Teochew Muay

Decision making about where to dine for our next meal can be a contentious issue in my family, and on days where everyone has a different craving that needs to be satisfied, it can get pretty heated. My benevolent father would usually put forth his Teochew food request, which is sometimes rudely turned down, ignored or on better days politely declined. But we all learn to give and take, and so sometimes we will suggest something that will cause his face to light up. This is one of those places.



Located on the corner of Beo Cresent, I am not too sure about the name of this Teochew Muay stall other than the fact that it is commonly referred to and known by most as the Havelock Teochew Muay. Although this place is comparatively pricey, there are some reasons, which perhaps allow them to get away with it. Firstly, it is open till late and so if you need some late night hot comfort rice slush with salty vegetables and braised meats, it will be open, and secondly, they have the bragging rights of having Hong Kong celebrities such as Andy Lau visit and they have taken photos as evidence that hang on their wall. The differentiating factor of this place is the variety of dishes that they offer. I think if we were to line them up in a row, they might line the wall of the shop lengthwise and a little more. The variety of vegetable dishes is almost bewildering, and along with that you can get braised duck, steamed fish and crabs. From the selection, we each have our own favourites—cockles, hei bi hiam (spicy dried shrimp), giam chai (salted vegetables), peanuts and ikan billis…—that we order and strategically place in front of our individual bowls of porridge for easy reach and then centre the other communal dishes.





Maybe when I’m old, I’ll turn into some Teochew Auntie and my teeth start to fail, I will constantly hanker for some of this porridge and the sound of “Havelock Teochew Muay” will cause my face to light up. It currently does not have that effect on me, but on days when I crave the simplicity and warmth of the watery rice and the different savoury tones of the dishes, this is one of those places that hits the spot.