75 Ah Balling – Hawker Stall Serving Sweet Glutinous Rice Balls Since 1947, Delivery Available

Many families in Singapore eat ah ballings (glutinous rice balls, or “tang yuan”) during the Lantern Festival (yuanxiao) and Winter Solstice Festival (dongzhi). This is because tang yuan symbolises family unity, due to it sounding similar to “union” (团圆). A popular place to get this traditional Chinese dessert is at 75 Ah Balling. This article was last updated on 11 September 2020.

75 Ah Balling Peanut Soup

75 Ah Balling is a third-generation hawker stall that sells glutinous rice balls served with hot peanut soup. They are the only stall in Singapore to serve this unique combination.

The origins of 75 Ah Balling can be traced back to 1947, when Mr Aw Kim Chye arrived in Singapore from Xiamen as an immigrant.

To make a living, he sold handmade ah ballings from a pushcart in a back lane along Jalan Sultan, before moving to Golden Mile Food Centre in 1975.

Therefore, the stall has a “75” in its name, and coincidentally it is also their stall number at Golden Mile (#01-75).

Mr Aw retired in 1985 and handed over the reins to his son, Mr Aw Choo Lim, who ran the stall with his wife, Madam Ng Geok Kwan.

Before Mr Aw Choo Lim took over, the rice balls only had one type of filling: ground peanuts. But he introduced three more fillings: red bean paste, sesame seed paste, and yam paste.

He also engaged a factory to produce the rice balls and peanut soup for potential franchisees, though the rice balls for his own stalls were still handmade.

Today, 75 Ah Balling is manned by third-generation hawkers Alvin and Chloe. To ensure consistent quality for their franchising business, they decided to only sell factory-made rice balls.

Alvin and Chloe have also introduced new innovations like Black Sesame fillings and Ginger Soup.

75 Ah Balling currently has three branches in Singapore, located at Beach Road, Bedok North and Chinatown.

If you are wondering why this Chinese dessert is called “Ah Balling”, it’s because the phrase is derived from the Teochew dialect “鸭母淋” (“Ya Mu Ling”), which translates to “Mother Duck’s Eggs” or “Mother Duck”.

Therefore, there are two possible explanations for why these glutinous rice balls are called “Ah Ballings”: 1. because they look like duck eggs, or 2. because they look like white ducks floating on water.

Delivery Service

For this period, 75 Ah Balling is providing delivery through GrabFood (Golden Mile branch).

You can also check out Tabaojiak which does regular deliveries for Golden Mile Food Centre. Currently, they are delivering to the below areas, click on the respective links to join their Whatsapp group chats for more details.
– Redhill / Telok Blangah/ Tiong Bahru
– Punggol / Sengkang
– Hougang / Buangkok
– Yishun / Khatib 

Menu

The signature soup base is peanut soup. Other options are almond milk, ginger, and longan red date.

The signature tang yuan filling is peanut too. Other fillings are black sesame, yam, matcha, and red bean.

The ah ballings with soup are sold at $2.20 (4 pcs), $2.60 (5pcs) and $2.80 (6pcs). If you just want to buy the soup it costs $1.50.

Takeaway costs an extra $0.10.

Delicious Ah Balling With Comforting Peanut Soup

Because it was my first time visiting, I ordered five ah ballings, each with a different type of filling. For the soup, I went with the signature peanut flavour.

The peanut soup was milky, fragrant, and not too sweet. The peanuts were soft and tasty – which is not surprising because the peanuts are peeled and soaked in hot water, before going through a long simmering boil of at least 10 hours.

The ah balling skin was very smooth and chewy. My favourite filling was definitely the ground peanut, which was rich and tasty with a pleasant nutty aftertaste.

My second favourite was the black sesame filling, which was sweet with a gritty texture and a tinge of bitterness.

The red bean paste filling was naturally sweet and quite delicious.

Conclusion

I am happy to have discovered 75 Ah Balling Peanut Soup. More than just a dessert, these glutinous rice balls are actually helping to preserve a Chinese tradition. And other than just eating them during dongzhi or yuanxiao, why not enjoy this comforting dessert after your main meal at the hawker centre too?

75 Ah Balling Peanut Soup (Beach Road)
Address: 505 Beach Road, Golden Mile Food Centre, #01-75 Singapore 199583
Opening Hours: | Mon to Fri: 11am – 8.30pm | Sat & Sun: 10am – 8.30pm |
Website: www.75ahballing.com

Taman Jurong: Taman Jurong Food Centre #02-106, 3 Yung Sheng Rd, Singapore 618499
Opening Hours: | Tues to Sun: 9.30am -1.30pm, 4.30pm – 7.30pm |
*The Taman Jurong branch has closed down

Bedok North: Fengshan Food Centre #01-25, 85 Bedok North Street 4, Singapore 460085
Opening Hours: | Sun to Thurs: 11.30am – 10.30pm | Fri & Sat: 11.30am – 11.30pm |

Chinatown: Chinatown Complex Food Centre #02-113, 335 Smith Street, Singapore 050335 Opening Hours: Daily 8am to 7pm