Asian Soups For Lunch

Lurked in the BFF's office all morning and followed her out to lunch at the basement of Republic Plaza. I didn't even know that the entire basement contained little restaurants and also One Shot Coffee. The BFF wanted soup for lunch. I was good with that. Stopped at The Herbal Bar. Asian soups. YAY!

Of course I like the promise of 'less oil, less sugar, less salt and no MSG'. The only issue- the kitchen uses a lot of herbs in its soups, given that the owners' family practices TCM (traditional Chinese medicine). I needed to be careful since I react to most herbs and flowers, including those scary herbal teas. Drinks are offered at the side, so while I wouldn't take anything herbal or even with chrysanthemum with wolf berries, a ginger and lemongrass concoction is fine.

Gulped at the BFF's choice of herbal chicken soup. I stuck to a safer-sounding Chinese cabbage with fish maw and meatballs. The meatballs held little bits of carrots in them too. I didn't know if it was all chicken or pork or a mixture of both, but I was pleased. They were delicious and not the least bit stinky. Ate them all up instead of chucking them aside. Asian meatballs can be rather inedible. (Like those at the Bedok bak chor mee stalls.) I love how the soups come with a little dish of soy sauce and chilli padi. We added mixed rice and a tea egg to our meal. There're additional options of carbs in mee sua and other sides of achar, red wine chicken, braised beef slices and watercress too.

On other days, I can do its fairly innocent kelp soup with pork, corn, carrots and chinese yam. Delicious if you like kelp loads. Heh. For some strange reason, its sliced fish soup (snakehead) with seaweed, tofu and carrot tasted oddly herbal to me the one time I stole a sip from a friend's bowl, so I didn't quite fancy it.

If I'm in the area, I'd rather eat here than at the soup stalls at Boon Tat Street or Telok Ayer Road, only because of the air-conditioning. If one is having a steaming bowl of hot soup, it's much more comfortable to eat it somewhere cooler than being totally drenched in perspiration. Also, it starts filling up at 12.05pm instead of 11.40am. Whewwww. A bit of respite from the usual CBD crowds.

The BFF donated her peanuts to me. She doesn't like them. 

The Herbal Bar 
9 Raffles Place #B1-07 Republic Plaza Singapore 048619
T: +65 9185 2835
Hours: Mon to Fri 8am - 8pm; Sat 11am - 4pm; closed on Sun and public holidays.