EVER so often, my stomach meter goes back to its default position - the needle points desperately to 'plain porridge'.

Not those boiled in stock or laden with century eggs and tempting shreds of meat.

Go on a long stretch with curries, oily chicken rice, fried this and fried that or pizza and the tummy screams 'porridge, or else'.

And that's what I screamed last weekend after my overdose on lamb chops, sashimi, tempura, Nonya noodles, otah otah, Hainanese curry rice and nasi padang.

Then a flashback - to the corner coffee shop at Tembeling Road/Joo Chiat Place which we gate-crashed while doing our Makansutra Raw TV series over a year ago.

I can barely recall the encounter, but I remember the freshly steamed soy and ginger threadfin tail, the cold crabs laden with roe, braised duck slices, softly firm soya sauce taukua and taupok, handmade fishcakes (chunky and inconsistently textured) - all with a bowl of Teochew-style porridge where grains retained their texture and integrity.

But I also remember that the coffee shop had a difficult Chinese name to remember.

When I reached the spot, I was rudely reminded that they were closed not long after they appeared on our show (it was a case of rising fame going hand in hand with rising rental prices).

Then a makan angel named Ing How called and said: 'Guess what, buddy? They reopened just across the street in a new coffee shop.'

I was there in a jiffy.

Xu Jun Sheng (Long Ji) Chao Zhou Mei Shi (now you know why I can't remember the name easily) has been in the East area for over three decades.

Long before Botak Jones, Botak Koh was already steaming fresh threadfin tails and seabass fish heads in the Joo Chiat area.

Together with his elder brother Long Swee, who works the counter, oversees quality and work flow, they never seem to disappoint the weathered regulars.

'We took a year off,' explained the quiet Long Swee when pestered.

'After the previous landlord raised our rents, we thought it was a sign for us to take a long break.'

Last week at their new coffee shop, after a bite of their first dish of succulently fresh, soft and crunchy herb soy stewed, pork fallopian tubes (sang cheong, at $3), I pronounced: 'They are back!'

I could not resist ordering their cold steamed cray fish, expertly shelled, shredded chunkily with roe intact and served over its shell with coriander.

It was sweetly divine in its pure unadulterated goodness. Even their steamed sotong and fatty pork were not dressed up. They just used common sense - fresh supplies and well-timed steaming.

Just dip them in soy or add a dash of plum sauce and you're reminded about the simple joys of Teochew porridge, where a master once told me, almost sarcastically, that their art was to 'make vegetables taste like vegetables and fish taste like fish'.

I relish that, which is why the steamed fish and flash fried greens always fly off Botak's steamer and wok .

But before you head over to indulge, here's one little warning. All that freshness and goodness comes (as they always had) with a premium price. On average, it costs $8 to $10 per person.

But it's worth every cent.

Makansutra, founded by KF Seetoh, is a company that celebrates Asian food culture and lifestyle. It publishes food guides in and around the region, produces a food television series, develops interactive mobile content and services, operates food courts and eateries, organises food tours and events, and consults on culinary concepts.

FYI

WHAT: Xu Jun Sheng (Long Ji) Chao Zhou Mei Shi

WHERE: 59, Joo Chiat Place. 11am-9pm (Monday to Saturday), 10.30am-3pm (Sunday). Closed on Wednesdays.  Back to Columnists