At this multi-regional Chinese restaurant at Jewel Changi Airport, there are two delicious soups worth the trip over. The menu at Shang Social is designed by Shangri-La’s highly acclaimed Chinese master chefs specialising in Cantonese, Sichuan and Huaiyang cuisine.

First up is the dramatic Seafood Broth Rice served in Ironpot ($18). Here, crispy rice, large prawns and hefty chunks of fish are served in an iron clay pot. The soup which is a collagen-rich, concentrated crustacean broth — read: packed with flavour — is poured on top. The iron pot ensures the soup is piping hot throughout and the flavours and textures are comfortingly excellent.

The popular Sichuan delicacy, Red Garoupa Fillet Stewed in Pea Mashed Soup with Pickled Peppers and Chinese Cabbage ($78) is tart, mildly fiery and very moreish. The broth is a milky brew of fish stock, Sichuan peppercorns and bean paste, to which ingredients such as sliced garoupa, fresh mushrooms, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, black fungus and house-cured young ginger and mustard vegetables are added. A medley of piquant flavours make this a perfect rainy day soup.

At #01-219 to 222 Jewel Changi Airport, 78 Airport Boulevard Singapore 819666, tel: 6346 0260. Visithttps://shangsocial.com for more information. 

Like its name, this elegant dish at Min Jiang’s new Dempsey digs is a mouthful, but an absolutely delicious one. The base is a collagen-rich superior stock of chicken bones, chicken feet and pork. A variety of nourishing ingredients such as Australian abalone, chopped bamboo pith and dried scallops are encased into an egg-white parcel and submerged in a thick broth of Sri Lankan crabmeat and stock. Served with a crisp-fried prawn spring roll and topped with tobiko, this is a showstopper soup to brighten the dullest of days. Priced at $48 per person.

At 7A & 7B Dempsey Rd, Singapore 249684, tel: 6774 0122. Visit https://www.goodwoodparkhotel.com/en/dining/min-jiang-dempsey.html 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. It always states clearly its soups’ nutritional info, calories and ingredients so you know exactly what is in your nourishing bowl. The Tokyo Chicken Stew is a long-time favourite; both gluten and dairy-free and packed with lotus root, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and more. The Soup Spoon even does meatless versions of its popular soups, like the Sumo-Style Nabe which uses quorn, beancurd, napa cabbage and mushrooms and the broth is laced with soy milk.

At B1-K4/K7 Paragon Shopping Centre, 290 Orchard Road, Singapore 238859, tel: 6738 3860 and 26 other locations. Visit http://www.thesoupspoon.com/ for more information. 

At the Michelin-approved menu of Putien, one of its simplest dishes is easily among the most popular. Putien’s Bian Rou (wanton) Soup is a Fujianese specialty still prepared the traditional way of the Qin Imperial Dynasty. Each bowl of clear broth comes laden with pork wantons, where the wanton wrappers themselves are made with pork meat and a bit of sun-dried sweet potato flour. This 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. Priced at an affordable $4.90.

At 127 Kitchener Road, Singapore 208514, tel: 6295 6358 and 13 other locations. Visit https://www.putien.com/ for more information. 

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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 is what has ensured that Song Fa’s Teochew-style Bak Kut Teh is on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list for three consecutive years. A long-simmered broth of pork, pork bones and nourishing herbs and spices such as pepper, garlic and star anise are what make the backbone of the soup. Ingredients range from pork ribs and tenderloin to liver and premium pork loins. Perfect on its own, but excellent with fried dough fritters. Prices begin at $7.90 for a bowl.

At 11 New Bridge Road, #01-01, Singapore 059383, tel: 6438 2858 and 10 other outlets. Visithttps://songfa.com.sg for more information. 

Want to try making it for yourself? Try our bak kut teh recipe here!

Fancy Chinese restaurant Madame Fan serves reinvented Cantonese classics in a menu designed by famed restaurateur Alan Yau. Its signature soup is the Double Boiled Four Treasure Soup ($28) where complementary sea flavours of sea cucumber, fish maw, dried 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.

At The NCO Club, 32 Beach Road, Singapore 189764, tel: 6818 1921. Visit https://www.madamefan.sg/ for more information. 

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At Real Food Grocer, all of the food is free of processed or artificial ingredients and is completely free of meat and meat products. Its Dumpling Soup 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, water chestnuts and more).

The broth is a clean-tasting brew of kombu, shiitake mushrooms and root vegetables. It is mildly sweet and the perfect light accompaniment that does not overpower the plump, fresh dumplings. Suitable for vegans and vegetarians and anyone who prefers a healthful, light bowl packed with fibre and nutrients.

At 181 Orchard Road, #02-16 Orchard Central, Singapore 238896, tel: 6737 9516 and two other outlets. Visit https://www.realfoodgrocer.com/ 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. There are several worthy bowls of pho, but at Mrs. Pho, we have never been disappointed with its ample servings.

The Pho Bo Dac Biet ($9.90) contains brisket, sliced beef and beef balls in a full-flavoured, mildly-sweet bowl of Hanoi-style pho with a clear broth 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. The addition of basil, cilantro and mint is welcome, and adds to both flavour and nutrition-factor.

At 349 Beach Road, Singapore 199570, tel: 6292 0018. Visit http://mrspho.com/ for more information. 

A new-ish concept at Jewel Changi Airport, Yun Nans (云海肴) serves food from China’s Yunnan province, and the Steamed Pot Chicken (S$23.90) is a soup that is its signature dish. Here, the rare breed of black feet chickens are pressure-steamed and boiled for three hours and no water is added. T

he resultant tender meat and broth are served in a Jianshu 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. You are meant to separate the chicken meat, drizzle chilli oil over it and take sips of the soup separately. The contrast of flavours is excellent, and the broth is extremely comforting.

At #02-217 Jewel Changi Airport, 78 Airport Boulevard Singapore 819666, tel: 6908 3677. Visitwww.facebook.com/yunnanssg for more information. 

Michelin-approved Summer Palace at the Regent Singapore serves two versions of this ultra-comforting soup, both in a whole, steamed, Malaysian pumpkin. First is one that features on its gluten-free menu ($32 per person). The head, bones and tails from the Soon Hock fish are pan-fried and then boiled with sliced ginger to prepare a light-soup base, after which the fish’s fillet and Chinese cooking wine are added and steamed further within the pumpkin.

Another version (on its regular menu, $28 per person) uses prawns, dried and fresh scallops and fresh crab meat that are poached in a superior stock that is low and long-boiled with old mother hens, Yunnan ham and pork bones. The pumpkin’s sweetness makes a great contrast to both savoury, delicate broths and both versions are packed with nutrients.

At 1 Cuscaden Rd, Level 3 Regent Singapore, Singapore 249715, tel: 6725 3288. Visit https://www.regenthotels.com/regent-singapore/dining/summer-palace for more information. 

A list of Asian-style soups would be incomplete without mentioning this iconic brew that is nourishing and warming. Most Chinese restaurants serve the Buddha Jumps Over The Wall, but we prefer the luxurious Cantonese-style preparation by the chefs at St. Regis’ Yan Ting.

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’s fin, Yan Ting’s version features top quality bird’s nest. Cooked for over six hours, the resultant soup is collagen-rich and the ingredients are cooked to tender perfection.

Priced at $148++, advance orders are needed and the chefs are open to take special requests if guests prefer their preparation-style and ingredients modified.

At 29 Tanglin Road, The St. Regis Singapore, Level 1U, Singapore 247911, tel: 6506 6887. Visit https://www.yantingrestaurant.com/ for more information. 

Established in 2008, Lao Huo Tang serves up traditional Chinese soups made from fresh vegetables, lean meat or pork ribs flavoured only with natural ingredients. These nourishing, Cantonese-style tonics are thus naturally low in fat, calorie and sodium. The restaurant also prides itself on not using oil, cream and butter in its soups.

Bestsellers include traditional favourites such as the lotus root peanut soup, Chinese old cucumber soup, pig’s tail soup, ginseng herbal chicken Soup, herbal black chicken soup with dried scallop, and the decadent Buddha Jumps Over The Wall.

At 335 Smith Street, #02-05/06/07 Chinatown Complex, Singapore 050335, tel: 6438 8368 and 20 other outlets. Visit https://laohuotang.com.sg/ for more information.

Coming from three generations of Traditional Chinese Medicine physicians, the founder of Soup Restaurant designed an extensive menu of wholesome soups, beverages and desserts using his mother’s recipes. The result is a range of gastronomic offerings that contain less salt, sugar, oil, no MSG, but loads of goodness.

For instance, the signature double-boiled whole coconut with black chicken soup is a Nanyang specialty 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 and double-boiled waisan and ginseng roots with chicken soup.

At 9 Raffles Place Republic Plaza B1-22 Singapore, Singapore 048619, tel: 9185 2835. Visit https://theherbalbar.getz.co/ for more information.

Like Soup Restaurant, The Herbal Bar’s recipes are passed down from generation to generation and largely influenced by the founder’s mother.

This humble eatery at the basement of Republic Plaza caters mostly to the CBD crowd, specialising in traditional Chinese soups while also offering side dishes, bento sets and desserts.

Only natural ingredients are used, and dishes are made with minimal salt, sugar or oil, and no MSG. Tuck into cosy comforts like lotus root soup, ginseng chicken soup, and mini Buddha Jumps Over The Wall.

At 335 Smith Street, #02-05/06/07 Chinatown Complex, Singapore 050335, tel: 6438 8368 and 20 other outlets. Visit https://laohuotang.com.sg/ for more information.

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