Dynasty Fried Porridge Review: Famous Fried Porridge And KL Hokkien Mee In Jalan Besar

Dynasty Fried Porridge has famous fried porridge in Jalan Besar

Since introducing his creation to Singaporeans in 2015, Chef John Ng’s eatery Dynasty Fried Porridge has become one of the country’s go-to places for fried porridge.

The dish, which originated from Malaysia, is essentially porridge that’s fried in a wok with various ingredients, then cooked and served in a claypot to achieve a smoky, wok hei flavour.

We were recently invited to try this unique dish along with other specialties on the menu, and left thoroughly impressed with Dynasty Fried Porridge.

Food at Dynasty Fried Porridge

Starting our meal with the Dynasty Fried Porridge (from $8.50) was a given. The dish arrived still bubbling in its claypot, and already we could catch a whiff of its smoky aroma.

Even those who typically consider porridge a bland dish will find this one bursting with flavour. There were three components to its taste, with the first being a porky flavour courtesy of the generous portions of minced meat and pork lard—which were sizeable and gloriously crunchy. Then there were umami notes thanks to the presence of shrimp and soy sauce in the porridge.

Of course, there was also an element of wok hei, which kept us going for spoonful after spoonful of this porridge. We also noted how the porridge here is thicker and more condensed than your usual gruel, perhaps due to its unique preparation method.

We’d be happy just chowing down on this excellent porridge, but for the sake of the review, we moved on to the Malaysia Black Mee (from $8.50). This is the stall’s KL hokkien mee, and as you’d expect, it came drenched in dark soy sauce.

Sweet-savoury, goopy, and also wok hei-filled, this was a pretty solid rendition of the classic Malaysian dish. While it didn’t have the wow factor that the fried porridge had, its flavour left little to criticise.

There was a decent amount of prawns, pork slices and lard, and vegetables in this dish as well. The prawns could have been a tad fresher, but this wasn’t a significant issue for us.

We were recommended another Malaysian noodle dish: the Claypot Lao Shu Fun ($7.50).

Though we appreciated the texture of the lao shu noodles—silky yet delightfully chewy—we thought the balance of flavours was a little off in this dish. The claypot brought smoky aroma and a comforting warmth, but the dark soy sauce here leaned jelak, overshadowing the other elements of the dish. The end result was a dish that was pretty one-note overall.

Ambience at Dynasty Fried Porridge

Located within Bistro 8, a coffeeshop that houses famous names such as Kok Kee Wanton Mee and Founder Bak Kut Teh, there’s plenty of good eats to choose from here. It’s not the most clean and comfortable coffeeshop around, but with food options like that, we’d say it’s worth bearing with its less pleasant aspects.

Dynasty Fried Porridge is an eight-minute walk from Bendemeer MRT Station.

The verdict

Dynasty Fried Porridge’s signature dish is a must-try, while the rest of their zi char fare may be worth a shot too. If you haven’t tasted fried porridge yet, we’d say this stall is your best bet.

For a popular congee stall in Punggol and Tampines, read our Botak Cantonese Porridge review. For a look at some excellent Teochew porridge places, read our best Teochew porridge spots guide.

Address: 30 Foch Road, #01-02, Bistro 8, Singapore 209276
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 11:30am to 10:30pm, Sat-Sun 12pm to 2:30pm, 4:30pm to 10:30pm
Tel: 9122 3993
Website
Dynasty Fried Porridge is not a halal-certified eatery.

 

Photos taken by Paula Formantes.
This was a media tasting at Dynasty Fried Porridge.