Andrew Chwee
Rated 3.0/5.0 3 months ago
Visited The Soup Spoon Union at Velocity @ Novena Square for a quick lunch, opting for their Salad Set featuring a breadless Beef Goulash and a side of Kale Salad. While the food itself remains a comforting, rustic staple, the overall experience was a bit of a mixed bag.
First, the frustrations: the dining table was not clean. Upon sitting at the terrazzo-topped table, I had to wipe down a noticeable, greasy residue left by previous diners myself—a sanitation lapse that unfortunately seems to plague this outlet during busy peak hours. Furthermore, you are definitely better off skipping the drink. The Home-Brewed Iced Jasmine Green Tea served in their floral paper cup was incredibly watered down, tasting like melted ice with a mere whisper of jasmine rather than a clean, floral palate cleanser. It lacked any real body and felt like an afterthought.
On a much more positive note, the ordering process is quite smooth. Their self-service digital kiosks at the storefront are highly intuitive, making it incredibly easy to customise the set (such as selecting the breadless configuration) and complete the payment. The queue ticket system is highly efficient, with the overhead collection screens clearly displaying prepared order numbers for quick self-collection.
As for the food, the Beef Goulash remains a robust, slow-simmered highlight. It boasts a rich, rust-coloured, paprika-infused base packed with tender beef cuts and soft root vegetables, rounded off beautifully by a cool, velvety dollop of sour cream resting on the rim. The half portion of Kale Salad was also a beautifully textured companion, offering a vibrant, fibrous crunch of raw greens combined with the sweetness of mandarin segments, tart cranberries, and a buttery, crisp finish of flaked almonds.
A decent, highly convenient spot for a nourishing bowl, but they seriously need to step up their dining area table maintenance, and I would highly advise sticking to plain water over the watered-down iced teas.