Fish Tale serves fresh and soothing fish soup to the lunch crowd at Buona Vista

There’s a new, quiet lunch spot to try between the office clusters of One-North and Buona Vista: Fish Tale.

And if you’re an office worker who’s tired of the same old lunch options, this is one worth adding to your rotation.

One thing’s for sure: You won’t walk away feeling heavy after a meal here — and for me, that’s a crucial lunchtime consideration.

Fish Tale operates on weekdays only, from 10am to 3pm, catering squarely to the lunch crowd.

Fish Tale is a rebrand of the former Eat Drink Man Woman — a quiet, if-you-know-you-know spot at Kampong Bahru that had served fresh fish soups to those in the area since 2024. It was especially popular with staff from nearby Singapore General Hospital.

The rebrand also marks a clearer focus on its fish offerings, alongside a new title and logo — both conceptualised and drawn by Lynn herself.

When we first visited its Kampong Bahru outlet in early December last year, owner Lynn shared that they would be relocating to Biomedical Grove in the following weeks, due to the rising rental costs — and we made a mental note to return. We’re glad we did. 

Even then, at its original Kampong Bahru store, the lunch rush was unmistakable.

The dishes we tried this time reaffirmed why it had built such a loyal following in its original location. Now, it’ll likely do the same among office workers in the area, with the menu remaining largely unchanged.

There’s an emphasis on freshness, with everything prepared in small batches, especially the fish. Lynn says this is so nothing sits around longer than it should. Almost everything is made in-house, too — from the chilli to the broth, and even the drinks.

We’re un-gatekeeping this one.

The new outlet is evidently smaller, and Lynn says that the kitchen has downsized by two-thirds. Still, it feels cosy and in some ways, even more approachable. 

Inside, there’s only a simple counter to place and collect your order, and get your drinks. Meanwhile, the all-outdoor seating makes for a breezy lunch setting — a respite from fluorescent-lit offices.

Fish soup with housemade broth

At the core of Fish Tale is — you guessed it — its fish. The fish bone broth is housemade, simmered for depth and clarity. Its slices are fresh, clean-tasting batang with a naturally briny profile.

The fish soup is essentially a customisable bowl. You choose your protein:

• Fish slices (S$8.90)
• Twin fish slices, a mix of normal fish and fried fish slices (S$8.90)
• Fried fish slices (S$8.90)
• Seafood, with tiger prawn, fish slices, housemade pork meatballs, lala clams (S$10.90)

Choose your carb, too, whether it’s rice, thin or thick vermicelli, E-noodle (yi mian), or kolo mee (dry).

Finally, the soup base. Go with the original, opt for the milk broth (S$0.50 extra), or choose tom yum (S$1 extra).

Other add ons are possible — ranging from fish maw and tiger prawns, to egg floss and meatballs — if you’re looking to build a more indulgent bowl.

We had the fish slices with E-noodle in the original broth. (S$8.90). The soup tasted clean and comforting — light on the palate, but not lacking in flavour. 

The batang slices were tender and fresh, flaking gently with each bite while still holding their structure. The E-noodles had that ideal springy chew — slurp-worthy, without turning soft.

It was an ideal midday lunch dish, one that soothes, instead of leaving you too full to move.

On our previous visit to its Kampong Bahru outlet, we tried the fried fish slices with thick vermicelli noodles in the milk soup base.

I was initially apprehensive about the milk base, but it worked in harmony with the other elements of the dish. It added body and richness, without leaning into heaviness. Light and drinkable, it coated the noodles enough to bring everything together.

While the steamed fish slices deserve to be the star, the fried fish slices hold their own. Crisp on the outside and delicately flaky within, it adds a textural contrast without being greasy.

Fried fish kolo mee and salted egg

The fried fish kolo mee (S$8.90) is a dry rendition — egg noodles tossed in savoury minced pork and housemade chilli sauce, with fried fish served on the side.

It’s robust and punchy in flavour. The chilli sauce brings depth, clinging well to the noodles, after a good toss. We loved that the minced pork is generous, too, lending savouriness throughout.

Each bite is satisfying, with the noodles pleasantly chewy and almost addictive to slurp.

The freshly fried fish here deserves a mention again. Its crisp, golden crust breaks easily to reveal a tender interior. We likened it to the texture of well-prepared fish-and-chips.

There’s also a housemade belacan chilli sauce at the store — it’s not too spicy, with a good tangy kick. You should definitely dip the fried fish into it —  the pairing works well.

There’s also the salted egg series, carried over from the previous outlet, and it comes with rice and its housemade salted egg sauce.

On our previous visit to the Kampong Bahru outlet, we had the salted egg chicken rice (S$7.90) and salted egg prawn rice (S$8.90).

Salted egg dishes can easily veer into cloying territory — overly thick, overly rich, and hard to finish. That’s not the case here.

Its salted egg has me finishing it easily, with a perfected housemade salted egg sauce that is flavourful and fragrant, with a velvety consistency that coats the rice nicely.

Everything housemade, even its drinks

Its drinks cater to local taste buds — with options such as sour plum, ginseng, and longan.

We tried the house-brewed peach oolong (S$3.50) and chrysanthemum wolfberry (S$3.50) cold brew teas.

The drinks were light and aromatic, none of that overt sweetness and sugariness, and this complements the food offerings really well.

If there’s a quiet and reliable lunch spot worth supporting in Buona Vista, Fish Tale would be it. It’s fresh, honest, and soothing food — giving you comfort without the post-lunch slump.

For more lunch ideas around Buona Vista, read on the story and offerings of The Bagel Brunch — a New York-bagel-inspired concept — and the viral Coffee Break, having opened its third outlet at Holland Drive.