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It’s written in the stars that we Singaporeans are spoiled silly with food choices. So much so, our biggest daily struggle is deciding what’s for lunch or dinner. Sometimes, we have to go back to the basics, and there’s nothing more comforting than a great home-cooked meal that feels like a warm snuggle. I experienced it at Lao Jiang Superior Soup and I’m now a newly-minted fan!
Since 2011, this homegrown establishment has been a beloved favorite, renowned for its heartwarming soups. They have 4 outlets around Singapore and we visited their Bukit Timah branch over at The LINQ @ Beauty World. If you haven’t heard, they’ve moved just a short distance from Cheong Chin Nam, where they operated for 12 years.
Everyday, the kitchen crew meticulously brews a fresh batch of their signature broth that’s tenderly simmered for over 6 hours. This ensures that every ounce of flavour is fully extracted, yielding a healthy yet nutritious soup that’s brimming with deliciousness. This liquid gold is the foundation of each individual bowl of soup that’s only prepared upon order.
Lao Jiang Superior Soup shatters the myth that healthy food has to be bland.
What I tried at Lao Jiang Superior Soup
It’d be a crying shame to leave Lao Jiang Superior Soup without ordering the Signature Superior Soup with Dry Tossed Hor Fun (S$11.80).
Their house-crafted black sauce is added to the hor fun, whose smooth, ivory strands have been blanched to perfection. It’s then swiftly tossed to coat everything flawlessly, before a generous dollop of their homemade sambal is crowned on top.
What I got was an addictive bowl of springy rice noodles, sneakily concealing a handful of ‘bliss bombs’ (pork lard) that unexpectedly burst in my mouth. It was a wallflower with a secret flair that possessed a multi-dimensional flavour — my taste buds had a ball of a time!
The signature superior soup contained a treasure trove of ingredients such as a whole prawn, a couple of fish maw, fish slices, mock abalone, minced and sliced pork, crispy fish sticks, 2 meatballs, and a fishball.
The broth was slurp-worthy and wonderfully light with a subtle sweetness of seafood.
We then moved on to the Fried Spice Pork Belly (S$9.90). Each morsel was thinly sliced and encased by a paper-thin golden-brown breading.
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Though the pork was deep-fried, I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t even a trace of greasiness. The ratio of meat to fat was great and each piece was pillowy soft like a cloud. It was served with a chilli dip that was amazingly zesty and made every bite a delight.
Our Vinegar Pork Trotter (S$12.30 with rice, S$13.30 with dry tossed noodles) arrived piping hot and bubbling. I could instantly smell the fragrance of the ginger and black vinegar that wafted through the air. This is crafted from a 90-year-old recipe, carefully handed down through generations.
The trotters and pork belly were braised till luxuriously tender and they nailed the flavour with the perfect balance of savoury, sweet and sour.
The Double-Boiled Chicken Soup with Essence of Chicken (S$15.80 with rice, S$16.80 with dry tossed noodles) utilises only fresh chicken and never frozen. This makes a great option for kids and adults alike.
It uses Lao Xie Zhen Essence Of Chicken, a trusted 80-year-old brand from Taiwan. Before we tucked in, we emptied the contents into the soup and gave it a good mix.
The soup, with its viscous, collagen-like texture and robust flavor, glided down my throat with ease.
The whole chicken drumstick disintegrated as I lifted it up, an indication of its succulence.
The soup was complemented by corn sections, whole button mushrooms, red dates and wolfberries.
The LINQ @ Beauty World outlet also serves a lineup of drinks and desserts from Chu Xin. To battle the sweltering heat, you can sip on Smashed! Watermelon Coconut Juice (S$6.80) and Smashed! Watermelon Yakult (S$6.80). Believe me, I would never think of pairing watermelon with Yakult, but this combination rocked!
I also enjoyed the cold Milk Pudding (S$4) topped with added Coconut Flakes (+S$0.50) and White Pearls (+S$0.50). The all-new Glow! Peach Gum X Watermelon X Yoghurt Base (S$6.80) with a drizzling of tart yoghurt was filled with chewy peach gum and juicy watermelon (I loved this!).
Final thoughts
I feel almost apologetic towards Lao Jiang Superior Soup — how did I not discover this 14-year-old gem sooner? It had been right under my nose all along! If you’re longing for healthy, tasty soups and tossed noodles that taste like it came out of your grandma’s kitchen, swing by any of the outlets today.
Expected damage: S$7.50 – S$18 per pax
* This post is brought to you in partnership with Lao Jiang Superior Soup.
