Tai Buan Porridge (大满粥) Georgetown

Penang is the state where all the good street food is at. Take Tai Buan Porridge for instance. Serving up the classic Teochew porridge, it is arguably the best of its kind in all of Penang. This humble establishment operates in a retro shop lot that seemed as old as the people who run it. There is minimal seating inside the shop so peak hours can be a bit of a wait. There’s also the possibility of running out of dishes to serve if one is a little late to the party.

The porridge at Tai Buan is like a normal bowl of porridge, consisting of just water and rice, but its specialty is that the rice doesn’t melt completely during the cooking process, leaving some distinct texture when eaten. A normal bowl of porridge, no matter how good they are, can get a little boring without some flavourful sides and that’s the way to eat it to begin with. As expected of a local renowned joint that is really good at what they do, Tai Buan only serves a small number of sides. Some of them are Braised Egg, Braised Duck Meat, Pork Innards, Pork Belly, and Fried Egg with Turnips. The omelette egg is excitingly laid out with a generous layer of preserved turnips that maintains its consistency with the egg even after being fried. The pork belly has a clear three layers of skin, fat and meat, and while the pork innards can be off putting by its name but Tai Buan will make anyone a convert.

The best thing about these joints is of course the reasonable pricing that makes us glad that good but cheap food still exists. Other available side dishes are Pig Ears and Pickled Vegetables.