You know you've reached a season in your life when the single most exciting things to happen to you is a bowl of porridge from a very nice porridge place in Toa Payoh Central.
Up until now I had not known just how popular Sin Heng Kee Porridge was.
I mean, I had heard of it, but I hadn't known of their many outlets all around the island in Tampines, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Woodlands, Hougang, and Toa Payoh.
Neither had I known that the Sin Heng Kee Porridge in Toa Payoh Lorong 6 was in fact the estate area in Toa Payoh Central close to the HDB Hub a short walk away.
But I happen to be in and around Toa Payoh more these days, and so I have become a wee bit more familiar with Toa Payoh Central and all the shops that are there.
Sin Heng Kee Porridge was crowded that afternoon when we got to the place.
So full of people there were in this cozy little diner that afternoon that there was a queue to get a table.
Fortunately it wasn't too long a wait- and after a bit of a squeeze- we got ourselves a table with a family on one side, and a couple on the other.
Sin Heng Kee Porridge has an extensive menu, no joke.
They have, first of all, a Signature Porridge.
What it has, I don't know, but one presumes it has a little bit of everything that's available on the menu, so there might be meatballs, sliced pork, pig liver, mixed pig organs, intestines, century egg, and even more.
The porridge that grabs my eye is the Century Egg range.
Century Egg porridge has been one of my favorites for a very long time. Yes, the taste is squeamish to some, but nope, not for me, and whilst I prefer it with hot porridge rather than eating it cold raw, it is the porridge I go for whenever I can.
Over here the Century Egg Porridge comes with other ingredients like sliced pork, or meatball. You can have it with peanuts, chicken, or fish. If none of those catch your fancy, you can have it with cuttlefish, or mix organs too.
This afternoon I had a bowl of Century Egg & Meatball Porridge.
My friend had chosen it for me.
And I think I'll be sticking to this porridge for a long time to come.
Not because the other varieties aren't good.
Just that everybody has their own preferences, and just as there will be someone (like my friend) who prefers pure meat over the addition of century egg, there will be those who want their Sliced Fish porridge, or their Sliced Fish & Cuttlefish porridge.
Maybe someone who is vegetarian will go for the Peanut porridge.
And maybe someone who wants a lighter meal could have the Minced Chicken porridge.
The seafood range of porridge here seems to be quite the star, I have to say.
There's one of Hokkaido Scallops porridge.
There's one of Sliced Abalone porridge.
There's one of Fresh Prawn porridge.
And then there's one of Seafood porridge that looks like it has a little bit of everything inside it.
Some of their porridges get served in claypots, like the Dried Chili Frog porridge, the Ginger Onion Frog porridge, and the Wild-Caught Red Grouper porridge, all of which are quite popular, even in the heat of the daytime.
I'm not sure which of these the customers around me were having.
It might well have been the Ginger Onion Cuttlefish porridge.
It might also well have been the New Dish Pomfret porridge.
What charms customers very much, however, I think, are the side dishes, where, out of the Fry Pomfret, the Fried Premium Dumplings, and the Fried Intestines, the most popular would be the youtiao.
Youtiao in porridge is common- we see it all the time- but youtiao as big a chonk as this dough fritter- now, that doesn't happen very often- and for this reason it is, I'm sure, that every table seems to have at least one.
The youtiao comes uncut (so you can see its portion and size) but there're scissors at the counter, and customers cut it up by themselves into spare small little bowls.
It is a joy eating here, really.
There's something special about sitting together with fellow diners, some wondering why the place is so crowded, some waiting for their porridge, some trying to make up their minds, some dipping the youtiao into their bowls, some steadily scooping up spoonful after spoonful of piping hot porridge into their mouths as they chat or look at their phones.
What I love about this brand new discovery is the porridge itself.
It's thick, savory (I think it has egg inside) and smooth.
The century eggs too have been prepared so well that the yolk literally blends into the porridge itself, and the meatballs- I think they're handmade- are soft, mushy, and so full of taste that they're good eaten together with the porridge, or eaten solo on their own.