Ah Chiang’s Porridge

Heard quite a fair bit about Ah Chiang's porridge, which is situated amongst the conservation area of Tiong Bahru and boasts a rich history dating back to 1971. The various media appearances are seemingly testament to its honest to goodness bowls of porridge which are painstakingly cooked over a charcoal stove.

Occupying a corner unit, Ah Chiang's can take about 30 people or so and tables are on a first come first serve basis, very much like any mom and pop coffee shops around. On both occasions that I went, at 1230pm on a Saturday and 1030am on a Sunday, seats were readily available but I understand that long waits are to be expected especially in the morning.

Intestine Porridge with Meatballs & Century Egg Porridge with Chicken - At $5.50, this was a rather expensive bowl of porridge. The focus was undoubtedly on the porridge, which came across as smooth with bits of grains and didn't seem too starchy. The quantity of ingredients were acceptable at best and if it wasn't for the extra meatballs, the intestines alone would have been a sorry sight. Not that the meatballs or intestines tasted fantastic anyways. I could also detect MSG in the porridge, but I guess that's rather common in porridge nowadays. The bowl of century egg porridge cost slightly lesser, at $4.50 for a sprinkling of century egg and chicken slices. As with the previous dish, the porridge itself was the star while the century egg and chicken slices were merely average.

Honestly, I found the porridge quite decent overall, just that prices are a tad too steep.

See all my pictures here.