Tew Chew Street Tew Chew Porridge

I loves to eat porridge and I have it for lunch almost like 3 times a week. This is one of my favourite Teochew porridge stall but also the one I frequent the least due to its distance from the office.

With a very unoriginal name, the name itself can tell of its origin. Tew Chew Street presumably is a street in old Chinatown where the Teochew stays. Anybody know which exact street is it? So anyway, this stall is now in Chinatown Smith Street Food Centre. To find it, you got to look hard because it is quite non-nondescript and dinky. There is only a small display case unlike the other normal Teochew porridge stall in say Geylang or Havelock Road with its long array of food.

But what it lacks in look and variety, it more than make up for with its very original porridge and fares. The porridge here is not the watery type. The rice grain are cooked till it is soggy but yet firm enough. It is almost sticky like glue. Apparently according to a newspaper report some time ago, only this stall cooks the porridge this way! The porridge are kept in an earthen pot and ladled out upon order. And this is absolutely the best porridge ever. 

Of the limited food available, there are the usual steamed yet kept until cold fish, fish cake, squid, cabbage, haebihiem(spicy dried shrimps0 and minced meat. Its specialities include the 3 layer meat but this is served not braised but steam/boiled with a generous helping of chincalok. It also has the black soya shark meat which is my absolute favourite. Oh and did I mention the pig trotter? 

There is usually a steady stream of customers, mostly old fogeyies like me, and the food sells out fast. Best to go before 12.30 pm to get to pick from more varieties. And yes, one final difference with the modern day Teochew porridge stall. It is cheap!