How Exactly Does a Turtle Soup Taste?

Everyone has their favourite dishes. It can be a savoury plate of fried chicken, or a serving of steamed dumplings. Your favourite dish might even be a slice of chocolate cake. These dishes are our favourites because they trigger a sensation in our taste buds. When you would describe it to someone, you try to recall all the different flavours that play around in your tongue. It’s a great feeling of fullness and delight. One dish that many people love is turtle soup, a local delicacy whose history is as rich as its flavours. But how exactly does it taste like?

The Smell
Before one gets into tasting, one usually smell their food. Our tongue and nose work together when we eat. It is often the reason why one does not eat something when it smells bad. Or why you smell something to check if it’s still edible. Turtle soup has a herby smell. This is probably because of the many herbs and spices mixed together to produce a steaming hot bowl of it.

The Broth
The broth has a very distinct taste that is one of the reasons many people want another serving. It has a not so strong herbal taste. One might even say that it has a slight bitterness with an herbal wine flavour to it. It is composed of a mixture of gelatinous and lean meat. You can request to add chili sauce to it to have that extra spice your tongue might be looking for. Turtle soups’ broth tastes better when it is still hot which makes it perfect for cold weather.

The Actual Turtle
This is the part that always raises some eyebrows — the turtle. It might as well be a challenge taken directly from Fear Factor. But don’t you worry. Turtle soup could be something that you would learn to love and enjoy.

You can choose to have a dish that has the innards of the turtle or not. It’s suggested that you get the whole package for the full experience. You may be served with livers, skin, meat, and even claws of the turtle. You’ll be surprised to find out that the claw meat is actually soft and tasty. When you take a bite of the skin, you might say that it’s kinda like jelly because of its texture. Its meat is very tender and might even remind you that it’s pork that you’re eating. Since turtles are creatures from the sea like fish, one might expect that it would taste fishy but you’ll be surprised to find out that it’s more of a red meat taste.

This dish requires hours of preparation to create the perfect mixture of broth and turtle. The pleasant smell of it from afar would instantly make you crave for it. It’s no wonder that, even though it has been years since it was first introduced, many people still fall in line just to get a serving of turtle soup. Every sip and bite would linger in your mouth, making you want some more.

For the best turtle soup you can ever ask for, you can visit Ser Seng Turtle Soup at 39 Tai Thong Crescent Singapore 347863. We’re open every Tuesday to Sunday from 11AM to 9PM!