Fish Soup Paradise (CIMB Plaza)

Came for the fish soup but stayed for the Macau Egg Tart — whilst Arcade Fish Soup is one spot that most office workers would head to for a reliable bowl of fish soup in the Central Business District, another one of those establishments that we would mention when thinking about fish soup would be that of Fish Soup Paradise. Operating two outlets in the Central Business District, the CIMB Plaza would be the newer of the two; the other being situated at Republic Plaza. These folks do seem to have been rather innovative with their fish soup offerings — not only do they serve the regular Teochew and Tomyam Fish Soup; both being rather commonly found dishes in stalls specialising in serving up fish soup, but they do have rather innovative renditions of the dish such as the White Pepper Batang Fish Soup that is inspired from the local rendition of the Bak Kut Teh, as well as a Curry Batang Fish soup dish as well. Most recently though, what caught our attention here isn’t their innovative fish soup dishes; it is however the offering of the “Macau Egg Tarts” that are prominently displayed at the front of the stall.

Being folks whom love their egg tarts, it is needless to say why the Macau Egg Tarts had captured our attention so much that we had decided to make a trip down to their CIMB Plaza location to give them a try. Whilst one would usually associate the term “Macau Egg Tarts” fairly loosely to the Portuguese Egg Tarts, it is noted that the Macau Egg Tarts from Fish Soup Paradise here does bear a similar aesthetic to the trendy egg tarts that one can find from establishments such as the Malaysia-based Oriental Kopi, NAN YANG DAO 南洋岛 and Swish Rolls, which are also sized slightly larger than the usual ones commonly seen at bakeries elsewhere. Having tried NAN YANG DAO’s rendition of the egg tarts on several occasions, we do feel that Fish Soup Paradise’s Macau Egg Tarts are the better-made ones; definitely one that we would find it hard to resist even. Taking a bite into the egg tart, the tart pastry itself is crisp and flaky; beautifully layered without being overly greasy or buttery — just a good balance whilst also able to hold up all the heft of the egg curd over it very well. The egg curd also hit the spot for us; wobbly and soft — nothing gelatinous whilst also carrying an eggy note without being overly sweet. The entire deal was just absolutely delicious, and got us grieving a little when we realised that the entire egg tart had just gone into the stomach — definitely good enough that got us craving for more. These go for $2.50 for a single piece; quite a reasonable pricing considering how they are sized, though one can grab a box of 4 for $9.50 — we reckon that this would work to share with colleagues for tea break in office, though we can’t guarantee if we would just keep them all for ourselves if we were to do just that!

Fish soup has never been quite our thing all these while; and so whilst most of the office workers are foaming over the existence of more eateries serving up fish soup such as the likes of Arcade Fish Soup they have been sprouting up across different buildings in the Central Business District, we had never quite understood the reason why. Fish Soup Paradise isn’t a particularly new brand name in the local F&B scene; it does actually have a presence with its very first location being at Kitchener Road which had since become defunct. In fact, Fish Soup Paradise had also been operating within the Central Business District all these while — their shop space at the basement of Republic Plaza having taken over the former premises of the now-defunct MOJO for quite a while. Their newest outpost is situated at the nearby CIMB Plaza; located in the basement, the independently-run food stall is just a short walk away from Raffles Place MRT Station. Despite the small space it occupies, Fish Soup Paradise is decked in a way that is pretty rustic; almost like an old-school set-up with wooden panelings matched against an interior that sees the use of white tables and wooden stools arranged in a rather tight fashion to maximise the use of space to cater to the lunch crowd. Whilst being a name that is mostly associated with fish soup, what makes Fish Soup Paradise really interesting is its Special offerings in the menu such as the White Pepper Batang Fish (Bak Kut Teh) and the Curry Batang Fish. For those whom are not a fan of fish soup, there are also items like the Pao Fan, Toast Set, and a Teochew-style Pan-Fried Carrot Cake that one can go for as well.

Having spotted them having the Curry Batang Fish on a day when we passed by their outlet at CIMB Plaza, we had pretty much sorted ourselves out on what item we would be ordering when we decide to drop by Fish Soup Paradise. It is noted that Fish Soup Paradise serves up their soup dishes as-is; this means that any addition of carbs such as rice, thick Bee Hoon (which we opted for) and thin Bee Hoon are chargeable items at $0.50 per portion. Patrons also do get the choice to add-on further types of fish and seafood items; all also at an additional cost as well. The menu does not describe on the elements that comes with the Curry Batang Fish, though one can definitely find elements such as a boiled egg, cherry tomatoes and ladyfingers that are swimming in the bowl of orange curry that comes with a bright hue of orange.

Given how it looks, we excitedly dug in and went for the curry first — the curry here certainly puts many others to shame. It is rich, sufficiently dense and flavourful; bright and tangy yet with a hint of spices which tastes almost similar to Indian-style curry; more complex than what we would usually expect to be served with at other establishments with a similar concept. We have no idea if they had actually used their very own Premium Fish Bone Concentrate or their Giant Grouper Collagen Concentrate in the preparation of their curry hence the deep flavours of the curry — that being said, it is worth noting that they do actually retail those in 135g packs for those who are looking to enjoy their fish soup in the comfort of their home. The ladyfingers provided a good crunch, while the cherry tomatoes gave a refreshing burst of flavours — that being said, the main star here is really the Batang fish. We wouldn’t say that they were super generous with the portion of Batang fish, but these are definitely fresh with the fish being still flaky and not anywhere near being mushy; the natural flavours of the fish was also really prominent without being any way mushy. All these matched well with the slurpy thick Bee Hoon which we opted for, which provided a bit more bite than if we had gone for thin Bee Hoon. The boiled egg to us was more of a crowd-pleaser; good to have especially considering the price, though doesn’t seem to do much to the entire experience nonetheless. Priced at $9.80, this is no doubt a slightly more premium-priced rendition of fish soup (their Batang Fish Soup / Fried Fish Soup are their lowest-priced fish soup-based mains at $7.50), but their Curry Batang Fish is something that we would probably return for again in the near future — one that is absolutely tasty and honestly, something which we think we will develop cravings for in the future!