115 Tang Shui – Artisanal Traditional Desserts in Chinatown Complex

A typical work day, for the owners of 115 糖水, begins at 3 am. The shutters of 115 糖水 are lifted, and preparation work begins. Peanuts are being roasted, ingredients are being boiled, all for a good bowl of traditional dessert.

Situated in Chinatown Complex, amidst many other well-established hawker stalls, 115 糖水 is pretty well-known, especially amongst fans of traditional sweet soup. Naturally, I was very excited for a sweet treat here.

115 糖水has a variety of desserts which includes a daily special and seasonal items. Mainstays such as green bean soup, red bean soup and various pastes are available every day. We ordered almost everything that was available that day from 3^rd generation owner, Fabian.

We kickstarted our dessert session with the Fragrant Herb Green Bean Soup ($1.9). The crumbly green bean was well perfumed by rue (臭草). Fabian explained that it is hard to secure this herb nowadays as more farmers have stopped growing it. In spite of that, 115 糖水 still tries its best to procure rue as it is a key ingredient in the making of traditional green bean soup.

The gelatinous Red Bean Soup ($2) carried the distinct notes of dried mandarin orange peel. The beautiful combination was really lovely, and soul-warming. Similar to the green bean soup, the dessert was not sweet at all. You can easily identify and appreciate the characteristic tastes of the ingredients.

But my sweet tooth was aching for something sweet after all. And, this Bobo Chacha ($1.9) was the perfect answer. The bowl came topped with sweet potatoes, yam, tapioca flour and coconut milk.

Next, we were dazzled by an array of paste desserts — Almond, Black Sesame, Peanut and Walnut ($1.5 – $2). Feel free to mix 2 flavours in one bowl if you like! A bowl that has a combination of 2 flavours will be priced according to the more expensive paste in the bowl.

Each of the pastes was smooth, light, and really fragrant. I really liked how the subtle sweetness accentuated the rich nutty flavours.

Fabian then skillfully prepared what he called the “colorful bullseye” for us. This combination of 4 pastes is extremely popular among tourists as they get to try every flavor. While it may seem to be put together randomly, the order in which the flavours are layered is actually intentional.

As you start on the bowl from the middle, and slowly progress, you will notice that every mouthful tastes different. Not a single spoonful of this dessert will taste the same. The is because the pastes inevitably get muddled up and provide a different flavour profile due to different content of each paste present in each mouthful. The interesting thing is that even when all 4 layers are thoroughly mixed together towards the end, you can still clearly discern the strong flavours of each paste.

Fabian learnt his craft from his parents, who got their skills from theirs. I was shocked to find out that they don’t actually follow a recipe.

“Ingredients aren’t always going to come to you the same. They come from the farm and sometimes conditions change. When we prepare the ingredients, we need to be able to tell the difference and adjust accordingly so that we get the taste we want,” Fabian explained.

“Sometimes people choose to use a central kitchen to standardise the way things taste, but we as hawkers are somewhat artists, and artists don’t use a central kitchen.”

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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