Well...., we didn't plan to come here. We actually wanted to have pork kidney at the famous Tiande 天德 but were turned away on arrival because their kidneys were sold out (even before opening for dinner service 🙄🥹 ).
Disappointed, of course, but I am cool about it lah - we had Foshan local chef Feng with us. I am 200% sure that he can recommend us another excellent pork kidney place.
We promptly ploughed back into the Foshan rush hour traffic, and on our way to 海记粥公粥婆.
On arrival here, I like it already lah... . I like to eat where locals eat, to soak in the atmosphere and immerse in the local cultural melting pot.
Tables and diners spilling onto the sidewalk is usually a good sign of good food 😀
Inside, it's quite a big space, busy with locals, convivial banter and laughter, enjoying good food and company - I like to be part of this wherever I go.
The protocol starts with selecting the ingredients you like for your porridge.
The pork meat and offal were not pre-cut for cooking. They were prepared, sliced, etc., only on order. Everything was uber fresh - there was no smell coming out from the well stocked display chiller at all.
They also have fresh fish swim bladder.
Some of the raw ingredients we ordered delivered to us in a wooden trolley.
Tame mundane stuff like liver.
Who ordered so many pork brains? At this point, I wasn't sure if I should try them 🤔
As its name Congee Grandpa Grandma states, 海记粥公粥婆 is a porridge / congee place.
The porridge was light, dilute but not overly watery. There was more porridge water than rice gruel.
The idea was to cook the ingredients we selected in this large pot of porridge (the way we would at a steamboat / hotpot place).
Reap what you sow 😀
They call this 粉肠头 "small intestine head". It was crunchier and sweeter than any small intestine that I have ever eaten before.
I've seen cockerel testicles in Taiwan and Guangdong before but never tried them till now. My first time, they felt creamy soft "powdery" and tasted sweetish.
Kidneys were soft crunchy. No kidney smell or taste. They took on the sweet savoury taste and smell of the porridge that they were blanched in.
I like the tofu. The inside was soft like bean curd, fell apart when I tried to pick them up. Tasted sweet like fresh bean curd too.
Pork liver so crunchy with slight liver taste which I enjoyed.
Brain surgery in progress 🫢
Creamy slightly firmer, denser than tofu. Milky gently savoury taste.
海记粥公粥婆 also has cooked dishes like this stir fried fish bladders.
So delicious. I don't know where to get this outside of Foshan.
It's about texture and flavour - smooth, spongy, softly chewy, a bit gummy, savoury sweet taste with slight wok hei.
Must order this.
The obligatory greens served unceremoniously in steel pans. Skilfully stir fried, applying just enough heat to drive away the raw taste while retaining the sweet juices and natural crunch of the leaves and stems. The vegetables were enveloped with flavours from savoury sauce, oil, aromatics, dried seafood, etc. So delicious.
Simple fried bee hoon (rice vermicelli) with soy sauce and a bit of lean pork plus aromatics. Porridge and fried bee hoon always go well together like durian and mangosteen.
We went to Tiande 天德 the next evening. Actually, having tried both 海记粥公粥婆 and Tiande on consecutive evenings, I love both though if I have to choose only one, 海记 has the edge.
I prefer 海记's watery porridge over 天德's ginger soup for steamboat / hotpot stock base. 海记 have a wilder range of ingredients besides pork kidney. If, you are lucky enough like us to have time for both Tiande and 海记, then do both.
Restaurant name: Haiji Zhou Gong Zhou Po 海记粥公粥婆
Address: 25P7+W89, Fopingsan Rd, Nanhai District, Foshan, Guangdong Province, China, 528253 佛山 佛平三路辅路与平稳工业大道交叉口东南角 (近世纪达)
Tel: 13129199628
Hours: 5pm - 3am
Written by Tony Boey on 21 Apr 2026
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