Unlike the typical Teochew Muay (Porridge) places which are somewhat similar to economical mixed vegetable rice stalls, Xu Jun Sheng Teochew Porridge at Joo Chiat is more like a no-frills restaurant serving teochew porridge, zi-char style.
Instead of ordering at the stall, you get to sit down and look at a menu that has quite a few items. I very much prefer Teochew Porridge places in coffee shops, where you get to stand by the stall and look at the dishes available.
In any case, Xu Jun Sheng – known to my friends as the famous Joo Chiat Teochew Muay – has been around for a long time and they have many regular customers, so they must have been doing something right.
Teochew porridge is a meal where you have Teochew style porridge (which is more watery), accompanied with small plates of side dishes like braised pork, steamed pomfret, salted duck egg, omelette, minced meat and preserved vegetables.
I was quite excited to make the order. My dining companion has not tried Teochew Porridge before, so I was determined to show her the best of everything. Steamed Traditional Fish Cake ($1/pc) or Steamed Otah? Pork Trotters ($6) or Braised platter ($8) which consists of Braised Meat, Preserved Vegetables, Tau Kwa/Tau Pok, and Braised Egg? Omelette ($5-7), Prawn Roll ($6) or Stir-fried Sesame Chicken ($8)? Sambal Kangkong ($7), or Stir-fried Nai Bai ($7)? If I were with a larger group of people, I would have ordered everything, but no, it was just the two of us, so we only had a few dishes to share.
There’s nothing more gratifying than a bowl of watery Teochew Porridge with Prawn Roll, Stir-fried Sweet Potato Leaves with Sambal, Braised Platter and the very delicious Fu Yong Omelette. The best things in life are often very simple.
Prices at Xu Jun Sheng Teochew Porridge Restaurant are slightly higher than the typical Teochew Muay stalls, but comparable to most zi-char places. It is a nice place to satisfy your Teochew muay craving if you like to dine in a comfortable setting. As for me, I’ll probably check out some of the Teochew Porridge buffet restaurants next time.
I need recommendations of good Teochew Porridge in Singapore! Please leave me a comment and let me know where you go for Teochew muay.
Singapore Food Blog Review
Xu Jun Sheng Chao Zhou Mei Shi
121 Joo Chiat Place
Mon to Sat: 11am – 3.30pm, 5.30pm – 9pm
Sun: 10.30am – 3.30pm
hi brad! do you know their opening hours? thank you.
Hi,
Lovely pics. Thanks for sharing. ^^
I also prefer to eat Teochew porridge in coffeeshops or hawker centres where I can look at the dishes and order in front of the stall.
Shihui: their opening hours are Mon–Sat: 11am – 3.30pm, 5.30pm – 9pm; Sun: 10.30am – 3.30pm
My favourite teochew porridge buffet is the one at the ground floor of suntec convention center. They only serve porridge for lunch I believe. Especially like that they have different types of porridge to choose from – plain, sweet potato and another that seems to change all the time. Many dishes to choose from, most of which taste pretty good by buffet standards and reasonably priced, especially on weekdays. I hope I’m not giving outdated information since I haven’t been there for some time and restaurants these days seem to come and go real quickly!
Having heard so much about this teochew restaurant,I invited 2 friends to have lunch with me there last thursday.
We were there around noon,so it was quite empty and we had no problems choosing a large table as we intended ordering
at least 5or6 different dishes.
The boss himself,Mr Koh took our order.He and his staff were
all very nice and service was very good.We did not find the place warm even though it was non-airconditioned,as there were ample fans installed.
The food itself was also very good and can be compared to that served at fancy teochew places charging more that double the price we paid here.
Too bad all three of us suffered from the galloping gut-rot afterwards.
The address is wrong. It’s not joo chiat place. I had a hard time trying to find it on foot.
DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE TO EAT!
As per your recommendation, I drove all the way from woodlands to Joo Chiat to give it a try.
I would confidently say this is the worst meal I ever had. I ordered vegetable, braised meat, salted fish steam pork and some other dishes.
The vegetable was good n so was the braised meat. I cut a piece of steam pork to eat n the texture feels alittle weird as its soft (not like it’s soft n tender kind of feeling) n so I thought it because of the salted fish.
I did not suspect anything n continue eatingthe rest of the dishes. The place are decorated with warm lights m so the place is kind of dark compared to other eating place.
Halfway through my meal, my friend mentioned that the steam pork is uncooked. We all took a closer look n the pork was actually pink in color n 98% of the whole piece is uncooked. Totally raw….. Awwwww…
I called for the waitress n tok her about it. She just gave me a “WTF” face n took the steam pork away. I told her that I do not want it anymore n she can cancel the order of the steam pork. She just rolled her eyes n walk away.
I went to make payment feeling so uncomfortable for eating raw pork. When I’m at the cashier, they insisted on charging me with the pork. I explained that I had return it n I should not be charge as it is uncooked. The person blow his top n said “Miss, we do not have this rule that u return n we can cancel the order. We can just re-steam for u and u can eat it.”
After hearing such irresponsible n rude word, I blew my top. I told him that it’s not right to re-steam food ESP raw meat after letting it sit outside. It will be contaminated.
He continued on insisting that is their all time practice n it’s ok.
He said “well nvm, just count myself unlucky. I’ll not charge u but next time u come n eat, just bring it back for me to resteam.”
Such irresponsible attitude… I was really upset over it n so I called NEA n reported this case.
They did not apologize at all n they don’t even bother to change a new plate. Yet insisted on steaming the old uncooked contaminated meat n expect customer to eat.
WORST place to visit. Not just because the food is nice (actually just alright but it’s pretty ex for just a little
Small dish n plain porridge) n they can throw their weight around n out customer health at risk.
In any case if u do not know what are the risk of taking uncooked pork….. Do read…
- Meat and poultry can contain a number of bacteria that can cause food poisoning. These bugs which include campylobacter, salmonella and most seriously, e.coli are destroyed by high temperatures. If meat is undercooked, it may not reach a sufficiently high temperature to kill the bacteria.
Symptoms of food poisoning include abdominal cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting which can last several days and leave the sufferer feeling very weak.
Beef and lamb can be eaten underdone as long as the meat is a single piece; either joints or smaller cuts such as steaks and chops. This is because the bacteria are found on the surface of the meat and not in the centre. Provided the outside is cooked at a high temperature, the meat is safe to eat, even if it remains pink in the middle.
Pork and poultry should never be undercooked. If you are cooking either, make sure that you cook it until the juices that run out when you put a skewer in, run clear. Undercooked pork can also cause other health problems such as tapeworm and trichinellosis even if it’s a small portion.
Because the bacteria that cause food poisoning live on or near the surface of the meat, the greater the surface area, the greater the risk. Minced or chopped meat of any description and any foods such as sausages and burgers must be thoroughly cooked to avoid the risk of poisoning.
Many people get sick from eating food contaminated by bacteria or other harmful organisms.
The potential health hazards of eating rare pork are not worth taking the risk of eating it undercooked.
Best teochew porridge is Yun Xing porridge at katong, but they have since moved. Any idea where? Best supper of all time! Been trying to hunt for a good place and a friend recommended Lim Joo Hin @ Havelock Road. Not bad.