We tried Singapore’s worst-rated Teochew porridge

To be very honest, I felt pretty anxious after reading several bad reviews regarding Ban Heng Teochew Porridge, located at basement 2 of Northpoint City. Unfortunately, this establishment was rated really low at 2.7 stars with 165 reviews on Google Reviews (at time of writing).

So for my second instalment of the worst-rated series, I decided to check this highly-criticised porridge spot for myself. Some netizens complained about the staff’s bad attitude that involved sarcastic remarks and getting scolded for taking too long to decide on the ingredients.

There were also numerous complaints about the ridiculously-high pricing, small portions and stench of the place. With my expectations set extremely low, I took a deep breath and hesitantly stepped into the eatery.

As per the comments, the place indeed had a strong fishy odour. But I’ve got to give credit to the eatery, as they swiftly arranged for an external service to install deodoriser canisters throughout the space, which quickly reduced odours.

Now, I wasn’t sure if this is a regular practice, but it definitely improved the overall dining experience.

I must also highlight that the service from the Chinese ladies manning the stall was friendly and welcoming (or maybe the rude staff were on leave?). They even offered to carry the tray of food to our table!

What I tried at Ban Heng Teochew Porridge

To better gauge the cost of each dish, I assigned my dad aka dining partner to order his own set while I got another. He selected preserved mustard greens, fried pork cutlet and a slab of steamed fish to go with his bowl of porridge.

“That will be S$11.10,” commented the staff.

We were slightly taken aback at how steep the price was, especially since it was for just one person.

We started with the porridge which wasn’t as piping hot as what we had hoped for. Instead, it was lukewarm. We looked around and saw that other diners, who had just received their porridge, had steaming hot bowls, as they were blowing on their spoons before eating. 

Our thoughts? Perhaps we received an old batch, or they scooped our porridge from the surface without mixing it.

We concluded that the slab of steamed fish was the primary reason for the steep price. Naturally, we had higher expectations since it cost more.

The fish had tender flesh that flaked apart effortlessly. It was also decently seasoned, and the fine ginger strips on top were a nice touch. My only gripe? It was served cold.

I don’t think I’ve ever encountered an establishment that butchered mei cai until that day. It had the raw vegetable taste with hardly any seasoning. Sorry to say, but according to my dining partner, it was probably the worst preserved mustard greens he had ever eaten— and I have to agree. Even the stems were on the tough side.

The fried pork cutlet seemed promising with its fragrant, crispy skin, but I was soon let down by its tough meat. However, the second piece was slightly softer, indicating that it wasn’t consistent. If the entire plate was like the latter, it would’ve been decent.

We then moved on to my porridge set consisting of 2 bowls of congee, shark meat, mapo tofu, sauteed pork with long beans and steamed egg (the dish with the most number of complaints). The total cost was S$9.70.

I started with the most talked-about dish: the steamed egg. Online comments mentioned that it was too watery, and the pictures looked unappealing. However, the version I tried that day didn’t look so bad although there was some water at the bottom.

Taste-wise, it was actually quite yummy with bits of minced pork embedded within— they are on the way to getting it right, so be patient fellas!

The sliced pork with a soy-based glaze was soft and savoury, sauteed with long beans. It was one of the highlights of my visit.

What I initially thought was ‘mapo tofu’, turned out to be braised beancurd cubes with minced pork instead, devoid of any Sichuan spices or chilli. It was delicious and complemented the bowl of porridge well.

The final dish, the shark meat, had dominant hints of black bean sauteed with celery. It was slightly too savoury to be eaten on its own, but when paired with the porridge, achieved a perfect balance of flavours.

The flesh was pillowy soft with a nice texture and tasted fresh. The chilli also added a gentle punch of spice.

Final thoughts

Although the online rating for Ban Heng Teochew Porridge was only 2.7, we felt that certain aspects of the place exceeded expectations, such as the service and the odour issue, which they resolved swiftly on the day I visited.

Food-wise, some of the dishes needed improvement, and they should definitely work on the temperature of the food.

For those who live in Yishun and have tried this stall, what are your honest opinions? Please let me know.

Expected damage: S$4 – S$13 per pax

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