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The last time I visited Yuhua Village Market & Food Centre was for my Hor Fun Showdown. This time, I returned for another – a Century Egg Porridge Showdown.
Century egg and pork congee is an umami, comforting concoction that can warm a person to their bones despite its simple nature. The black preserved duck egg ingredient may seem sketchy to ang mohs but it isn’t a strange concept for most Chinese Singaporeans.
I love the dish, so I was surprised when it occurred to me that I hadn’t had it for a long time. Upon realising that Yuhua Village Food Centre has two porridge stalls, I decided to feature them in this month’s showdown to determine which one I’d go to the next time I visit the area.
First up was Ming Ji Zhou Pin near the entrance of the hawker centre. It doesn’t have any official operating hours, but I learned from an elderly couple frequenting the centre that it opens early in the morning and closes as soon as 1pm. While its usually closed on Thursdays, that’s not fixed and depends on when the owner decides to take the day off.
Its menu consists of just congee, including combinations like Seafood Century Egg (S$4).
The next contender, We Porridge operates from 8am to 8pm, though it only opened at 8.45am on the day I made my visit. Three people run the stall, which serves meat porridge and gong bao claypot dishes like Stir Fry Frog Leg (S$9.50). There was also a long queue the last few times I visited in the afternoon, which I took as a sign of its popularity.
Price & Portion
The two bowls and their prices were drastically different! Ming Ji’s Century Egg Pork Congee was the smaller one at S$3.50. It was a decently sized portion suitable for a simple 1 pax breakfast.
We Porridge’s Century Egg w Lean Meat Porridge offered a larger portion for S$4.50. In my opinion, it was great value for money but almost impossible for just one person to finish. You could even share it between two or three people to save your wallet!
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Toppings
I wasn’t sure if I’d been living under a rock, but I had never seen congee topped with crunchy deep-fried bee hoon before this visit. The Ming Ji vendor scooped a generous spoonful of the crushed noodles, scallions and pepper into my dish, adding more greens when I asked.
Meanwhile, toppings from We Porridge were self-serve, aside from the youtiao bits the staff snipped into my bowl. The fried dough was subtly crispy until it softened in the wetness of the century egg porridge; that was surprising given my past experiences with youtiao from stalls that don’t specialise in fried snacks.
I took the opportunity to load it with scallions and deep-fried shallots as well as a dash of pepper and soya sauce, making sure not to add too much sauce.
Porridge
Remind me never to judge a book by its cover, because Ming Ji’s century egg porridge was the definition of unassuming. I had observed the vendor cooking the seemingly plain white porridge without the century egg, which he only added to the bowl before ladling the rice mixture over.
This made me question the dish’s flavour, so imagine my surprise when I took a wary sip and found it far from tasteless! Fragrant with ginger and sesame oil, it was light yet satisfying despite not being heavily seasoned. It was also slightly watery with indistinguishable rice grains, which had mushed into the liquid after being cooked for a long time.
On the other hand, We Porridge’s century egg congee was thicker and viscous. The rice grains were somewhat distinguishable, but perfectly cooked as each mouthful was soft and melted in my mouth. While I liked it, my companion disagreed as she didn’t fancy its thickness, commenting that it was too heavy.
Taste-wise, it was more umami and saltier than Ming Ji’s even without the soya sauce. As I expected, including the century egg during the cooking process had provided a savoury flavour, but it was likely also from seasoning like stock and salt.
Century Egg & Pork
The preserved duck egg in both bowls tasted similar – umami, with creamy and savoury yellow-grey yolks. With that being said, We Porridge did include more of it, while Ming Ji didn’t have so much but gave more yolk. The jelly-like century egg whites were also softer in We Porridge’s dish since they had been boiled with the porridge.
Chunks of crumbly minced meat in irregular sizes had been scattered into Ming Ji’s congee, providing a meaty and fatty taste to the rice. We Porridge used lean pork slices, which tasted less fatty and were chewier but not tough.
Verdict
Personal tastes are different and may change from time to time. I say this even about myself because my preferred bowl wasn’t the one I initially expected!
After much deliberation, I’ve decided on Ming Ji Zhou Pin as the winner of this Century Egg Porridge Showdown! This decision comes mostly from factoring in details that would make the dish suitable for an individual meal, such as its portion, price and simple flavour.
Does that make We Porridge a “loser”? Of course not – it’s simply not something I’d choose when eating alone. I love the rich flavours, variety of toppings and ingredient portions, but a bowl this large and heavily flavoured would be a tad too indulgent and more suited for sharing instead.
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