Mala Grilled Chicken Rice Bowl Have been thinking of re-visiting Tok Tok Beef Soup which is located within Food Garden at Asia Square Tower 1 for quite a while now — a brand by the folks behind South Union Park, Eleven Strands and Restaurant Mia, their beef noodle soup had been something which lingered in our minds for a while; a craving that we have been looking to solve. Whilst we were also intending to give their range of Steamed Buns a try in our subsequent visit back then, we note that they have since discontinued those items on the menu. In replacement, Tok Tok Beef Soup now offers a range of rice bowls with different meat options to go along — think Braised Pork Belly, Sweet Soy Sliced Beef, Beef Cheek and Beef Shortrib.
Opting for the Mala Grilled Chicken Rice Bowl, it is noted that the all rice bowls do come with other condiments similar to that of what they also serve up with their noodle soups as well — this includes the Bok Choy, pickles, fried onions and coriander, though the rice bowl also sees the serving of half a soft-boiled egg, whilst the bed of rice is also being sprinkled with Furikake for flavour and a more vibrant aesthetic. Each rice bowl also comes with a bowl of their signature beef soup — the very same one which comes with their noodle soup offerings; was told that it is best to be had together with the rice by pouring the said soup into the bowl of rice. While the short-grain rice could be said as pretty sticky on its own, we really liked how it became to be as we drenched the rice with the bowl of soup — liked how the rice didn’t seemingly turn too soggy once the soup is added, while the rice also was distinguishable by the grain from each other. The beef soup was just as what we remember from our previous visit where we had their Beef Ball Noodle Soup — not too heavy nor gamey, and even carried a slight tanginess from the tomato(?) that went into the preparation process of the soup; keeps things fairly light and easy to have. Moving on to the Mala Grilled Chicken; there wasn’t much of a smokiness or char going on in here but we really liked how tender the chicken chunks were — the mala sauce that each chunk of chicken was coated with was almost akin to that of a teriyaki sauce in terms of its consistency. Flavour-wise, we also liked how the mala sauce veered towards emphasising on the fragrance on Sichuan peppers rather than the numbing and spicy notes often associated with Mala. The Bok Choy comes all fresh with good crunch and moisture locked within, while the addition of coriander cuts through all the meaty and gamey notes with its distinct flavour; the pickles giving a refreshing zing as one crunches through them.
It is a shame that Tok Tok Beef Soup might have stopped serving up their Steamed Buns line-up before we have had the chance to try it, but we were really pleased with how our experience of the Mala Grilled Chicken Rice Bowl went. No doubt ordering a rice bowl with chicken is rather out-of-tune when visiting an establishment that is primarily known for their beef soup, but we liked how Tok Tok Beef Soup has managed to marry the trendy yet simple rice bowl concept together with their signature beef soup to provide for that integrated experience where one complements the other beautifully. It is needless to say how we would be pretty spoiled for choice to opt between their rice bowl or noodle soup the next time we return here, but we are definitely stoked to see what they have to offer the next time we make a visit to Tok Tok Beef Soup!
