Specialising in porridge and claypot frog dishes, the Tiong Shian Porridge Centre in Chinatown is always packed to the brim. So if you’re going there during peak hours, be prepared to wait for about half an hour or longer to get your food. But when I visited the eatery recently, I managed to beat the dinner crowd, with a waiting time of around 15 minutes for my meal.
My eating companions and I ordered the larger portion of the frog porridge available, ($16.00) to share. We also had a Braised Bean Curd ($2.60) and a plate of sautéed vegetables ($5.00). As well, we also ordered a small plate of barbecued chicken wings ($1.40 per wing), which we had bought from the stall next door.
ClayPot Frog Porridge
The frog porridge was really good. The meat was full of flavour and the texture and taste of the frog was pretty similar to chicken. It was also moist and tender, with pieces of meat even falling off the bones.
At the same time, I was also impressed by the amount of frog pieces in the porridge. I guessed that there must have been at least about two frogs in there.
The porridge itself is very tasty and it can probably be eaten on its own – without any side dishes.
Braised Bean Curd
The Braised Bean Curd was also very delicious and the tofu was served warm. It was crispy on the outside, and soft and moist on the inside. The delicious sauce that the bean curd was served with, complemented the dish really well, and the generous side serving of red chillis also gave the tofu dish a rather yummy kick. I thought that it was easily one of the better tofu dishes that I have had.
Sautéed Vegetables
These vegetables were baby Kai Lan, and they were quite good. The sauce complemented them really well and the Kai Lan was crunchy and not overcooked. I really enjoyed munching on these. They went well together with the porridge.
Barbecued Chicken Wings
These barbecued chicken wings were definitely well marinated and the flavour was really good. The best way to eat these, is together with the porridge – to balance out the slightly oily taste from the chicken wings.
Other Signature Dishes Offered
During our meal, I did noticed some diners eating other popular dishes, such as the plain porridge, claypot dried chilli frog, claypot ginger and spring onion frog, braised pig intestine, the claypot fish head bee hoon and claypot dried chilli prawns. Perhaps I will try out these dishes on my next visit.
Tiong Shian Prriadge Centre
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