Souper Tang, Centrepoint Orchard
Souper Tang, also known as Tang Shifu, has made its way into its first international market. Originally a Malaysian brand started by a TCM expert, Souper Tang only serves up the healthiest, heartiest soups and Chinese fare, incorporating TCM expertise into the dishes.
The media tasting menu we were treated to included the Souper Tang Signature Soup ($26.90 for two, $39.90 for four; pictured below) and the Shi Quan 10 Herbs Soup ($13.90 per portion). Both were incredible herbal concoctions with polarising tastes. The Signature soup is quite a common ginseng soup boiled with conpoy, mushrooms, fish maw and chicken. While this soup is often quite oily, Souper Tang manages to keep the oil to a minimum, making it healthier.
The 10 Herbs Soup (pictured above) had a much stronger taste but it was flavourful and moreish. I couldn't help but drink a lot more of this soup because of how appetising it tasted. It came with pork spare ribs that was so tender that the meat just fell off the bone with light pressure of my soup spoon.
We also had their Claypot Atlantic Codfish Maw ($29.90), which had the braised codfish served with fish maw, red dates and nai bai.
But it was unanimously agreed across the table that the best dish of the night had to be the mee sua with homemade XO sauce and abalone sauce ($3.90). For an affordable price, this bowl of noodles is the light, slightly sinful because of the fried shallots, but absolutely worth the calories.
Our hearty dinner also consisted of the signature souper pesto pot ($25.90). Bear in mind that the pesto is made with pine nuts, so for those who are allergic, do take note. The hot pot was refreshing, according to my partner who is not allergic to pine nuts. It comes with a generous vegetable basket and is perfect for two to three to share. The brewing process of each soup doesn't start with a typical water base. But instead, what Souper Tang does is they use a proprietary soup base that has already been simmered for eight hours with their carefully selected herbs and ingredients.
Other ingredients are then added to the soup and the combination is cooked for an additional two hours to get the perfect, all-rounded taste each soup comes with. Its results? An unparalleled depth of taste, each layer richer than the last.
For something meatier and less soup based, the stewed chicken cordyceps flower and essence of chicken ($19.90) is a great dish to have. Still maintaining its TCM roots, each dish is cooked with a certain number of Chinese herbs. The chicken is soft and each bite bursts with flavour in the mouth. The free-range chicken is complemented with plenty of gingger, goji berries, red dates and the Souper Tang house brand of essence of chicken.
Dessert is also on the healthy side here at Souper Tang. The in-house made beancurd is served with two options - caramel or ginger. While I didn't expect the ginger ($3.90) to be nice, it surprised me with a natural sweetness and it went quite well with the beancurd. The caramel option ($3.50) was slightly too sweet for me.
Souper Tang, Centrepoint 176 Orchard Road, Centrepoint, $02-52 & #02-K01 Open Daily from 11:30AM - 10PM