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Eat at Porky’s
The business exec I’m visiting with this week wanted to go out for dinner on Friday. Of course, I’m always up for dinner when an exec is buying! He said he knew of a place, over near my hotel, that was “local color” and well-known in Singapore. That sounded fine to me. I asked what the name of the restaurant was, just continuing the conversation.
He said, “It’s called Porky’s.”
I swear, that’s what he said. I smiled. I thought of the classic B movie for teens. (Hey, maybe YOU didn’t like it, but it did have two sequels.) I had images flash through my head, and I nearly lost the thread of our chat. (By the way: Did you know that Porky’s is the highest-grossing Canadian movie ever? Both in the U.S. AND internationally? See how educational this blogging stuff can be?)
He wanted to know if I already knew of the place, given my reaction. I said no, just an interesting name. We made arrangements to meet at the hotel after six, and we parted ways, him to a meeting, me to the study group.
I got back to the hotel a bit early, splurging on a taxi rather than riding the SMRT because I knew traffic would be light. Silly me, there were two different accidents to prove me wrong. Never tickle Murphy’s whiskers, my daughter tells me. She’s often all too right; something she learned from her mom, I’m sure.
My host picked me up and we drove the very short distance to the restaurant. Indeed, I knew where it was, but didn’t recognize the specific eatery. It’s in the Tiong Bahru area, one of the older neighborhoods in Singapore. Much of it has been rebuilt in recent years. I knew about the area because I go walking, morning and evening, and I don’t take the same path each time so I can explore Singapore better and faster. This place is less than a half mile from the hotel. Took longer to drive there than it would take me to walk it. Friday evening traffic, and lots of one-way-the-wrong-way streets.
The sign said Por Kee Eating House, and it was clearly authentic local. Tables all around the outside, set for customers with white tablecloths, silver, water glasses and chopsticks. I asked where our table was, and Yip said, “No reservations.” He began to chat with a waitress in Cantonese. The chat got louder, with lots of gestures. Finally, Yip comes over and says, “They’ve got two tables. That one (pointing to the end), which is too loud. Other one is across the street.” He mumbled on in Cantonese, clearly agitated.
We walked.
Across the street was Yet Another Por Kee Eating House. The new addition, it turns out. One small table, near the front. Perfect for us; away from the kitchen, which isn’t good, but away from the busy doorways, which was fine. I asked what was up with the tables. He said, “I called at 3, they said no reservations needed. So I didn’t. I forgot how busy this place gets on Friday night. Every other table is reserved.” I looked around, we were the only diners.
Yip ordered for us both. Several specialties of the house. First up was the obligatory Tofu Goreng with a nice, mild sauce. That was accompanied with a sweet-hot salad of pickles, called Achaar most places. I already knew about that stuff, and I dug in. By the time the tofu was cool enough to eat, several other dishes had arrived. We had some fried noodles with lettuce on top. We also ate a nice chicken in a sweet, thick sauce, reminding me of Grandma’s Pork I enjoy in China. Of course, that pork dish is about 98% fat, which explains its attraction. This chicken wasn’t fat at all, but very tasty anyways.
The last dish we had was the real house specialty, Champagne Ribs. They were good enough we ate them all. For that matter, most of the dishes where that way.
We had a small dish of hot sauce to accompany the meal. Yip just told me “That’s hot” and left it there. That was all the invitation I needed. It was a sambal, of course, but I couldn’t place it. Freshly made in a Thai or Malay fashion, with lots of green and red chile bits, onion, shallots, vinegar and lime juice. I suspect ginger and some other things as well. I used most of it up, and that kept me sipping on my Tiger beer. Yip was having Coke, as he was designated driver; he spent more on his one drink than I did on all of mine.
We retired to the hotel lobby, sated and satisfied. After a couple of Singapore Slings I called it a night. Had to rest up for more chile adventures on the weekend!
Enjoy the Heat!
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