A restaurant attendant serves a bowl of soup.: JP/Tifa Asrianti

Having a bowl of warm soup is a luxury on a cold rainy day. At The Soup Spoon restaurant, where soup is the main dish, cold will definitely go away.

The Soup Spoon has eight different soups on the menu — from the traditional soups such as Boston Clam Chowder, Beef Goulash, Roasted Pumpkin and Meatless Minestrone to the unique creations such as Tokyo Chicken Stew, Tangy Tomato With Basil and Velvety Mushroom Stroganoff.

If you have sweet tooth, you may find Roasted Pumpkin soup to your liking. But if you like spicy cuisines, the Hungarian-style Beef Goulash could be for you.

The restaurant also has a special menu named Simon & Garfunkel Chicken Ragout that has a soft texture and delicious taste. It was created as an appreciation to the Simon & Garfunkel’s evergreen album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. Just like the album, the soup also contains the four herbs as well as minced chicken meat and five mushrooms — portobello, oyster, enoki, shiitake and button.

“When the soup was created, the soup chef was listening to this song. She used the ingredients mentioned in the song and the soup turned out delicious,” Raiza Sahabuddin of The Soup Spoon said.

Each soup has a calorie calculation with Roasted Pumpkin soup having the lowest calories [130 calories] and Boston Clam Chowder with the highest [425 calories]. The menu also describes the ingredients and the soup character, such as gluten-free or dairy-free.

Reiza said with a fast-paced urban lifestyle, people tend to look for healthy menus and that was one of the reasons why they needed the calorie information.

Although eating soup is not yet a part of Jakartan lifestyle, Reiza was optimistic that the restaurant could entice health-conscious customers.

All soups come in regular size (375 milliliters) and large (500 milliliters), with the pricing from Rp 23,000. The hard-core soupaholics can have the soup served inside sourdough bread bowls, with price starts from Rp 35,000.

Customers can also buy packed soup (600 milliliters) there and reheat it at home. If the soup is kept in the freezer, it can last for one month.

“In Singapore, the best-selling soup is Simon & Garfunkel Chicken Ragout, but here in Jakarta, customers like Velvety Mushroom Stroganoff and Meatless Minestrone,” Reiza said.

The Soup Spoon, a Singapore-based restaurant chain, was first established in June 2002 at Raffles City Shopping Centre, Singapore, by a trio of soup loving entrepreneurs — soup chef Anna Lim, managing director Andrew Chan and director of business development Benediktus Leow. The trio managed to start the culture soup in the city-state country and expanded the 11 restaurants.

In Jakarta, The Soup Spoon’s franchise is under PT Bumi Langit Sejahtera. Karen Darmono, franchisee of The Soup Spoon, said that she saw the benefits of wholesome soup meals offered by The Soup Spoon.

“We are thrilled to have it in Jakarta. We believe that food lovers are ready to embrace the soup culture here in Jakarta,” she said.

Beside serving soup, The Soup Spoon also offers various sandwiches, fresh salads, wraps and side dishes. In the sandwich section, the menu offers, among others, Roast Beef Wasabi made from grilled beef with cheddar cheese, gherkins, green salads and wasabi mayo shoots in between freshly baked toasted herb focaccia bread.

Other dishes include the Asian Tofu Salad, Indochine Prawn wrap and Garlicky Focaccia. Save space for the dessert as the restaurant has a yummy Banana Muffin, Chocolate Fudge Cake and New York Cheese Cake.

Ready for your cup of soup?

Grand Indonesia
Jl. MH Thamrin No. 1
West Mall – Lower Ground #24
Jakarta

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