Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
I really enjoy basking in the warmth of a comforting bowl of herbal soup, especially on days when I feel under the weather.
But sometimes, drinking soup in a normal bowl can get pretty boring. Lim Soup at Dong Fong Fatt Coffee Shop in Bukit Merah shakes things up with their Double Boiled Old Coconut Chicken Soup (S$8), along with other ceramic bowl herbal soups and rice options.
Intrigued by the idea of drinking herbal soup from a coconut, we gave the stall a visit.
Thankfully, we managed to beat the snaking lunch crowd by arriving slightly earlier, and got our hands on the Double Boiled Old Coconut Chicken Soup (S$8), Lotus Roots Pork Ribs Soup (S$5) and Winter Melon Corn Chicken Soup (S$5).
We also ordered a Minced Mushroom Shrimp Rice (S$4) and White Rice (S$3.50) to pair with the soups.
We started of with the main reason we came here, which was the Double Boiled Old Coconut Chicken Soup (S$8).
It is pretty self-explanatory, but the soup was served in a coconut husk with lots of ingredients like chicken chunks, wolfberries and almonds.
I noticed that the soup was not oily at all, unlike some of the other ones I’ve tried. Lim Soup also does not use Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) in their soup, so you can be assured that you’re not consuming any unhealthy seasonings.
The soup absorbed the flavour of the chicken, and was rich in taste but still light on the palate.
I could taste a hint of sweetness from the coconut in my soup, but I found that the coconut husk did not really add extra flavour to the soup. I would also have preferred some coconut flesh in the bowl for me to chew on.
I would say though, I think the coconut helped in retaining the heat of the soup, because it was still warm even after sitting there for a while.
Moving on to the star ingredient of the dish, the chicken. I was surprised to find that the meat was especially tender, and fell off the bone easily.
Overall, while I was unsure of what added benefits the coconut provided, I found their Double Boiled Old Coconut Chicken Soup (S$8) to be a pretty satisfying and nourishing choice to start my day with.
We also gave their White Rice (S$3.50) a try, which comes in a pretty huge portion and is best shared with a friend.
You can expect ingredients like cabbage, steamed chicken and ikan bilis, which at first I found to be an odd combination. But after giving the bowl a good mix, I realised it tasted best when I had a spoonful of everything.
The drizzle of soy sauce on the white rice made it less bland, while the chicken was soft with the right amount of saltiness. The topped cabbage also added a nice refreshing crunch.
To sum it up, I guess you could liken the taste of the rice dish to a simple but flavourful home-cooked meal.
For variety, we also tried their Lotus Roots Pork Ribs Soup (S$5), which is one of my go-to soup dishes.
I could see that the soup was not oily as well, and absorbed the colour and flavour of the lotus roots, which gave each sip a richer taste with a hint of sweetness.
There were plenty of generously-sized pieces of lotus roots in the soup, which I gladly appreciated. Despite their naturally slightly tough exterior, they were easy to bite into, and added some texture to the otherwise plain soup.
Because the soup was boiled with pork, the flavour of the soup was rich and hearty. The meat was tender and slid off the bone easily.
Since it can be quite bland just eating the meat alone, dipping it in a mix of soy sauce and chilli really helps to add a spicy and salty kick.
The lotus soup is pretty simple in terms of ingredients, so you can also enjoy it with the Minced Mushroom Shrimp Rice (S$4) for some variety. The rice is served separately from the cabbage and chicken to prevent it from getting soggy, which was a gesture I appreciated.
The minced mushroom taste was quite subtle, and I felt like there was not much flavour to the rice. Luckily, the chicken and cabbage were prepared and served in a salty soup base, which I guess complemented the plain-tasting rice well.
Overall, even though I did not find that the coconut husk made much difference to the taste of the soup, the Double Boiled Old Coconut Chicken Soup (S$8) was a belly-warming and flavourful dish. I also enjoyed the other ceramic bowl soups, and thought that they went well with the rice dishes.
If you’re ever in the Bukit Merah area, satisfy your cravings with a simple but heartwarming bowl of herbal soup. Lim Soup is worth a visit!
Make sure you head down early though, because their soup typically sells out around early evening.
Expected Damage: S$3.50 – S$8 per pax
