Fish soup is a soup dish served with fish.... (thank you for the warm applause, you're welcome).
Fish is usually served sliced and boiled or fried, can have a choice of either or both. Sometimes there would be a seafood soup, prawns and octopus replacing the fish. There would always be a good amount of vegetables with the soup, some would provide tomato, some bitter gourd in their soup too. Bitter gourd fish soup is usually a "speciality" stall with its own fan base.
Traditionally, the Cantonese fish soup is cooked with fish fried with soy to produce a milky soup. Modern fish soup stalls would offer fish soup with or without evaporated milk. Traditionalists may balk at these saying they are not skillful enough to produce a good milky soup. I'm more a liberal and enjoy what is good!
Some fish soup is not meant to be milky but clear. Different styles. More modern ones were founded, probably by someone in the Holland Village area, in a drunken haze dropping a bottle of XO into his own fish soup and realised it tasted fantastic.
Usually served with noodles of your choice, or rice, noodles are mixed in the soup, while rice is given separately, rice orders requires additional charges too. No carbs soup are common too.
Fish Soup
Oct 2020
Best clear fish soup in town, "by a country mile", says a friend...
Interesting name in English, the pinyin should be Biao Ji; with all due respects, I have jokingly referred to this very popular fish soup (not porridge) as Piao Ji (嫖妓), or a brothel visit…. So my friends and I are a group of people who happily tell our respective bosses we are “going 嫖妓”… Mrs. Ziggy smirked and slant eyed me when I told her… then proceeded to take pictures of the signboard and shared the joke with her friends.
With almost hour-long q’s daily, starting before 11, we have asked for the best time to come... (ahem), “after 2pm, but no guarantee” was the answer. Was here at 3pm once, queue was much shorter but still had to wait 15 mins. Contrary to common sense logic, the q seems to be longer on weekends compared to weekdays.
There are a few fish soup stalls at Amoy, one has about the same, if not longer, q, but we all believe Piao Ji’s soup and fish is slightly above the rest. “No fight” was one friend’s comment. Another one who preached the theory “it may be twice as expensive, but is it twice as good? If not, I’d stick with the cheaper one, especially if there’s a wait”; she now only eats here. And Piao Ji’s charges a premium, $10-15 for a fish and prawn mix, $7-15 for just fish.
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Served with a separate bowl of rice at $0.50, and ONE small dish of soy sauce with chilli and ginger (additional plates available for purchase at $0.50). The prawns here are so fresh you can see the freshness when it’s served, I’m not a prawn lover but whenever I’m here, I’m tempted to order the fish and prawn mix.
The fish is fresh too, on good days you can get pomfrets, my favourite, but usually it’s red snapper or batang. They too have this freshness that you want to have more when you see them.
The soup is Delicious with a capital D, this makes it the difference with the others. A generous amount of fried lard and fried shallots come with the soup, giving it the boost in taste. Fried early and fresh each day, the lard is crispy and packs a great punch despite being submerged in the soup for as long as you have your meal, even when you eat it last.
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The fresh fish and prawns, the way they are cooked just right, the fried lard and shallots making a tasty soup are likely factors we enjoy coming here, just that sometimes the q is daunting, but it’s a place we often brave the q for.
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Fish Soup
Feb 2023
Excellent fried fish, and very nice chunky boiled fish.
A LONG time friend of mine loves this stall, he brought me here a few times with his beloved boss; it didn’t take me long to find out why they love this place….
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The first thing anyone would do is to try the soup when fish soup is your meal, the soup here is really nothing to write about, except maybe something about doubting this lovely couple’s taste… in food, they have exquisite tastes in friends…
Next I tried the boiled fish, it was impressive. Nice, tasty, fresh and chunky enough to give you a good bite, bite into the small chunk and taste the lovely freshness of the fish.
Then the fried fish, it was excellent. Crispy fresh, there was a nice crunchy bite to it, as you bite through, there was a unique freshness and flavour that is unforgettable, and addictive.
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Another time I was here with the same couple, my "twin sister", ie my LONG time friend’s boss, who shared the same birthday with me, introduced the dry noodle option, PLUS, their handmade noodles, to me. Both were impressive!
The dried noodle came in a dark sauce, which was mildly sweet, and just as mildly spicy, both very subtle, thus delicious. Their handmade noodle was just as good. The fried fish were floating for a while in a soup, but they remained crispy, this time a soft and lovely crunch, very good texture. It probably was because they knew my friends, the portion of this fish was copious too; it was a very enjoyable brunch!
Finally, the chilli sauce here was quite impressive to. Not spicy but had a very nice subtle garlicky taste. Dab some chilli with the fish pieces and they go up a notch in taste!
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The few times I was here, in was in the mornings and the atmosphere was relaxed. However, we understand that the crowd is quite serious during lunch, with people who work around the area hustling down for a bite of Huang Ji fish soup.
Thinking about it, I’m debating if the people here are lucky bastards or poor fellas…. Lucky that they get to have this daily; unfortunate they have to Q up for it. I guess the luckiest would be the lovely couple who has good taste in food, and friends… they don’t have a 9-5 so would come here for a lovely relaxed brunch. I’m envious….
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Huang Ji Fish Soup
95 Pasir Panjang Road, s118514
530am – 3pm, closed on Sun
Fish Soup
Jan 2021
Tasty and chunky fish slices, tastier soup, and brilliant meshed fried egg.
They have moved around quite a bit, originally from, well, Blanco Court, they moved to China Square where there was always a long Q at the stall. When China Square revamped, they moved here. It is probably the time of day that I visit since they moved here (usually off peak) but I find the Q has reduced, although there is always a good stream of customers.
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The soup here is a tasty anchovy and fish based soup, not fishy at all but has a good strong base, milk is added unless you tell them otherwise. The unique feature of this place is the yummy fried egg that comes with the soup. Fried in a mesh, it is delicious has a soft yet “bitey” texture, and there is always an abundance of it! Yet sometimes there isn't enough....
You can order your soup with fried fish head, fried fish pieces or steamed fish slices, eat it plain, with rice ($0.50 extra), with thick or thin bee hoon (rice noodle), mee sua (thin noodle) or yee mee (yellowish brown noodles with a pleasant smoky muddy taste). Yee mee is very nice but I feel that it over powers the taste of the soup, ordered it once and thought that’s not for me, but it has its own special place on the menu so maybe other customers love it.
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The meshy fried egg
The steamed fish slices are fresh and comes in thick slices with a good bite, the fried fish pieces are of good size and is very tasty, even if it’s not the crispy type. I can never decide which I like better so it is always the mixed fish soup for me, best of both worlds.
Besides the soup, fish and egg, the condiments they provide is very nice too. A garlicky sour sauce and a mildly spicy soy sauce, very appetising and goes very well with the soup and fish slices, especially the steamed fish which invariably is more bland. I say bland but it's a good thick fish taste due to its thickness.
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I have to say that the thing that draws me back here is always the egg mesh, sometimes I have a craving for that. Other thing here is brilliant as well!
Their prawn roll or "hae choe", and the prawn omelette are very good. The cute part of this place is that they always seem to have a plate or dish of something at the serving table. My recent visit, it was a piece of fried fish, probably for sale upon request, this didn’t look too enticing. A few other times, there was a glob of what I assumed to be fish roe, the lady boss must have sensed my curiosity and told me it was fish sperm…. Well… not exactly enticing either! Haha….. Would I be curious enough to have a taste one day? Time will tell….
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Recently started using spinach!
Very good fish soup place, one I often visit.
Blanco Court Fried Fish Noodles
325 Beach Road, s199559
930am – 8pm, closed on Sun
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Fish Soup, Beef Hor Fun
Mar 2021
Marvelous fish soup, nice and fresh, highly popular.
No fanfare, little known, I gave this stall a try some time back when I was at Old Airport around 3pm, its quietest hour. I wasn’t sure but I seemed to recall there was usually a good Q at this place. I have tried many other long Q stalls but not this, time to find out why, and my memory served me wrong.
I ordered the sliced fish bee hoon, to bring home, I think this was the Covid restricted period. I made a note that when I tried this, I had to understand that fish soup when brought home, the quality usually goes down a notch or 2. Instead, it got me at first slurp!
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The soup was delicious. A full bodied creamy broth, I’d expect it to have some alcohol taste or smell but none of that, I suspect if XO was actually used (hence the name of the shop). Don’t care if they don’t, it tasted like the best ever fish soup, and I have many other places that I love, loved? The salt level was perfect for taste in this soup, as did the milk level. The frying of the fish with butter for the soup also added to make this soup a wonder. It was a great tasty creamy goodness. Fish was fresh too.
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Subsequent visits to Old Airport confirmed my observations that this stall has a long Q at peak periods. Another day, another time, late at night and no Q again, I decided to give their other item a try, the beef hor fun. The beef was well done, I mean, well done in done-ness, so a bit tough. The sauce for the hor fun was not as tasty as that of the fish soup, how could he get it so wrong here in salt control? It was floury, generally not very impressed.
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And another day, another hour. Again late at night and this was about the only stall still open that I know the food was good, I was asked to dapao “anything” for a visitor at home. Fish soup it was then since the Q was decent. I kept quiet when my friend asked if this was good. Watching him closely as he tried, “wow… this is one of the best fish soup I’ve ever tasted! I mean, really the best”. I guess I was not alone in liking this?
My latest encounter with Hua Ji. Again late at night and absolutely no Q. Bingo, jackpot. 2nd in line, but no sliced fish… at least they had fish head, and not just beef hor fun. The soup was excellent as usual (yes I know, I’ve only tried it one other time), the fish head… nicely fried, fresh. I don’t really like fish head but I enjoyed myself thoroughly. The fish head was fried before boiling to add the extra punch, and yes, I swooned.
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Want to try “the best fish soup in Singapore”? Give this a try, come at odd hours if you’re not the queueing type. Highly recommended! By 2 out of 5m people in Singapore…..
Hua Ji XO Fish Head Noodle
#01-118 Old Airport Road Hawker Centre, s390051
1130am – 9pm, closed on Mon
Fish Soup Bee Hoon
July 2020
My favourite milky fish bee hoon place! And the Sweet & Sour pork too!
This is a place I frequent, and my favourite place to bring guests from overseas. As yet, no one has been disappointed, and this is about the only place my very simple mom actually gives her thumbs up!
The first time I brought a fish soup loving friend to this place, at the original Holland Village shop, where the bus depot is, he started off disappointed but claimed that the taste grew on him and he lapped up every single drop.
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Smith Street Branch
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Dover Branch
The XO fish soup bee hoon, comes with thick cubes of fish, fish slices, or fish head meat, in a thick milky soup, with thick bee hoon, and quite a bit of greens at the bottom. You can often smell the alcohol when it is brought to you. The fish and vegetables are generally fresh but pretty tasteless, however, the broth is strong and thick, it is delicious, with the XO giving the taste a tremendous boost!
We would always go with the fish cube instead of fish slices. We prefer thick steak like texture for the fish as it comes in big chucks that you can barely fit the whole piece in your mouth. It's termed the "fish chicken", probably due to the fact that they're more like chicken pieces compared to the usual sliced version, you can't really slice chicken, can you...?
Funnily, I often come here with 2 buddies, both are allergic to alcohol, so they’d take it sans XO, which is just as wonderful.
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Fish Bee Hoon
My sister has a personal favourite here, the San Lou Hor Fun, which is a fried combination of fish slices, hor fun, and bean sprouts, with salted fish to taste. It is also another dish that is very well done here. Deliciously fresh, just the right amount of dampness. I have to say they do this very well, but I would always place the XO bee hoon on top.
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San Lou Hor Fun
3 other dishes that are very popular here are the prawn rolls, the prawn paste fried chicken and the sweet and sour pork. The prawn rolls has nice crunchy water chestnuts inside, with delicious and fresh meat; the fried chicken wings has a thin layer of crispy thin batter, and tasty meat, come with a chilli looking dip sauce that is not really spicy.
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Sweet and sour pork
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Prawn paste chicken
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Prawn roll
Finally the sweet and sour pork, can be considered the best I’ve tasted. I have always liked the one here. To my surprise, a friend frequents here says this is his favourite too, and he has fussy taste buds, he could even tell if it is the usual chef cooking it!
Whenever we are here (at the Smith Street branch), my friend would ask if the chef was in a good mood….. lol. The pork is nicely fried, fresh and crunchy, comes with lots of fresh onions, capsicums and pineapples. The sweet and sour gravy…. Is heavenly, the right amount of sweet, sour and umami mixed together, it is wonderful and usually, this dish leaves the table absolutely empty, with no pork, no veges and no gravy left… not even the garnishing lettuce. At times, it is so good, we order this twice…. No kidding!
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Sweet and sour pork, second serving....
Holland V XO Fish Head Bee Hoon
17 Smith Street, s058931, 1130am – 230pm, 5 – 10pm
19A Dover Crescent, s131019, 1130am – 2pm, 5 – 11pm
Fish Soup
Apr 2021
Very popular fish soup, a lot of my friends love this.
There are 2 Jin Hua outlets, both are immensely popular. A friend of mine loves this, when she was working in Hong Kong, this would be her first place of visit whenever she returned. Once I offered to pick her up from the airport, she asked me to send her here direct.... fish soup was more important than family！
I don’t know if it is my unique taste buds, I don’t find this place that fantastic. Obviously my friend disagrees with me, there had been long but friendly debates on this (remind me not to argue on subjectives with a highly intelligent person). The boss thinks it’s good, and a few other friends who frequent Maxwell like this too.
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Maxwell
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Old Airport Road
Choices here are simple: Choose regular soup or have it with milk. Then have it with sliced fish, fried fish, or fried fish head; followed by with bee hoon or just soup, with or without rice. There is also a seafood soup, which always slips me by.
The regular fish soup is nice and savoury, with a good dose of shaoshing cooking wine. Fish taste is strong, as is the cooking wine. The fish slices are of a good bitey thickness too, and for a boiled fish, surprisingly full of taste. There is also a lot of vegetables in the soup.
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The fried fish soup with milk tastes just as savoury, with the same good dose of cooking wine, the copious amount of vegetables, and is creamier…. (duh…). Submerged in heated soup for a while, the fish is not too crispy, but retains its good fried flavour.
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All in all a pretty decent treat, it’s good but I feel it may not deserve the attention given it, many will disagree too, and I can’t really disagree with the masses, the market is always right, as they say.
Jin Hua Fish Bee Hoon/Sliced Fish Soup
1 Kadayanallur Street, #01-77, s069184 1130am – 830pm closed on Thu
51 Old Airport Road, #01-120 Old Airport Road Food Centre, s390051 1130am – 7pm closed on Mon