天记 Porridge at Maxwell Market

There's always been this stall where I see the operator packing and washing up when I arrive at Maxwell Market, no matter how early. The rest of the day and night, the shutter is down. I got curious and asked one of my older colleagues if they knew what it sold. Trust these wise old people, who wake up at 5am and come to the office by 7am, to know something good.

It's a porridge stall that opens at something like 4am, and they normally sell out by 7am. One time I arrived at 7.10am and the operator shook his head and me and said 卖完了. To satisfy my curiousity, one morning I proceeded to drag the poor husband out of the house at 6.45am (it was his fault that we missed the stall the last time) to make sure that we got there on time.
They sell pork or fish porridge, and the gruel mixture is soft, not too thick (I think Zhen Zhen is a rather negative example of thick porridge) and flavourful. It's easy on the tongue and throat.
The raw fish salad is pretty good too. Not too much ginger (think Zhen Zhen again), and a good mix of lime, soy and sesame oil dressing.
This cost me $7. I was very pleased with it : ) It's not the cheapest hawker breakfast, but it's good quality and $4 is a reasonable price for good raw fish salad.
I think this is worth waking up at 6am for, just not everyday.

It's on the same row as Tian Tian chicken rice, between the double-boiled soup stall and fruit stall. It's a fantastic alternative for my favourite porridge stall that unfortunately closed down last year : (

Tian Tian Chicken Rice

My favourite quick lunch at Maxwell Market on a busy day (provided you go after 2.30pm) - the chicken is tender, the rice is fragrant, and it always makes me happy eating it.

Porridge for Breakfast

Maxwell hawker centre has a number of pretty good stalls open at breakfast time. My favourite porridge stall there is 诚记 (no English name available) at no. 91, facing Fairfield Methodist Church. I find the porridge nice and light (unlike Zhen Zhen which is seriously thick), and they also have watercress available, which adds a nice crunch.

They serve the usual porridge menu like preserved egg and pork, fish slices, chicken, and they also have fish stomach - not that I've tried it, but I've seen many other people waiting patiently for their serve.

This was a $2.50 serve.

Doing some digging to unearth the cuttlefish and watercress.

I love the mixture of raw fish, lime and sesame oil. A great way to start the day.

Cheng Ji Porridge
Stall 91, Maxwell Road Food Centre

Open for breakfast and lunch seven days.