Am seriously missing this right now, legit.
Don't ask me why.
It's just one of those things that you don't realize until it happens.
I didn't think I would be missing a bowl of porridge from Sin Heng Kee here in Toa Payoh so much until now, when I wish I could have this together with their signature youtiao.
One doesn't put it to mind when you're having a meal there, but their youtiao has to be one of the best that I have eaten thus far.
It isn't just that the youtiao is pong pong bulky and fluffy soft and freshly fried hot when you go collect it from the counter.
It is also the fact that I think there is a bit of flavor (salt, maybe, or something) added to the flour before they drop it into the bubbling oil to fry.
I don't have a picture of the youtiao I had this evening.
But I have some of the porridges we ordered.
My friend and I had our own bowls of porridge for our dinner this evening.
If you're wondering what that means, well, we sometimes share.
But tonight he wanted more pork and I wanted century egg.
So he got his bowl of pork porridge add egg, and I got mine with century egg and pork.
You know, I've never had any other order since day one when I started having porridge here at Sin Heng Kee.
That, despite the fact that they have plenty of other porridges on the menu.
I'm not sure which the most popular one is.
It might be the Sliced Fish Porridge or the Intestines Porridge.
It might be the Pig Liver Porridge or the Meatball Porridge. The Cuttlefish Porridge and the Seafood Porridge looks good too.
The one thing I've noticed is that they don't have beef.
However, they do have Frog Porridge, Sliced Abalone Porridge, Hokkaido Scallops Porridge and Fresh Prawn Porridge.
It's funny, but to date I haven't seen anyone have the Fresh Prawn Porridge or the Ginger Onion Frog Porridge. To the very least I haven't seen prawn shells or frog bones on the table.
Makes me wonder a little what it is that the others order.
The Sliced Fish, perhaps, or maybe Peanut or Meatball.
It doesn't matter that I only want the same bowl every time I come here.
I've always loved century eggs with porridge. Doesn't matter what stock the porridge is cooked in. It all tastes good to me. The soft, mushy yolk, in particular, adds a hard-to-describe taste to the dish. The warmth of the rice mellows down the tartness, chemical taste of the egg. When eaten together, one gets a comforting, earthy taste that you don't necessarily get with any other combination. It's unique on its own.
Portions of meatballs and sliced pork inside the bowl are generous as well.
What makes this especially lovely is that none of the ingredients are undercooked or overcooked. I never get a chewy slice of pork that hasn't been cooked right. I also never get a slice of pork so hard and dry that it is impossible to appreciate. It's not just the sliced pork that is good.
The meatballs, all of which are the right size, have a lovely salty taste on their own and feel like they're handmade- not the small small frozen kind that you buy from the supermarket.
Even the porridge itself has a flavor that warms my mood and my tummy up. Everyone has their own palate. Some people prefer a rice porridge on the outright salty side. Others like theirs tasty but a bit more mellow.
Me, I like the mellower one like how Sin Heng Kee do it here.
And their portion is always more than enough.
I'm always full by the time I am done with my bowl.
Even if I still want another stick of the dough fritters youtiao to go with a cup of hot kopi.