'Ah Gua' or 'Virgin' Crab?

When the boss of Teochew Porridge (yeah, that's the name of this popular stall) tells you that he has 'Ah Kwa' Crab, he's not pulling your claw.

"It's neither male or female. Or rather a male in the midst of becoming a female. That's why its roe is yellow and not orange in colour," Mr Chia Hock Kim tells his crab fans.

A crab seller once told me that such crabs are actually female virgins. Their roe turns orangey only after they have mated.

If you're just a crab eater, you don't give a damn whether it's virgin or otherwise as long as it tastes delicious.

Mr Chia's crabs not exactly cold but displayed in coffeeshop temperature on a weaved tray together with premium steamed crayfish and other seafood.

At $12 for a crab, ranging between small and medium in size, it's definitely not as pricey as those at air-conditioned, mid-priced Chinese eateries.

Packed with creamy, greasy roe which lifts the taste of slightly sweet crabmeat, the crabs are among his premium items.


Mr Chia also plays the busy cashier at dinner time.

In fact, the crayfish costs more, at $18 a piece. "I pick the best from a seafood stall in Marine Parade. I get it at $12 and sell it at $18, so you would not consider it expensive."

Although the crayfish is a good medium size, it's not packed with much meat but its gentle sweetness is pleasing enough for those with a Teochew palate.

The other big hit at Teochew Porridge is its homemade fishcake. Blended with different kinds of fish, pork, garlic and chilli bits, the steamed rolls sell out quickly. Because it's laboriously handmade, Mr Chia rejects orders from people who want to order in big quantities.


Clockwise from top, braised beancurd skins, braised duck with taupok, cockles in dark soy sauce and steam crayfish.

Other recommendations: braised duck in soya sauce, taupok (dried tofu), braised beancurd skins - dishes that go down well with rice porridge. There are just too many dishes to pick from.

Don't miss the messy-looking cockles in dark soy sauce. Flavoured with lots of garlic and chilli, the cockles are actually raw but cured in the marinade - another Teochew specialty. You have to shell the cockles to get the flesh - yeah they were cured live!

Phew, we didn't LS after this.

We were more puzzled by the rice porridge. It came beautifully white but the taste...urrrgh!
Wah Lau Ei! It tasted of year-old gunny sack, the kind in which raw rice grains are packed.

Then we learned something subsequently. Teochew porridge purists don't like the rice grains to be washed! We saw other diners happily gulping down bowlfuls of this porridge.

We're not converted yet. But give me the crab anytime!

Teochew Porridge (or Teochew Muay written in Chinese)
300/302 Joo Chiat Road
Corner coffeeshop at the junction of Joo Chiat Road and Dunman Food Centre
Opening hours: 10am to 10pm
Closed on alternate Tuesday
Tel: 9237 2189