Restoran Bubur Goreng,
34, Lorong Lang,
Taman Berkeley,
Klang.
PORRIDGE does not have to be bland “sick people food” anymore, especially now that fried porridge is available.
Found in Taman Berkeley, Klang, Restoran Bubur Goreng serves up bowls of fried porridge which sell for RM13, enough for two people.
This corner Chinese coffeeshop is often packed to the brim with visitors who usually order the fried porridge with a seafood dish or two.
“We don’t sell the usual Chinese dishes found at other restaurants because we don’t want the side dishes to overpower the taste of the fried porridge,” said restaurant owner Toh Siew Yin.
The Kedah-born added that they also cook their dishes differently from other restaurants to ensure diners enjoy their specialty dish.
Served in a big white bowl,the brownish fried porridge is topped with fried chinese doughnut (yau char kwai) and is best eaten hot.
The interior of the Restoran Bubur Goreng which is usually packed with customers later in the night.
When we first tried it, it tasted a little burnt but it looked neither burnt nor black.
Also, the porridge contains a generous amount of dried cuttlefish (jiu hu) , giving it a pungent taste.
Hokkien noodle fans will love this thanks to the generous cubes of pork lard tossed into the dish.
All these ingredients combined makes for a sinful yet tasty porridge, making it unsuitable for the sick or health conscious after all.
The porridge also contains yam pieces, making it quite filling especially if you are not a big eater.
“This is our own recipe which we created at home and you can hardly find this elsewhere,” said Toh, who runs the business with her husband.
Toh added that the porridge was not something passed down through the generations.
It is also not a dish which represents any Chinese culture, but just something her family thought was tasty and decided to share with others.
“I know there are many different types of porridge associated with the different cultures and Chinese dialect groups.
“So we shall not label our porridge as anything but a delicious dish which my family loves,” she said.
Operating for more than 10 years now, Toh has never kept track of how many bowls of porridge she sells. One standard serving of porridge may sometimes feed between one and four people, depending on appetites.
However, Toh tries her best not to turn down any customers by cooking more and making fresh stock throughout the night.
“It usually takes about an hour to cook so when we are about to run out and it is still early, I will get my chef to make more,” she said.
The restaurant opens daily from 5.30pm until 1am and is closed on Mondays. On weekends and public holidays, Toh will make extra portions of porridge to cater to the bigger crowd.
