Jing Hua, Maxwell Food Centre

It had been ridiculously warm these days (though very characteristic of the Chinese New Year season) but I was longing for some fish soup. My current favourite, Han Kee, was closed (they are taking a break from 13-29 January) so I thought it would be a good opportunity to try out the top rated fish soup store on iEat app - Jing Hua (77 Maxwell Road Food Centre).

Just a 5-minutes walk away, Maxwell Food Centre bore a different vibe from Amoy Street Food Centre, thanks to Anthony Bourdain and Singapore Tourism Board. I hope these tourists don't get caught in the lunch hour throng as things could get ugg-ly.

As I was there a good 20 minutes before the store opened, I circled the food centre, checking out other food stores and did my best to resist temptations from the other stores. I always thought tourists would go for the more well-known local favourites such as Tian Tian chicken rice or Zhen Zhen porridge so imagine my surprise when a couple of Taiwanese girls feverishly waited for Jing Hua to open for business. Being second in line, I wait for about another 5 minutes before receving this piping hot bowl of cloudy comfort.

Was it worth the 20-plus-5-minutes wait? Kind of - let's just say I could do without that first 20 minutes of sheer agony wait. The broth was darn tasty; sweeter and oomphier than Han Kee's (I tasted anchovies?).

Between Han Kee and Jing Hua, I do prefer the former just a little more as it is more clean-tasting. Then again, after all that Chinese New Year feasting, I am pretty sure I will need both for a cleansing session.