Chang Ji Gourmet - $1.20 Porridge & Fried Bee Hoon @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

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Chang Ji Gourmet at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre has a very simple menu with just three items: fried bee hoon, fried noodle and peanut porridge.

I have not eaten at this stall before but I did walk past it many times and I am intrigued by its long, snaking queue.

Chang Ji offers a simple, no-frills breakfast at just $1 per serving. Their fried bee hoon and fried noodle come with just bean sprouts and nothing else. They do not even have additional sides that you can add on to your meal so why are they such a hit with customers?

I decided to join the queue on a Saturday morning to find out why.

I arrived at around 7am, hoping to beat the queue and guess what? There are already some customers hanging around the stall, waiting for them to begin business for the day. Even though their opening hour is stated as 6am online, they are still not ready by 7.20am as the bee hoon is still being fried.

When the first tray of freshly fried bee hoon was brought out, everyone scrambled into a queue.

I am not too far behind but when it was my turn to order, the tray of fried bee hoon was completely wiped out. A second tray of fried bee hoon was subsequently brought out and I ordered a plate together with a bowl of porridge.

While queuing, I realized there is a 20¢ increase in pricing on the menu. Price increase is inevitable in businesses but from what I heard, they have kept the price low at a dollar for a very long time.

It is a pity that pricing have gone up by a little because I feel the low price is their selling point and perhaps the reason why customers are flocking to the stall like bees to honey.

Portion wise, the fried bee hoon may be just nice for a senior or child. Now that they have increased the price to $1.20, I find the value not there anymore because this is the same amount I pay at my regular stall yet I only got 3/4 of that portion here.

Taste wise, the bee hoon is flavored by soy sauce and have a old school taste, however, the texture is not as soft as I liked.

As for the porridge, it comes in a small bowl. Again, it might be just nice for a senior or child. While $1.20 sounds very affordable for a bowl of porridge, you should take into consideration the size of the bowl.

Also, the consistency is thin like gruel while the peanut is few and far between. I am quite disappointed with the quality of the porridge, actually. For peanut porridge, I would rather stick to the one from Jia Ji Mei Shi.

Maybe the menu here is designed for the elderly in mind but I find the portion too miserly for an adult while the flavors too light on my palette. I might have set my expectations too high after all, you get what you paid for.