Chong Jia Food 張家 – Comfort Food to Have and Tahoe (to Hold)

The porridge from this hawker stall in Tahoe Garden Food Centre was recommended by one of MissTamChiak’s readers!

Chong Jia Food 張家 is a humble family business run by two siblings, Mr and Mrs Chong (centre). After finding out more about their signature and speciality dishes, I was surprised as to how much R&D was done before they opened for business. Mr Chong told me that the research was essential to create something unique so as to stand out from the other stalls in the hawker centre.

I don’t believe that porridge can be really amazing because it’s a dish so plain and simple. Instead, I believe that every bowl of porridge is comfort food so as long as the porridge is good enough to fill my tummy and provide some warmth and comfort, I am happy with it.

I am happy to say that the Minced Meat Porridge ($3 only so affordable hor?) from Chong Jia Food 張家 has earned my stamp of approval! It was smooth, warm, and comforting! The porridge came with 5 delicious meatballs which fell apart nicely in my mouth when I chewed into them. There are also other variations of porridge with century egg, pork slices, or shredded chicken!

Don’t forget to stir in the egg and add the condiments (soya sauce, pepper, sesame oil)!

Next, I tried their Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice ($4.80). Look at that mountain of braised pork! The meat was as moist and succulent as it looked. Unlike most cai fan stalls which leave their dishes out the entire day causing the meat to turn stale and tough, the braised pork meat from Chong Jia Food 張家 was fresh and extremely easy to chew through.

Mr Chong explained that he travelled to Taiwan himself to learn this recipe from his Taiwanese relatives, making the taste of it uniquely Taiwanese. Moreover, he has improved on the meat ever since he returned to Singapore. To better cater to the local market, Mr Chong’s braised pork meat has lesser fat and more lean meat!

For side dishes, they serve Braised Peanuts ($1) or Mirin Zucchini Salad ($1). I shan’t comment on the braised peanuts because I love braised peanuts (even those that come out of a can). The latter is basically sliced Japanese cucumbers which are excellent palate cleansers.

This is their Special Marinated Drumsticks Steamed Rice ($4.50)! At first, it just looked like a taller and more exquisite rendition of fan choy. But upon further enquiry, I learnt that Chong Jia Food 張家 marinates their chicken in a special homemade sauce, allowing the fragrant rice they import from Thailand to absorb the sweet flavour of the meat. Yummy! This is also a dish that is unique to their stall so you won’t be able to find it anywhere else in Singapore!

Mr Chong spoke about garlic sauces which lack a strong garlic taste with disdain, and revealed that Chong Jia Food 張家 makes their own garlic sauce! They add ingredients to enhance the overall garlic taste of the sauce. Mr Chong mentioned that customers have even requested to buy their garlic chilli in bulk before.

The stalls at Tahoe Garden Food Centre are all just 7-8 months old. According to Mr Chong, this is because of a fire that broke out in 2018. If you’re in the vicinity or craving for a nice warm bowl of porridge to start the day, check out Chong Jia Food 張家!

P.S. every meal comes with a bowl of free soup and oh, contrary to their business profile on Google, the stall is closed on Fridays! I would know because I popped by on a Friday previously.

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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