress Pork Rib Soup ($7.90), Vege Pork Ribs Soup ($7.90), and Herbal Chicken Soup ($7.90).
ToGo Soup is at 3 Simei Street 6, #03-K01 Eastpoint Mall, Singapore 528833 and 162 Rochor Rd, Bugis Village, Singapore 188437. Visit its Facebook for more information.