Dang Gui in crab soup: what it is and what to ask your doctor
What it is, what the kitchen says, and when to ask your doctor.
Quick answer
Dang Gui is Angelica root, an herb used in Chinese cooking, and it is one of the herbs in our crab bee hoon soup, along with ginger and yam. The soup is also cooked with cooking wine. The kitchen says children and pregnant customers still enjoy it, and advises asking your doctor or gynaecologist. We make no health claims.
What Dang Gui is
Dang Gui is the Chinese name for Angelica root, a root used in Chinese cooking and herbal soups. The kitchen’s menu and FAQ call it “Angelica root (more commonly known as Dang Gui)”. The kitchen’s product page, by contrast, describes it as “a type of ginseng grown in cool, high-altitude mountains in East Asia”. We use the first description, because it is the more accurate, and we write “Dang Gui (Angelica root)”.
What the kitchen says about it
The kitchen says a little Dang Gui gives the soup a delicious and unique flavour. Its FAQ says that the signature Crab Bee Hoon soup is “cooked with cooking wine and herbs such as ginger, yam and Angelica root”. So the herb sits in the broth beside ginger and yam.
A partnership post on ieatishootipost (April 2023) reported that the kitchen uses Dang Gui and ginger to balance the yin and yang, because crabs are considered a “cooling” ingredient. That is the writer’s report of what the kitchen said in 2023, not a statement we can verify, and we do not make claims about how food affects the body.
Children and pregnancy
This is the question we get most often, and it deserves a careful answer.
The kitchen’s FAQ says it has children and pregnant ladies who still enjoy the soup, and it recommends checking with your doctor or gynaecologist. We repeat that and add nothing to it. We are a kitchen and a website, not medical professionals. The soup contains three things you may want to ask about: Dang Gui, cooking wine, and shellfish.
If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or managing a condition, ask your doctor before you order the soup. If you are not sure, order a dish that does not use Dang Gui, and ask the hotline which dishes those are.
What we do not claim
- We do not claim any health benefit for Dang Gui or for the soup.
- We do not say the soup is safe or unsafe for any group.
- We do not say how much Dang Gui is in a bowl. The kitchen has not published the amount.
Wine, and the halal question
Because the soup is cooked with cooking wine, it is not suitable for people who avoid alcohol. The kitchen is not Halal-certified by MUIS. See is it halal for the full wording.
If you want to taste it
The Regular crab bee hoon soup is sold as a one-person portion at $39.80 as of October 2026. Read DonChef’s Crab Bee Hoon Soup for sizes, or what is in the soup for the full list of what the kitchen has said. Other questions are answered in the FAQ.
Questions to ask before you order
- Do I avoid alcohol? The soup is cooked with cooking wine.
- Am I pregnant, breastfeeding or on medication? Ask your doctor or gynaecologist, as the kitchen advises.
- Do I have a shellfish allergy? All crab dishes contain shellfish.
- Do I prefer a mild herbal taste? Dang Gui gives the soup an herbal note, which some diners like and others do not. If you are unsure, order a Regular, or try the stir-fried Black Pepper Crab Bee Hoon, which the kitchen describes without Dang Gui.
The other herbs the kitchen names are ginger and yam. Ginger is a common kitchen ingredient. We give no health claim for either.
Where the herb is used elsewhere on the menu
Dang Gui also appears in The Flounder’s Crabby Choice, a flower-crab set for three to four people whose broth is brewed with dried flounder, Dang Gui and sweet yam. It is one of the sets described on chilli crab and the other dishes. The same cautions about wine, herbs and shellfish apply, and the hotline on 6993 3333 can answer questions about any particular dish.
Questions people ask
Is Dang Gui ginseng?
The kitchen's product page calls it a type of ginseng, while its menu and FAQ call it Angelica root. We use Angelica root, because that is what Dang Gui is commonly known as.
Can pregnant women eat the soup?
We cannot advise. The kitchen's FAQ says it has children and pregnant customers who still enjoy the soup, and recommends checking with your doctor or gynaecologist. The soup is cooked with cooking wine and herbs.
Does the soup taste of herbs?
The kitchen says a little Dang Gui gives the soup a delicious and unique flavour. Reviewers have called the broth herbal and full-bodied. Taste is personal, so start with a Regular.
Do other dishes contain Dang Gui?
The Flounder's Crabby Choice set is described as a broth brewed with dried flounder, Dang Gui and sweet yam. The kitchen has not listed Dang Gui in the other dishes.
Sources
- Ordering site FAQ, buy.chickenpie.sg
- Kitchen product page, Crab Bee Hoon Soup (Regular)
- ieatishootipost, 20 Apr 2023 (partnership post)