New World Mutton Soup: A Michelin-recognised Teochew mutton soup stall with bad service?
Usually, when I crave mutton soup, New World Mutton Soup is always my go-to. Why? It’s been a family favourite since I was a child, and I guess it became the norm for me as an adult.
I’m not saying I’ve never tried any other mutton soup, but this is more of a comfort place for me. So when I was given the opportunity to cover them in a review, I jumped at the chance.
Located in Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre, I was surprised to learn that they were also awarded the Michelin Plate – fuelling my desire further to cover them. However, during my research process, I also noticed that they have a poor rating of 2.4 stars on Google (at the time of writing) due to their poor customer service.
Since more often than not, my mother is the one making the trip down to Bedok and tabao-ing back for me whenever I crave their mutton soup, I decided to go down and see for myself if it was indeed a fair rating.
What I tried at New World Mutton Soup
While their main focus is mutton soup, they do have a small variety of dishes such as Mutton Ball Soup (S$6++), Mutton Kway Teow (S$7++) and Mutton Tendon Ribs Soup (S$10++). I decided to go for my classic – a piping hot bowl of Mutton Soup (S$7++), some Salted Veg (S$1.20++) paired with Rice (S$0.60++).
While most of the negative reviews highlighted the attitude of the store aunties, I did not experience such rude or negative behaviour from them when placing my order. While they did sound a little brash, in their defence, it was during the dinner rush, and it’s safe to say they just wanted to serve patrons efficiently.
Now on to the good stuff. The mutton soup was prepared after hours of boiling, bearing a light but defined herbal taste which still captures the essence of the mutton. Most people will find it slightly on the sweeter end compared to other mutton soup spots out there; however, you can counter the sweetness with vinegar, which they have readily available at the side of the stall.
For me, I’ve gotten used to the taste growing up, so I didn’t adjust the soup with vinegar. The mutton was tender with the perfect meat-to-fat ratio, albeit slightly chewy, but wasn’t such a dealbreaker for me. The gaminess of the meat also wasn’t overwhelming, making it more palatable.
Also, a tip is to swipe some of the mutton pieces with their spicy-sour homemade chilli for an extra shiok kick out of your meal.
Of course, I can’t miss out on the salted veg, which made a great accompaniment to my meal. Salty, and tangy, with a touch of umami, it was safe to say I was going back and forth with the mutton soup, rice, and salted vegetables for this well-balanced, soul-comforting meal.
Final thoughts
When I first tried their mutton soup for the first time many years ago up till now, they have been consistent with the quality of their dishes. While inflation and the ever-growing economy did make my comfort place rather pricier, it still wouldn’t deter me from getting my mutton soup fix here.
Sure, there are things that could be improved on like the somewhat unpleasant attitudes of the stall aunties, but those are rather minuscule matters. At the end of the day, this place still serves me a rather decent bowl of mutton soup – especially since it’s so conveniently located in the East!
Expected damage: S$7 – S$15 per pax
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