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Hawker food is comfort food in and of itself. Of course, there are dishes that warm the cold dead cockles of my heart a little more than others. One of them would be fish soup. Yes, a little basic and on the nose, but when the fish soup is made with ex-chef Kek Wan Fong from the Naked Finn at Qing Feng Yuan, I know I’ll be there.
For the uninitiated, the Naked Finn is a rather fancy restaurant that is all about their seafood. Yes, that is indeed a promising sign. You can find the two-week-old hawker stall in Tiong Bahru Food Centre peddling fish soup but with a couple of extra special treasures from the sea thrown in.
Before we get into the deep-sea gems, know that Qing Feng Yuan still serves the classic Teochew style fish soup. You can still tuck into a piping bowl of Batang Fish Soup (S$5) or their Batang Fish Head Soup (S$4.50). Like any fish soup stall, you can have your fish slices as it is or deep-fried. Whether you like your fish soup with sliced batang slivers or deep-fried pieces, you’ll be equally satisfied with what Qing Feng Yuan has to offer.
What truly sets Qing Feng Yuan apart is their rather posh New Zealand Blue Cod Soup (S$12). A little step up from batang, the New Zealand Blue Cod is line-caught which is not only more sustainable but its flesh is more intact. A mild and delicate fish, this is fish soup to have when you have one of those days. It might cost a little more than your average fish soup, but with the calibre of Qing Feng Yuan, I wouldn’t mind shelling out a little extra.
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