Today's foodie target was the legendary Chai Chuan Tou Yang Rou Tang 柴船头羊肉汤 Teochew mutton soup at Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre.
柴船头 Chai Chuan Tou in Mandarin or Cha Chun Tow in Teochew literally mean "wood boat harbour". It was the Teochew name for Clarke Quay at Singapore River as this was where logs were unloaded from twa kow boats. (Image courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.)
Singapore River was the Teochew enclave where some of Singapore's Teochew culinary icons originated e.g. Tai Wah Pork Noodle, Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh, Hock Lam Beef Noodle, etc. This Teochew style mutton soup stall would count as one of the pantheon.
Knowing the notorious queue at Chai Chuan Tou, I came to Bukit Merah View hawker centre at 8am. Lady boss was already preparing her mutton soup and I placed my order with her.
Lady boss Mdm Koh was very friendly and patient - she and her husband ran this stall for over 30 years with a business partner who founded the stall originally operating near the old Supreme Court. The partner had passed on and today, Mdm Koh is assisted by two of her daughters.
Order secured, I now just have to wait 3 hours for Chai Chuan Tou stall to open at 11am 😄 It's not a problem as I planned to explore Bukit Merah View and try out a few food stalls this morning.
At 11am, there was a queue of over 30 people at the stall. No problem, as lady boss remembered me and my order even though she took no notes 😮
Without a doubt, Chai Chuan Tou Yang Rou Tang is the most popular stall at Bukit Merah View hawker centre.
They have mutton meat, rib, tripe, tendon, brain 🧠, and meat balls.
I ordered the $7 mixed bowl - there's mutton meat, rib, tripe and meat balls but no tendon. (Note to self: Next time, specify that I want tendon included.)
Friendly lady stall holder (daughter Ms Tan) told me that I can return for more soup, if I wish.
The light bodied soup tasted mildly herbal with gentle ginger heat and underlying savoury, sweet, mutton gamey flavours. The dash of white pepper powder added a bit of pepperiness to the soup.
The meat were all soft-tender and very moist inside. The fibres were infused with mild herbal, savoury flavours which balanced the gentle mutton gaminess.
Chai Chuan Tou use New Zealand mutton which is known for milder gaminess (compared to Australian lamb).
Some might call it mild, other say it is just right, but I doubt many will say it is robust or pungent. The mild taste profile is easy to like and widely appealing as the daily queues attest.
Other Chinese mutton soup stalls in Singapore and Johor:
Ivy's Hainanese Mutton Soup @ Pasir Panjang 👈 click
Lao Wu Mutton Soup @ Ang Mo Kio 👈 click
Kong Kee Mutton Soup @ Little India 👈 click
Hong Wen Mutton Soup @ Beauty World 👈 click
Written by Tony Boey on 17 Dec 2021
I also like more gaminess in my lamb and mutton. Do u have recommendation for more gamey mutton or lamb dishes? I looked through yr past post and it seems the little india one looked most promising. Are there any more?
ReplyDeletehave you came across a chinese mutton with a dark thick gravy?
ReplyDelete