Tan Ser Seng Herbs (Turtle) Restaurant

I try to reduce my intake of what I call ‘horror food’ so that means no foie gras, no snake, no dog, no cat and less shark fins and beef. But the other day, while enroute to some place, walked passed this coffee shop and die die must stop to eat what it was selling – turtle! :(. Weak mind.

The last time I ate turtle was probably 6 months ago and the previous last time maybe like 8 years ago? Well anyway, I consider Tan Ser Seng Turtle Soup the best in town and seriously got to try it. So we ordered 1 portion $13.00 each with the yam rice (separate charge). No extra ingredient though. [the first time I was introduced to turtle soup by a friend, he ordered ‘it’ [wink wink’ and it was gross!]

Picture from sbestfood.com

 The turtle soup was as I remember it – very herbal very favoury. M commented that it was ‘sweet’. The meat was like chicken just a bit tougher. The cartilage was like…er cartilage? Sort of hard jelly actually and it slide down the throat smoothly. The yam rice was shiok. Order it - not the white rice. It is well worth the money. We polished off our small bowl of soup and rice which left us rather ‘sweaty’.

Somehow, the turtle soup seems to bring out the ‘heat’ in the people eating it which is why I think many people especially the Chinese regard it as an aphrodisiac and why the place is located right smack in Geylang. But at 2.30pm in the afternoon, the coffeeshop was filled to the brim with families with kids in tow slurping the turtle soup and the black chicken soup. And that alone is testimony to how good it is.