Hi Makan Kakis,
Continuing our series, Chef Melvyn Lee and I sampled dessert soups from another local heritage brand and find out where Ah Balling (glutinous rice balls) gets its name from!
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We met up with 3rd-generation owner Alvin Aw of 75 Ah Balling Peanut Soup, who’s taking the humble but delicious glutinous rice ball and multiplying the brand across the island. Started by his grandfather as a pushcart along Jalan Sultan in 1947 and continued by his father as a stall in Golden Mile Food Centre, Alvin took over nine years ago with the intention of expanding the business.
Meeting him at the family’s flagship Beach Road stall was no coincidence – it’s where 75 Ah Balling Peanut Soup gained their name and fame. The “75” refers to the year they moved into Golden Mile Food Centre as well as their unit number. The “peanut soup” was self-explanatory. But I was curious – how did tang yuan (glutinous rice balls) end up being known as “Ah Balling” in Singapore?
In Teochew, “ah” refers to duck. “My version of the story is the ah balling look like duck butts floating on a lake from a distance,” Alvin said. “Oh, when they dip down then the butts come up, looks like the glutinous rice ball,” Chef Melvyn continued helpfully. Historians may quibble with this origin story, but as long as they tasted good, I was willing to go with the whimsical images of duck derrieres in my mind.
Alvin suggested we taste his family’s signature peanut soup, made with “just peanut and water and a lot of preparation time”. Peanuts are seasonal ingredients, so for a more consistent product, he’s added a different variety to complement the original in his grandfather’s recipe. His parents’ contribution to updating the family legacy was introducing three new flavours of tang yuan to the lineup.
Faced with such variety, we ended up ordering a little bit of everything – a bowl of ginger soup for me, a bowl of peanut soup for Chef Melvyn and one of each ah balling flavour for both of us. The colourful wu fu, or lucky five glutinous rice ball set consisted of the original peanut and black sesame fillings, plus the newer red bean, matcha and yam. In a (pea)nutshell, traditional triumphed. The peanut and black sesame ah balling were nutty, textural delights – bouncy yet tender glutinous rice spheres contrasting with the creamy yet crunchy fillings.
As for the signature hot peanut soup, it was not the smooth puree I had expected, but rather, a chunky concoction of whole peanuts suspended in a gently sweetened broth. Fragrant but not too overpowering, the generous serving of peanuts disintegrated with a touch of the spoon, melting into the soup to give it a thicker consistency. Spice lovers should go for the ginger soup, also served hot and powerfully concentrated. I loved the intense bite of my syrupy brew, but it proved a little too much for Chef Melvyn. It was sweet relief to discover that it could be diluted to taste with hot water.
Alvin is also no stranger to being in hot water, having cut his teeth operating one of the family’s stalls in Lorong Ah Soo while he was still in school. But succession was never his plan until 2015 when he was between jobs. Returning to the undertaking of his youth and helping his parents once again was the pivotal moment for him. Like most third-generation owners, Alvin didn’t want the family business to end when his father retired. Since then, Alvin has been working hard to introduce the next generation to the taste of grandpa’s traditional trade. Brought from China to Singapore almost eight decades ago, 75 Ah Balling Peanut Soup continues to grow with several outlets across the island, including in Chinatown and Punggol.
- TASTE:
75 Ah Balling Peanut Soup
Address: #01-75, Golden Mile Food Centre, 505 Beach Road, Singapore 199583.
Open Daily: 11am – 8.15pm.
Makan Kakis on Gold 905 