Seow Choon Hua Restaurant Review: Red Wine Soup And Fuzhou Fish balls At Bugis

So whether you’re a proud Fuzhou kid, or someone who has never even heard of red wine soup, you’re sure to enjoy the humble and homely dishes from this rare find. Food at Seow Choon Hua Restaurant I know what you’re thinking, this Red Wine Chicken Noodle ($5) looks way too intense to be edible, but don’t let its intimidatingly deep red colour scare you off! This dish gets its distinct red tint from ang zao , which is a paste-like residue collected from the process of fermenting rice and red rice bran to make red glutinous wine.

Though anyone can enjoy ang zao, it is believed that red glutinous wine dishes are good for women who have just given birth as it helps replenish the body. The soup took on the intense flavours of the fermented ang zao , fragrant sesame oil and fried ginger. I found that the soup was on the sweeter side, relative to the homemade versions I have tried.

It took on the flavour of the broth and made the meal more substantial. Ordering the Foo Chow Mixed Soup ($5) is a great way for you to try all their house-made goodies. The soft and close to doughy outer layer is made with fish paste while the filling is seasoned minced meat.

The fish balls here were very satisfying to bite into and the meat filling reminded me of the juicy minced pork found in xiao long bao. Yanpi is a type of wanton skin that is made from lean pork meat that has been pounded with glutinous rice until it becomes stretchy.

The other wantons were less savoury and had a sweeter meat filling wrapped in smooth, soft dumpling skin. These were like the run-of-the-mill dumplings you get in soups that are served on the side with Chinese dishes.

There was also a larger, longer wanton that had more crunch and a more herby taste from the various vegetables in the filling. The Fish Slice Bee Hoon Soup ($4.50) would be my go-to comfort food on rainy days.

The addition of milk to the savoury fish soup complemented the broth well and mellowed out the flavours. Ambience at Seow Choon Hua Restaurant Contrary to it’s name, Seow Choon Hua Restaurant is actually located in a humble coffeeshop that is a 10-minute walk from Bugis MRT Station.

If you’re lucky, you might even be able to see how the dumplings and fish balls are meticulously made. The verdict Visiting Seow Choon Hua Restaurant was a real treat for me, especially as Fuzhou speciality stalls are extremely hard to come by.

Even so, regardless of whether you are part of this dwindling dialect group or not, the food served here will still be homely and satisfying.