The Soup Spoon

I remembered the first time I tried Soup Spoon. I had ordered the pumpkin soup and it was delicious. No special ingredients, no weird concepts, no gimmicks. Just good soup. This time however, the experience was lacking quite severely. While the bread was tasty, the soups were very watery. I’m not sure if it was the fact that we went to a virtual kitchen rendition of Soup Spoon or that I should not have ordered other types of soups but it was quite a disappointing experience. Maybe just stick with the pumpkin soup?

Clams chowder value meal + up size topup of $1.50 comes with a side (sandwich, salad, wrap etc) + drink which never fail me. My go to place to satisfy my soup craving and now with their enhanced App, you are able to place your order ahead. Despite its pretty spacious for this outlet, it does get crowded during peak hours.

Soup Spoon was pretty great and we were delighted with the soups. The Grill Knife on the other hand failed miserably! It had the mushiest creamed spinach with no texture, fried egg is just ok, and to top it off the steak was really chewy and the sauce was simply off-putting. This is the first time I’m completely disappointed with almost all aspects of my meal. Never again for the Grill Knife. Never 👎🏻

This outlet is not your typical Soup Spoon outlet - it serves not only soups, but steaks, fish and chips, salads and salad bowls. I heartily recommend their half and half set, which is two small bowls of soup and a bun at the price of 9.7. Choosing any one of their rotating seasonal soups, one of my favourite aspects of the chain that keeps me returning for more, will add a small surcharge (about 50 cents for each "upgrade"), to the total bill. Insider fact: I was in a curious mood one day and asked their staff how much smaller a small bowl of soup is relative to a standard sized one, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the sum of two bowls of half sized soup bowls is slightly more, albeit less than 50ml, than a standard sized soup. I have forgotten the exact math behind it, but if you don't care for their lemon tea, sandwiches or salads and would like to try as many flavours of soup as possible, get the half and half set instead of the other set options. While their iced lemon tea tastes authentic, the sandwich and salad options are nothing to shout about despite being perfectly serviceable. You won't be missing out on much by skipping the salads or sandwiches. I often add a side of pesto basmati rice ($3) to make my meal more satiating; give it a try as it tastes quite savoury. I have also had the opportunity of trying their salad bowls, and they are as exciting as Singapore's political climate. Like their sandwiches and salads, nothing really stands out, although none of their sides were objectionable. The Autobus offers mains and sides that are not only more thoughtful, but also executed better. As someone who consumes quite a bit of spicy foods, the housemade kimchi is rather hot on the tongue, while their mushrooms are lacking a bit in flavour. Morever, their salad bowls could be priced cheaper as their portions are quite modest. Their salad bowls can be customised at a starting price of 10.9. In the flavour department, their soups are more often hits than misses. Some of their herbal soups are rather comforting and nourishing, while you have some soups suffering from an identity crisis as they taste nothing like what they have been advertised, e.g. the recent vegan "Lor Mai Kai" (glutinous rice) soup. Incidentally, they deserve some praise for offering vegan options. You might be inclined to think that soups wouldn't be filling enough for a proper meal, but their soups are often prepared with ingredients filling at least about half of any bowl. In other words, you will spend more time chewing than sipping from your spoon. I don't consider myself a big eater, and a standard sized bowl of soup with a bun is almost as filling as a bowl of noodles at a hawker centre. It is important to note that orders are made primarily through the store's self help kiosks, with an alternative option of ordering from their app or online. Some might not know of the latter option, so you can often see snaking queues at the kiosks. Make the smarter move of ordering from the comfort of your seats. The outlet also has some issues with noise and soundproofing at the left side of the restaurant due to its lower ceiling and densely packed tables designed for groups, so pick one of their high tables at the far right whenever available. In terms of service, you will see that their staff are putting their best foot forward despite being understaffed. They even have to somewhat shout at times to get people to collect their orders from the counter, as the queue management system alerts diners with an almost inaudible buzz. Hence, go easy on them and try to return your trays, as doing so will help keep their costs (and ultimately the menu prices) down. Lastly, be sure to sign up as a member (free of charge), as members get to enjoy a $5 off $15 spent voucher in their birthday month. The voucher is automatically credited into your Souperholic account. This benefit is extended alongside the awarding of points, which translates to a rather meagre 5% discount, that can be accumulated and offset from your next bill.

Travelled to Soup Spoon Union at Toa Payoh. Was looking forward to try their burgers. Very disappointed with the beef burger $9.90 (+ add-on to a set meal with drink & sides): patty was dry and hard (no meat taste at all), tasted like frozen meat. BK burger tasted better. "Grass fed Sirloin steak" at $17.90 was even worse - tasteless like cardboard, and had to chew hard. Im not a foodie with strong taste buds. Saving grace was the brioche bun, fresh veg & fries (served with steak), pleasant customer service and environment. Not worth the prices that is charged. Regretted our order. Safer to just stick to their soup menu.