I had been wanting to taste old school Teochew duck porridge for a long time. Buddy brought me to Hong Qin 鸿勤鱼粥.鸭粥 when we happened to be in the Aljunied area of Singapore yesterday.
Hong Qin Fish & Duck Porridge is at a corner coffee shop along busy Sims Avenue near the intersection with Geylang East Ave 1 (and 3 minutes walk from Aljunied MRT station).
Hong Qin is under the flight path of aeroplanes using Singapore's Paya Lebar Airbase (to its northeast). You will see aircraft passing low overhead as they come in to land. The roar of fighter jets overhead is music to my ears (really).
The menu is at the front counter. Hong Qin is most famous for their duck porridge, fish soup, braised duck and braised pork trotters.
Boss Tay Kim Song joined the stall founded by his dad once he completed his full time National Service in 1985. His wife joined him soon afterwards. Together, they wake up at 3am every working day to prepare the dishes.
At Hong Qin, the Tays still cut the fish from whole Ikan Batang (most stalls in Singapore use pre-cut fish from suppliers). Asked if any of their grown up children will be carrying on their grandparents' legacy, Mr. Tay replied that he don't wish for his children to live a hawkers' hard life.
The main thing I came to Hong Qin for - their popular Teochew duck porridge.
The dish consists of a dark soupy savoury herbal sweetish broth with boiled rice and piled with chunky pieces of duck.
I enjoyed this broth as it had a complex blend of flavours which were at the right intensity and was well balanced. The tender naturally sweet rice infused the flavoursome broth, making it extra appetising. The meaty chunks of duck were tender (but not soft) and infused with broth flavours.
Hong Qin's version of Teochew duck porridge rekindled my love for this "old man dish" which I haven't had for a very long time.
Before they moved to this large shop, Mr. Tay's wife used to run the fish soup stall side by side with his duck porridge stall. As mentioned, Mr. Tay's wife personally cut the whole Ikan Batang (Spanish Mackerel) fish, waking up at 3am to do it every day. This is rarely done in today's Singapore.
Clear watery soup with gentle savoury sweet flavour.
Just fresh Ikan Batang fish simply blanched in soup. Just natural fish sweet flavours in the tender white flesh, what's more to say? 😄 Oh, I like it with skin on as it adds another layer of texture and flavour.
Hong Qin is also famous for their braised pork trotter and stewed vegetables.
Hong Qin's braising stock was quite mild - well balanced savoury herbal sweet, so we can taste a bit of the tender juicy pork's natural sweetness. Same for the stewed vegetables 梅菜 - just the right level of salty-savouriness.
Braised duck wings - perfect beer food.
Recommended for you 👍 Not many places in Singapore serve traditional Teochew duck porridge. Hong Qin is a good place to enjoy this dish.
Restaurant name: Hong Qin Fish and Duck Porridge 鸿勤鱼粥.鸭粥
Address: #01-127, 134 Geylang East Ave 1, Singapore 380134
GPS: 1°18'57.1"N 103°53'08.1"E 🌐 1.315861, 103.885593
Hours: 5:30am - 3:00pm (off on alternate Tues)
Non Halal
Date visited: 14 Jan 2019
Written by Tony Boey on 15 Jan 2019 | Updated on 4 July 2021
You even managed to find this stall! Very resourceful indeed. Thank you for all the yummy recommendations:)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete