Da Jia Shi - Deep-Fried Intestines Porridge @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

Da Jia Shi at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre is very low profile without much social media presence. Managed by one elderly lady, the stall does not attract a lot of attention and is known only to their regulars.

Illuminated by a couple of fluorescent lights, the dim and unattractive store front did not give me the urge to want to check them out despite the numerous times that I walked past over the years. 

I had no idea what they sell even though the photos of their menu is plastered on the glass window. 

I only realize this is a porridge stall after someone posted about it on my social media timeline. 

Johor Road Boon Kee Pork Porridge @ Blk 638 Veerasamy Road

About two Saturdays ago, I was left stranded at Rowell Road during a heavy downpour while out hunting for murals. Despite taking shelter under a HDB block, the strong wings carried the rain in.

Shivering from the cold, I suddenly recalled that Johor Road Boon Kee Pork Porridge was located just nearby at Blk 638 Veerasamy Road. 

What perfect weather to have a bowl of hot porridge! I almost gave myself a pat on the shoulder for my quick thinking. 

I braved the rain and ran over but when I reached the coffee shop, I realized I was not the only one toying with that idea. Not only is the premise full with no empty tables, there were long snaking queues at all the stalls. 

With the porridge stall, Mui Siong Minced Meat Noodle and Victor Famous Fried Chicken Wing Rice under the same roof, I was naïve to not have expected that outcome especially on a weekend.

With no hot porridge to warm my belly on a rainy day, I hung my head in shame. I continued to wait out for the rain to end and hatched a plan to return on another day.

Hai Xian Zhu Zhou - Ke Kou Mian @ Blk 233 Yishun Street 21

After having the ke kou mian from Bon Appetit at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, I kept thinking about the one near me at Blk 163A Gangsa Road (Bukit Panjang) and how the two actually compares.

To my surprise, I discovered that they have a stall at Yishun which is managed by relatives and its location is actually along the route to Yishun Park Hawker Centre from the bus interchange.

After I am done with Yishun Park Hawker Centre, I decided to check out this Hai Xian Zhu Zhou outlet at Blk 233 Yishun Street 21.

The coffee shop is located across the street from the bus stop where I got off. It is a quiet neighborhood however, all that changed once I stepped into the busy coffee shop. The premise was full of people with lots of chattering and hardly an empty table available.

I quickly joined the queue to place my order for a bowl of pork ke kou mian and was given a number tag to collect my food when the corresponding number flashed on the digital screen. I know a lot of customers were there for the exact same reason as I do because everyone were craning their necks towards the direction of the stall, waiting for their number to come up.

It took about twenty minutes for my number to appear on the screen.

Tian Tian Porridge @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

Update: Tian Tian Porridge has permanently closed.

After having my chee cheong fun at Duo Ji, I walked past Tian Tian Porridge which is managed by a couple of old folks. I find myself unable to walk away without having a bowl because I have the tendency to patronize a stall if the stall owner is an elderly. It does not matter if the food is good or not as my main reason is to support them.

As its name implies, Tian Tian Porridge serves porridge and they only have two options available so you can have either fish or pork.

I ordered a $4 bowl of pork porridge and the auntie told me to take a seat. I sat at the table nearest to the stall so she did not have to walk too far to deliver my order. I collected my bowl and moved to another table out of sight from the stall to take my photos in peace as I feel stressed out with people watching me taking photos of my food.

The perks of visiting the food centre early is that there is virtually no crowd at all.

Jia Ji Mei Shi @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

After an intensive three-months renovations, Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre has finally reopened much to the relief of the stall owners (no income for three months!) and the nearby office workers who had to venture further for their lunches.

Honestly, I do not see any difference with the newly renovated food centre. Illumination within is still as bad as before, throwing people into a dreary mood. Furthermore, seemingly cleaned tables still have stains on them, suggesting half-hearted jobs from the cleaning crew.

The only evident thing I see are the nets put up to keep out the birds.

The very first stall that I cannot wait to revisit is Jia Ji Mei Shi which serves all-day breakfast like chee cheong fun (rice rolls), orh kueh (yam cake), porridge, fried bee hoon and rice dumplings, etc.

This particular stall is one of the more popular ones hence a perpetual queue is to be expected although it is not as terrible as Liao Fan's (Hawker Chan) which is just perpendicular in front to their stall.

Ivan's Fried Intestines Porridge @ Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre

Remember the time I had fish porridge at Ivan's Porridge at Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre? I could not stop thinking about the fried intestines porridge that I saw on the menu so I have decided to make a return visit for just that.

I have eaten boiled and braised intestines before but having it fried is still my very first time. The humble offal often plays second fiddle to the other ingredients like minced pork and pork slices however, at this stall, the intestine is the star taking centrestage as the sole ingredient!

Honestly, intestine porridge is quite uncommon to me as its not available at any of my regular porridge stalls. The most I get is two or three pieces of it in mixed pork porridge and that is about it.

I placed an order for a bowl of fried intestine porridge ($3.50) and added an egg (50¢) with the "havoc" auntie.

Ivan's Porridge @ Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre

During my second visit to Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre, Ivan's Porridge was on the agenda.

I am there to try the boneless fish belly porridge which is highly recommended online but after scrutinizing the menu, I realize that it was no longer available. Perhaps it is an off-the-menu item but I did not ask so I decided to settle for the sliced fish porridge instead.

I placed my order with the auntie who had a punk hairstyle. To my surprise, she is actually quite polite and soft-spoken despite her "havoc" appearance. I was told to take a seat while my order will be delivered to me shortly.

Soh Kee Cooked Food @ Jurong West 505 Market & Food Centre

And so, Jurong West 505 Market & Food Centre has finally reopen after three grueling months of renovation works. The food centre section is now cleaner and brighter but contrary to expectations, there are no increase in seating capacity so finding a clean table is still as difficult.

Anyway, three months is too long a time to keep me away from having my favorite porridge at Soh Kee Cooked Food. 

This stall offer the usual chicken porridge ($2), fish porridge ($3), cuttlefish porridge ($3) and mixed porridge ($3) but what most people ordered here is actually their plain porridge with poached chicken.