This is an exceptionally addictive soup with no equal in my experience. It's from Dong Fang Hong Sotong Ball Seafood Soup 东方红墨鱼什锦汤 in Hong Lim Food Centre, Singapore.
Ai yo yo.... the soup is made with chicken, crab, fish bones, and run off water from making squid balls, fish balls and pork balls - win already lor... . It is so rich with complementary layers of natural savoury sweet flavours.
Dong Fang Hong is run by three sisters - 阿云, 阿丽 and Joanne (right). The stall was founded by their father. 阿云 in her seventies now, started working at the stall when she was 14 years old. Every day, the sisters start work at the stall at 3am to prepare the soup and make the squid, fish, and pork balls. They also make fish dumplings or her kiao.
When I complimented the sisters for staying true to tradition, big sister 阿云 replied matter of factly "要做就要做到最好, 这是我们爸爸传下来的 Once we are committed to do this, we have to do our best. It is our father's legacy".
👏👏👏
Open for business from 11am - 2pm (Mon - Thurs), there is always a long line at Dong Fang Hong. It is one of the inside facing stalls at the ground level.
Prices at $4.50 (S), $5.50 (M) and $6.50 (L). Add 50 cents for rice or your choice of noodles including kway chap.
First things first, the soup.
Ai yo yo... it's the essence of everything in that slightly cloudy spoonful - fish bone, chicken, flower crab, dried sole fish (ti poh), fried garlic, dried seaweed, mang kuang 芒光, button mushrooms, run off water from making fish balls etc.... I don't know what other secret ingredients the sisters put into their additive potion.
The taste is complex yet it is coherent as it is just many many complementary layers of natural savoury sweetness.
Aiyoh... I am addicted liao 😱
The signature sotong ball. You can taste and smell the squid, and feel the lively gentle spring to the bite. There were tiny bits of chopped squid in the hand made squid balls.
Hand made fish ball spiked with bits of embedded chive and chili.
Wicked.
Too wicked.
Nice springy tender crunch. Subtle sweet taste of fresh yellowtail fish balanced with briny savouriness from the soup.
Hand made Teochew fish dumpling (known as her kiao in Teochew).
Savoury sweet minced pork ball.
The sisters...., they are taste extremists.
As if the soup is not flavoursome enough (it is great already), they mined it with squares of savoury ti poh (dried sole fish) that explode in savoury bursts in the mouth 😄
We had one bowl of just soup with everything and a second bowl of soup with everything plus (generic) kway chap inside. It's down to personal preference, I prefer the soup with everything plus rice in a separate bowl. That way I can savour the flavour of the soup without anything interfering with the finely tuned taste profile.
Recommended for you 👍 I leave it to you. If you don't want to suffer the dilemma of leaving your current favourite soup stall, my advice is to stay away from Dong Fang Hong Sotong Ball Seafood Soup 😜 As for me, it is already too late - I have tasted it 😋
Don't say I never warn you.
Restaurant name: Dong Fang Hong Sotong Ball Seafood Soup 东方红墨鱼什锦汤
Address: 531A Upper Cross Street, #01-47 Hong Lim Market & Food Centre
GPS: 1°17'07.5"N 103°50'44.6"E 🌐 1.285410, 103.845719
Hours: 11:00am - 2:00pm (Sat & Sun off)
Non Halal
Date visited: 2 Jan 2019
Gave this stall a try earlier after reading your review. The soup is indeed not flavoursome enough but others may like it. The Sotong balls are quite unique and overall, I would rate 3.5/5 (would have given 3 if not for the sotong balls).
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work in recommending new makan options.
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