花生莲藕汤 ($4.50) & 芋头饭 ($1)!
Friday hawker — peanut lotus root soup $4.50 + yam rice $1. Traditional Chinese soup + rice.
Hawker lunch: 花生莲藕汤 (peanut lotus root soup) $4.50 + 芋头饭 (yam rice) $1. Old-school Chinese comfort. 😋
What was on the table ($5.50):
- A bowl of peanut lotus root soup (花生莲藕汤).
- A small bowl of yam rice (芋头饭).
The peanut lotus root soup is one of those nourishing Chinese “boiled soups” (老火汤) that taste like they’ve been on the stove all afternoon, and this one had that depth. Lotus root, sliced into rounds with their pretty lacy holes, turns soft and slightly sweet after a long simmer, while the peanuts go creamy and lend the broth a gentle nuttiness. Cooked with pork bones for body, it’s the kind of clean, soothing, slightly herbal soup that just makes you feel looked after.
The yam rice is the perfect $1 partner: rice cooked with chunks of soft taro and seasoned with dried shrimp and shallots, so it’s savoury and fragrant on its own, a little starchier and more flavourful than plain steamed rice. Spoon the soup alongside it and you’ve got a complete, comforting meal.
At $5.50 for the two, it’s honest, heritage hawker food at its most affordable, the sort of simple Chinese cooking worth keeping alive.
Overall: 4.6 / 5. 😋👍🏼 A soothing, well-simmered peanut lotus root soup with fragrant yam rice, comforting and great value. Would re-order.
