Nosh of the Day: Hougang farewell - with porridge

Just before I moved house, my kind 'baggage handler' and I tried out a famous porridge shop called alishan near to Kovan MRT. There are a couple of porridge shops there, and I had often wandered past, thinking how yummy all the side dishes looked, but never quite sure how to order. Plus the surly-looking female at another establishment had put me off trying there for good. It was a point of note in the Hougang area that locals seemed often to dislike foreigners; and the thought of negotiating with hostile stall-owners in my broken Mandarin had me heading straight for KFC.

But my friend is Chinese (good for ordering!) And in fact alishan's shop offered a special (apparently Taiwanese style) porridge with sweet potato in it. All the better to try here!

Turns out you order your basic hot rice porridge, then take your pick of the yummy side dishes. If you're on a budget avoid fish (I discovered!) and opt for chicken or pork. But there is a delicious selection to pick from.

We had (on my friend's rec) some tiny dried, salted fish (which don't fall into the 'luxury' bracket); some sweetish pork; some vinegar-ish cabbage; and some green beans in spicy sauce. You dip these items into your porridge. In fact the porridge is yummy alone, but even better with these extras.

It was a very tasty farewell to Hougang, and good enough to tempt me back for a supper!