You Ji: The very rare ginkgo nut porridge!

You Ji at Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre serves a rare ginkgo nut porridge that is almost impossible to find in Singapore these days.

It is as basic as it looks: plain rice slow-cooked into a near mush without any seasoning, with some beancurd skin bits and with lots and lots or “ahm” (porridge water).

The only taste is the the natural flavours of ginkgo nuts that are boiled together with the porridge, with perhaps a small addition of oil.

The traditional Cantonese dish’s “cooling” properties apparently make it perfect for those with a weak appetite.

Popular with the older folk who live at Tiong Bahru estate, look around the tables surrounding the stall for a small container of salt which is used by some people to flavour the porridge.