Fong Wah Teochew Porridge @ Pudu

You know I love all forms of chuk (porridge).....from a clean tasting fish porridge to a naughty bowl of pork innards porridge as among my favourites.  But I also really enjoy Teochew porridge as it's like a tai chow meal to me (with a myriad of small dishes to choose from) except I have it with porridge instead of rice.

When I'm not super hungry and hankering for a lighter meal, porridge is what I turn to.  I found Fong Wah Teochew Porridge @ Pudu while scrolling through ShopeeFood on such a day.  Since my family is not into porridge, I seldom have the chance to dine out at speciality porridge shops, so I resort to delivery (which is perfect for this type of meal).  The dishes travel well, you don't need them to be piping hot (only the porridge needs to be), you can order them ahead of time and many can be reheated without the taste being compromised.

Although I love to eat chuk and it's the one thing I can never get tired of eating, my family (unfortunately) doesn't share the same sentiments.  My son wouldn't go near it while my husband wouldn't choose it if he has a choice.

In the past, Teochew porridge places really only serve chuk with their array of small dishes as this type of food usually appeals to old-timers more but luckily times have changed and they now serve these dishes with rice.  That's probably because they know the younger generation nowadays don't fancy porridge all that much.

So, after finding this place on ShopeeFood, I made my first order starting with the Assam Stingray @ RM10 cooked with garlic slices, ginger shreds and fresh red chillies.  I'm glad to say that the stingray was fresh (without reeking of that unwanted ammonia smell) and the assam sauce was really tasty and well balanced between spicy and sour.  Wonderful! ^.^

The Stewed Chicken Feet with Mushrooms @ RM6 had good garlic flavours as I could see bits of softened garlic as well as garlic skins floating in the sauce.  You can also taste the distinctive flavour of star anise in the sauce.  The chicken feet was cooked till soft but I found only two pieces of mushroom though.

When it comes to vegetables that pair best with porridge, it has to be all those salted preserved vegetables, so an order of Stewed Preserved Vegetable with Minced Pork @ RM5.50 is a must.  This preserved vegetable of mui choy was cooked with minced pork (very little of it though).

I absolutely love to eat Stir-Fried Potato Leaves @RM5.50 of late.  It's a simple veggie dish but this one happens to be saltier and much tastier.  I also added my own salted egg since I had one in my pantry that needs to be finished.

I also got a Red Bean Soup with Sago @ RM3.50 for tea time later.  When it comes to tong sui, red bean wouldn't be among my top picks but the words sago pulled me in but when it came I was disappointed that there was hardly any sago.  You might want to give this a miss as the red bean dessert was a letdown.

This was Meal 1.....appetising!

For my second round of food from this place, I started with an order of Sour & Spicy Clam (Sihum) @ RM9.50 after enjoying something similar with the assam stingray.  The sihum size I'd say is small to medium though there were some really small ones too.  It's difficult to get large ones these days due to unstable and insufficient supply.  That's why even our go-to curry laksa or char kway teow stalls can come without cockles on some days.  The sauce is a bit similar to the asam stingray except it's thicker, not as sourish and spicier.  I used to think eating chuk with something sourish or spicy is weird but surprisingly it's not...it brightens the palate actually.  You should try it sometime.  Loved it! ^o^

What attracted me to this dish of Tofu with Chinese Chives @ RM6 was the use of Chinese chives (gau choy instead of the usual spring onions) although it's listed as leeks in their menu (luckily they have photos for all their dishes and I could clearly see that they were chives, not leeks).  Another difference was the minced pork used.  Instead of just stir-fried minced pork, I think they used the meat mix they prepared for their steamed minced pork with preserved vegetables (tung choy) as it tasted similar to that which gave it that extra savouriness.  This was then stir-fried with fried tofu, carrot strips and chives.

The Pumpkin with Ikan Bilis @ RM5.50 was sweet and cooked till very soft.  I wasn't expecting this consistency as I had hoped that it would be soft but not too soft until it's almost mushy.  It was supposed to be cooked with ikan bilis but I could hardly detect the savoury taste of ikan bilis in it.  Fortunately the taste of sweetish pumpkin still made it pleasurable even with its overly soft texture.

When it comes to Teochew porridge, the one thing I must have is this dish of Pickled Vegetables (ham choy) @ RM5.50 with its tangy, salty flavours that go so well with plain congee.  Now this I want it super soft.....and it was.  Not the best one I've had (that still belongs to the one in Sun Fatt Kee Teochew Porridge in Seapark) but still respectable nonetheless.

This Fried Mackerel in Bean Paste Sauce @ RM9.50 got my attention when I saw the photo on their menu. The photo showed it cooked in bean sauce but the fish is not pre-fried first...and the bean sauce looked like salted black beans (in the photo).  I really like salted black beans but what came in the actual dish was taucheo (salted fermented soybeans) instead.  And what was even more surprising was that the sauce was packed separately (I mean I do like sambals and sauces to be packed separately but this was one occasion that didn't call for that).  This meant the fish was not infused with the saltiness of the taucheo during cooking and you kinda end up eating bland fried fish with a salty sauce...separately! >.<

This was Meal 2.....flavoursome!

As with many Teochew porridge places, Teochew stewed duck is a mainstay in their menu and many are judged on just how good their Teochew duck is.  So, for my third order, I wanted to try their Stewed Duck with Soy Sauce @ RM16 (for a 1/4 duck)...and this one I'm happy to report was more than decent.  The stewed duck was well-flavoured and tender, accompanied by a soy sauce (they even gave an extra packet of sauce).  

They were also proud to proclaim that their stewed duck comes with their house-made chilli sauce made with red chillies, green (+ probably red) bird's eye chillies and chopped garlic, it was not the usual blended chilli paste but one with a chunkier bite.  It was very spicy but very good indeed and addictive.

I did try to request for duck breast but since the portion given was listed as a quarter duck, it was not possible.  I got the drumstick/leg portion.  The duck leg may be a little fatty around the thigh region (which isn't a big problem, I just tear off the fatty skin though some would welcome the fatty skin).

I got Fried Picked Vegetables @ RM5.50 this round.  This ham choy is pretty much similar to the earlier pickled vegetables except that one was braised/boiled on its own until very soft while this one is stir-fried with minced pork and have more leaves than stems.  It's also cooked till soft but a little sourish in taste. Surprising, you'd think ham choy will be salty but this one was not.  And the best thing about cooked pickled vegetables...they keep so well that reheating doesn't compromise its taste.

As for the Stir-Fried Vegetable Gall @ RM6, I wasn't sure what vegetable gall was at first but (from the photo in their menu) I thought it looked like choy tam.  I've seen it referred to online with different names like baby kailan, cabbage shoots, Chinese brussels sprouts, Chinese broccoli and baby kale which makes it very obvious we aren't quite sure what to call it in English.  If I'm not wrong, I think it's called Chinese brussels sprouts (I used to think brussels sprouts and Chinese brussels sprouts were the same, so I didn't order it at tai chow places coz brussels sprouts are a bit hard if stir-fried because of their shape and how compact they're + I've always associated them with western cuisine as they're best roasted, halved).

The Vegetarian Goose @ RM3 arrived, to my delight, still quite crispy.  They had good flavours too without that unpleasant overused oil taste that some have.

The Salted Egg @ RM2.50 was the only minor blip (as you can clearly see) in a series of successful dishes from here.  If I were to cut open the salted egg and found that it looked like that, I wouldn't have served it.  My own salted eggs (inset) was much better in quality.

This was Meal 3.....delicious!

You can order porridge (RM2 a portion) or rice (RM2 also) to go with your dishes but I'd rather cook my own porridge.  That way I can cook the porridge to my desired consistency and exactly the way I love to eat it.

Prices are reasonable and portions here are really substantial.  Each order of between 4 - 5 dishes is good enough to feed two people (in fact it was enough for 3 meals for me on days when I want something lighter....I can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner).

My Personal Opinion

Overall, the food in general here is saltier than the norm but that's because it's supposed to be eaten with porridge that's bland tasting, so it needs something more savoury to lift up its flavours.  If you're not into saltier flavours (or having it with chuk), then this might not be for you.  Even though I'm not for robust flavours myself, it does lighten up when you eat it with porridge (but I can definitely taste the saltier flavours when I pair it with rice).

Most of the dishes I've tried here are either good or decent.  Nothing that were overly unsuccessful except maybe for the red bean dessert.  Although it has a low Google rating, mostly for reasons that the food is expensive, I didn't feel the same way since the portions I got were rather substantial (lone diners may not realise that the orders come in standardised portions per dish ordered which can be easily shared by two or more).  You know what, I'm not done yet.  There are still loads on the menu I want to try.

Some of the dishes I've tried that are good, I've ordered them for my family (to eat with rice, of course) and the saltier flavours were met with approval...would there be any other outcome?  Some were still salty (even my son thinks so like those preserved salted vegetables), so (with that in mind) order the right dishes for your palate if you've a low sodium threshold.  I'm just happy to have found a very decent old-school Teochew porridge near me that'll see future orders from me for sure.

Fong Wah Teochew Porridge

61 Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah

Off Jalan Pudu

Pudu

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 012-200 4832