長城 Porridge in Chinatown

Was in Chinatown last evening for dinner after an enjoyable movie, and settled for 長城 Porridge Centre at the junction of New Bridge Road and Keong Saik Road. Famous for their frog leg and pork porridge, this corner coffeeshop has expanded over the years to the entire corner block, with seating both upstairs and downstairs.

While waiting for our porridge to arrive, we ordered the barbecue chicken wings from the other stall in the shop. They have media clippings of good reviews and even a photograph featuring Chow Yun Fatt eating from the stall. The BBQ chicken wings used to be quite good, crispy and juicy. However, the ones we had last night were dry and tough. Sadly, the standard has dropped tremendously and the chicken wings have shrunk in size as well. A total disappointment.

But the porridge did not disappoint. We had our usual mixed pork porridge which comes with a generous portion of liver, small intestines (both fried and boiled),cuttlefish, minced pork balls and meat. On a cold night, the steaming hot porridge was a welcome delight.

We also ordered the Tofu which is another of my favourites. It is a block of fried tofu topped with gravy and lots of fried shallots and chopped spring onions. Absolutely delicious with the accompanying chilli sauce. We also had the vegetable with oyster sauce.

In all, a cheap and pleasant dinner.