Mother Porridge @ Pandan Perdana

I first tried Mother Porridge @ Pandan Perdana through the delivery platform.  So, herein lies the beauty of ShopeeFood as you can check what exactly the restaurants offer by scrolling their menu on the app.  This is ideal especially when you have family members who are not open to eating some things...and you can check out the menu beforehand or do a taste test first before deciding if they're good enough to be explored further for a dine-in.

Obviously, Mother Porridge passed the taste test with flying colours when I tried out their mixed pork, fish and salted chicken porridge previously via delivery.  If you eat their porridge on-site, they're served in claypots which is even better since they can retain heat and keep the porridge hot for longer.

Having had a positive taste test, I decided to come for a dine-in with family since I noted (from their delivery menu) that they do offer some other things besides porridge that my family can partake in since they're not fans of porridge (of any kind)! >.<

The very thing I wanted to eat here was their Frog in Claypot @ RM18.50 which isn't the most suitable thing to order via delivery (I guess anything claypot isn't...as claypot dishes are revered for being hot when served and best eaten that way too).

This claypot frog was cooked in a thick and spicy sauce much like kung po style with the heat of dried chillies and flavours of oyster + dark + soy sauce.  It was really, really tasty. ^o^  Even my son who doesn't eat frogs scooped the sauce over his rice.

The frog thighs (actually hind legs lah) were meaty and super tender (they taste better than chicken if you ask me).  Just like chicken thighs, I love the thigh part the most coz it's the meatiest and there's only one centre bone to contend with.  It goes without saying that the bigger and meatier the frogs, the tastier and sweeter the meat is coz skinny/small frogs are just too bony with little meat (these you'd usually find cooked in the porridge itself, not separately). 

I've eaten frogs in porridge before (as in the frog is cooked together in the congee)...but not frog with porridge! ;P  I didn't know that a dish with frog (cooked in sauce) would work so well with porridge until I was recommended it years ago by a porridge specialist...and I've loved it ever since although this dish is not commonly found other than in porridge specialist shops (and some dai chow places).

The Plain Porridge in Claypot @ RM5 was of the right consistency and the spicy sauce tasted really good with the porridge.  You can get 3 Chinese rice bowls out of this serving (I had two and my husband helped finish the third).

I ordered the Claypot Stewed Pork Belly with Mui Choy @ RM18.50 for my family who chose to eat rice, of course.  The pork belly was tender and the mui choy (or preserved mustard) was nicely soft.  Another great dish to go with rice.

The meaty Deep-Fried Spring Rolls @ RM12.50 with a filling of chicken and seafood (as stated in the menu) were rather tasty.  The thin and light batter coating the rolls, probably from a combo of a rice flour and cornflour slurry (I'm making a guess here), was super crispy to the bite.

If there's a vegetable dish that's a must-order (for me) when eating porridge is certainly the Braised Salted Vegetables (or Ham Choy) @ RM6...and these were excellent, super soft and not overly salty.  We could have eaten a few more plates of this.

I also placed an order for Oyster Sauce Lettuce (or Sang Choy) @ RM10 to go with rice.  Great to see it topped with plentiful of fried (but unfortunately limp) shallots.

I remember that the Fried Dough Sticks (Chinese Crullers or Yau Char Kwai) @ RM2.50 (which I ordered through delivery) were light, airy and crispy (like they were freshly fried or house-made), so I got that as well.  Again, it didn't disappoint and certainly one of the better ones I've had with porridge.

There are also a number of dishes on the menu which are not in their delivery menu.  Although porridge is their speciality (with a choice of various ingredients), they also have Teochew braised dishes like pork belly, innards of pig ears and intestines, tofu and egg.  Besides frog in claypot, they also offer fish, eel, prawn, lala, pork, chicken, abalone and Japanese snails in claypot.

My Personal Opinion

As expected, this porridge is even better eaten on-site since it's served in a claypot which is ideal for retaining heat and help keep the congee hot for longer...and they have an endless variety of porridge you can choose from (that I've yet to try)....my favourite for the time being is their chee chap chuk (porridge with pork innards).

Prices are affordable although portions can be a little small for some of the dishes.  It may not be the best porridge out there but it's one of very few places where I can find this dish of dried chillies frog (near me) that I can eat with porridge, so it'll be a place I'd keep in mind when I want to have porridge. ^_~

Mother Porridge

61-G Jalan Pandan Perdana 4/6

Pandan Perdana

55300 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-9284 9226