Makansutra - Celebrating Asian food culture and lifestyle

I've long wanted to talk about my love-hate relationship with Soup Tulang (bone marrow beef/mutton soup) - the sinful, slurpy beef bone stewed in spicy tomato sauce. At first sight, it's rather disgusting-looking, even gruesome. Walk by the mamak (Indian hawker) stall preparing it and you'll see one mean-looking Indian man over a boiling cauldron, filled to the brim with blood-red gravy. Inside of course, are the dubious-looking bones cooked to just the right tenderness. A gory sight indeed to the uninitiated!

Why do I say I have a love-hate relationship with it? Because there are so many rules to get the best out of the bones, flesh and marrow. Every Soup Tulang lover knows the rules:

Don't wear white unless you want to end up with a red spotty shirt later;
You must have good hand grip, and must be an expert nibbler to ensure the last remains of hanging meat on the bone are not spared;
Bring loads of tissue paper (no, not to wipe off that contented smile after the feast) but to clean your gravy-drenched fingers;
And you can't be shy - not only will your cheeks and chin be plastered with thick, red gravy, you've got to really lick and suck off the bone - all these for other patrons to see!

For all these, eating Soup Tulang is not unlike a long-drawn battle.

But I tell you, sucking at the marrow of life can leave you in a delightful delirium. After the feast, you get the feeling that every cent of the $6 you spent is worth it. The melt-in-your-mouth bone marrow, which is rewarded only to those who suck the hardest, is utter bliss. You know you're good if the bone marrow wobbles out in one unbroken, slithery piece.

Many a mamak claim to have the best and most original recipe. But I bet Soup Tulang lover will only swear by the Beach Road Soup Tulang. No where else can quite get it right. The special spices used for the gravy cooks itself right through the bone. The reputation of Beach Road's Soup Tulang even extends beyond our shores. By the way, how many of us out there actually know that Soup Tulang, like Chilli Crab, is a home grown delicacy. Ask any mamak. It is so finger-licking good that according to recent reports, famous personalities across the Causeway will not leave Singapore without having a swing at it. In fact, some actually "da bao" (takeaway) a portion back to their country. As one story goes, a well-known Malaysian artiste on a tour here had it for dinner, liked it so much that she "da bao" some back to her hotel room, for breakfast the next day. The poor girl contracted diarrhoea after that!

Ooh, that dreaded Soup Tulang. Each time you set out for some, you've got to brace yourself for a battle with the bone, not to mention some embarrassment. So, you either love it or hate it.

Eating it, you are bound to lose some face. Now, talking about it makes me drool with expectation - in anticipation of my next trip to Beach Road. Hmmm …. on this very day, in fact!

Text by Siti Rohanah Koid