M.A. Deen Biasa

Sup Tulang. Bone Steak. Tulang Merah.
Call it what you want but this dish definitely has a reputation as one that is not only unique but one that plenty of tourists make a point to try when to visit our (most of the time) sunny island of Singapore.

After all, it’s been featured on TV so many times too!
In fact, I still remember watching an episode of Antony Bourdain’s No Reservations where he has Sup Tulang over at Golden Mile Food Centre aka the Beach Road Army Market. I believe this is one of his favourite dishes in fact!

Well, M.A. Deen Biasa used to be located at the Golden Mile Food Centre aka the Beach Road Army Market but from the year 2000 onward, you’ll probably have noticed that it relocated to Jln Sultan.

So a lot of people are probably going “Aiyah! All the same lah!” but let me tell you – that is farther from the truth. Even for something that seems as simple as some bones in gravy, I’ve had my fair share of Bone Steak and not all of it was good okay. In fact, some of it was actually really bad.

So how did the version at M.A. Deen Biasa fare?

You wanna hear a funny story? I was snapping photos of the Bone Steak with the bread in the background (which is the pic right at the top of this post) and the mamak kept coming over and taking the bread away every time I snapped a picture LOL so funny. He kept pointing at just the plate of Bone Steak without anything in the background so I assume he wanted me to snap JUST the plate on its own. So there it is. LOL #truestory

Anyways, that’s a $10 serving which will give you about 5-6 bones and probably good for maybe 2-3 people depending on how hungry you and/or how much you love Bone Steak! You can order the $20 or $30 servings if you are REALLY feeling like you wanna satisfy that craving for Bone Steak LOL

So Mutton bones are stewed in a gravy that is brimming with flavour. Sweet, spicy, salty, tasty. Oh yeah.
Okay lah maybe not very spicy (if you can handle your heat) but I’m talking about a really flavourful gravy that’s perfect for mopping up with the bread (cut up French loaf aka Roti Perancis) that comes with (just be careful when the mamak moves it when you wanna snap a photo LOL)

One of the best parts about enjoying this dish is gnawing at the meat on those bones which is gonna be super tender because of the cooking method and all that even though it’s not really a lot of meat. I’m actually very self-conscious about eating Bone Steak in public because it can be quite a sight to see someone having a go at these bones LOL

But a welcome change over the years is that you normally get red-stained hands/mouths when you enjoy your Bone Steak and this is definitely the case at M.A. Deen Biasa. After all, you shouldn’t need food colouring to make an iconic dish like this tasty right?

And what is probably the best part of a lot of people – the marrow aka the som-som!!

The bones have been cooked so long that not only is the (little bit of) meat tender, the rich marrow within the bone is also ready to be enjoyed! And I guess part of the fun of Bone Steak is getting the marrow out! LOL

You can take the simple route of sucking out the marrow straight from the bone (which can be quite a challenge sometimes), you can hold the bone in one hand and knock your wrist against your other wrist (and hope the marrow slides out), you use the back of your fork/spoon to dig it out (which is probably the best way if you ask me) or you can take the Antony Bourdain method of sucking it out with a straw.

But let’s face it – sucking it out straight from the bone is the most satisfying right LOL

Well, M.A. Deen Biasa claims itself to be the ‘King of Sup Tulang’ and so far they are living up to the name!
But that wasn’t the only thing we had while we were there.

It doesn’t look like much but the Maggi Goreng was actually not bad. It tasted better than it looked is a fair statement to make I guess. But then again, the price of $5.00 is quite steep if you consider that it’s pretty much a basic plate of Maggi Goreng. Even the egg doesn’t warrant such a high price eh?

We also had the Mee Goreng was also not bad despite its plain looks. We actually ordered 2 plates – one just normal Mee Goreng (yellow noodles) and one more was Mee Teow Goreng (yellow noodles + Kway Teow).

Okay, pretty sure most of you know about this #makanhack but for the benefit of those who might not be familiar with it – when you order something like Mee Goreng from a mamak stall, you actually have the option to mix and match the noodles if you fancy it…. JENG JENG JENG!! Yes it’s true!!! LOL

For example, you can have Mee Teow Goreng (yellow noodles + Kway Teow) or Mee Mee Hoon (yellow noodles + mee hoon) or even Mee Hoon Teow (Mee Hoon + Kway Teow). Next time, you just try okay. Worse comes to worst the mamak just laugh at your lor LOL

But mixing noodles doesn’t always work out as planned.
For example – we ordered the Mee Kuah but modified it to Mee Teow Kuah. It turns out that the Kway Teow didn’t really go with the dish even though the ‘kuah’ was actually not bad tasting. But I guess it could have been a bit thicker though for that extra flavour kick.

When we ordered the Chicken Briyani, I though “Wah, can add this to our ‘Quest for Briyani’ series but it turned out that it wasn’t exactly what we expected so I decided to just include it in this post instead.

It’s not bad to be honest. But if you’re looking for a hearty Briyani Dum, then maybe you’d better look elsewhere.
After all, if you’re at a place renown for its Bone Steak, then stick to the Bone Steak if you know what I’m saying!

PS there’s no acar. They just cut up some cucumber and onions if you ask for it.

Adam’s Verdict:
Soup Tulang 4/5 — Maggi Goreng 2.5/5 — Mee Kuah 2.5/5 — Chicken Briyani 2/5

Maryah’s Verdict:
Soup Tulang 4/5 — Maggi Goreng 3/5 — Mee Kuah 3.5/5 — Chicken Briyani 2/5

Azlan’s Verdict:
Maggi Goreng 2.5/5 — Mee Kuah 3/5 — Chicken Briyani 2.5/5

Dad’s Verdict:
Soup Tulang 4/5 — Mee Goreng 3.5/5 — Mee Kuah 2/5 — Chicken Briyani 2.5/5

Mum’s Verdict:
Soup Tulang ?/5 — Mee Goreng ?/5 — Mee Kuah ?/5 — Chicken Briyani ?/5

So is M.A. Deen Biasa really the King of Soup Tulang?
So far, like quite okay leh. But I think we need to try out a few more just to be sure!

M.A. Deen Biasa

95/97 Jalan Sultan
(S) 198998

Tel: 63922712
madeenbiasa@gmail.com

Operating Hours:
5.00pm til 1.00am Daily

 
All information (including prices, availability of item on menu and Halal status of establishment) are accurate at the time of posting. All photos used in this site are property of The Halal Food Blog unless stated otherwise.