Tian Tian Porridge in Chinatown Since 1952 · A Blast from the Past 天天粥品猪

I enjoyed this simple, no frills old school Cantonese porridge in Chinatown Complex. It's a blast from the past.

Stall name: Tian Tian Porridge  天天粥品

Address: 335 Smith Street, #02-185 Chinatown Complex Food Centre, Singapore 050335

Nearest MRT: 5 minutes walk from Chinatown station

Hours: 6:00am - 2:00pm (Mon off)

In this quiet corner of Chinatown Complex in the Blue zone where you see more silver heads than black, the Wong family runs Tian Tian Porridge stall since 1983. Many of their customers are long time regulars.

Actually Tian Tian Porridge is much older. Founded in 1952, it was one of those street side stalls at Smith Street - the original foodie street of Singapore. They moved into Chinatown Complex in 1983. Image courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

The menu is simple - pork porridge, fish porridge, optional egg.

Tian Tian used to be famous for their raw fish porridge but that is no longer allowed today.

I opted for pork porridge with everything i.e. meat balls plus offal. They will deliver your food to your table - an old practice from street side stall days which a few old Chinatown Complex hawkers still carry on from the past. Price $4.

The porridge was smooth and runny, not thick and heavy like a paste. The rice grains were almost completely dissolved by slow boiling. The porridge tasted well balanced savoury sweet. The sweetness from rice and savouriness presumably from sauces, seasoning and stock bones. There's also the natural sweetness from fresh pork which is what I appreciate from Tian Tian Porridge.

There's minced pork balls (hand pinched), liver, intestine 生肠 fallopian tube, and tripe, all in small pieces. All fresh, so we can taste the nice natural porcine sweetness which infused the whole bowl of porridge. I especially like the intestine 生肠 fallopian tube as it was very well cleaned, sweet and had a nice tender, springy crunch to the bite.

The you char kway (fried fritter) added a bit of variety in texture and another layer of mild savoury flavour.

Nursing a hot bowl of good, tasty porridge in this quiet corner of Chinatown Complex is a special kind of contented bliss. 

                  

Written by Tony Boey on 30 Dec 2021