Teck Soon Medical Hall

Long before the cold plunge, Singapore had a cure for everything, and it came in a soup pack.

Teck Soon Medical Hall is worth a stop if you are in Chinatown and curious about the soups and remedies your auntie swears by, or if you want a proper TCM consultation from someone who will take your pulse rather than sell you a supplement. You can browse without buying, and the soup packs are the easy way in. It is a working shop, not a museum, so come on a weekday and ask questions; it is closed on Sundays.

Why this one

Plenty of shops sell herbs. This one has a family and a history behind the counter. The company says founder Chow Chee Yik opened the first shop on Sago Lane in 1963 and moved to South Bridge Road in 1969, when urban renewal cleared the old street. Number 281, behind a black signboard with gold characters, is still the main branch. From 1982 the shop put its herbs on open display in glass jars and clear packaging rather than hiding them in wooden drawers, which was quietly modern for its time.

The medicine side is taken seriously. The founder’s son, Chow Khai Shui, qualified as a TCM physician in the 1980s, and the shop still has in-house physicians who look at your tongue, take your pulse and write a personalised prescription. Mdm Elsie Chow, of the founding family, has said that TCM “doesn’t just cure ‘heatiness’”, and the shop is set up to make that case.

The National Heritage Board lists it on its SG Heritage Business Registry as one of the oldest TCM shops in Singapore, and it features in Steve Golden’s book Heritage Shops of Singapore.

How to do it well

Start with the soup packs: ready-to-boil blends for anyone without a grandmother on speed dial. The online shop lists American ginseng abalone soup and a cooling tea, alongside aged orange peel and sliced angelica root. Beyond those, the shelves run from raw herbs and dried seafood such as scallops and fish maw to cordyceps powder, bai feng wan, pills and syrups. Ask the staff what suits the weather, the season or the week you’ve had; that is what they are there for.

If you want to see a physician, call ahead rather than turning up, and tell them about any other medication before you buy anything. A soup is not a doctor, so see one for anything serious.

There are several branches now, but go to the South Bridge Road original, a short walk from Chinatown MRT and a few steps from the temples and kopitiams. Pair it with lunch nearby and you have a Chinatown afternoon that doesn’t involve a single fridge magnet.

Good to know 281 South Bridge Road, a short walk from Chinatown MRT. Closed on Sundays; hours are in the facts box. Call +65 6227 6179 before going if you want to see a physician. Free to browse.

Teck Soon Medical Hall | 281 South Bridge Road, Singapore 058830 | Nearest MRT: Chinatown