“Porridge is sick people food” – that’s what many young Singaporeans think when we picture the thick, white, bland-tasting gruel that’s ladled into plastic bowls. So understandably, tatted-up 29-year-old Darryl Peh who sports an Undefeated tee and a double-lined hard part is the last person we’d imagine to run a porridge stall.
Darryl – who goes by Peh – took over his family’s business White House Teochew Porridge two years ago after a major operation led his father to call it quits. But letting go of decades of sentiment was not as easy for Peh, who grew up prancing around and wiping tables at the old Simon Road stall, which existed long before the days of Lola’s Cafe. “I’ve eaten this for 26 years of my life, so it’d be a waste to not have the chance to eat this again,” he says. With the additional nudge from a good friend and a resolve to do justice to his dad’s legacy, Peh picks up his spatula and gets to work quickly. The first thing on his agenda? Making sure he can cook.
Hei bee hiam (spicy dried shrimp), curry chicken, braised duck. These are longtime customers’ favourites at White House which Peh will have to master. On top of that, there’s a whole smorgasbord of dishes lining the counter in the same fashion as what you’d see at a cai fan stall. Everything from fishcake to classic Chinese stir-fried dishes is prepared in-house daily.
Committing all these recipes to memory is no easy feat, so Peh saves them on his phone as notes, which he doesn’t mind sharing with us. After all, recipes are one thing, skill is another. His notes are riddled with hilarious quips and out-of-pocket exclamations like “TAKE SOTONG OUT PUT AT BASKET”, or “End game w large fire bPombs shakalalaka” – in other words, finish off with the wok on high heat. We have a good laugh together, but we also see the diligence behind the delirium, and how Peh’s detail-mindedness in learning his dad’s recipes peek through the humour.
In with the old, in with the new
We ask Peh what has changed and what has stayed the same since he took the reins. For one, he is set on retaining his father’s original recipes. These have been with the family since the start, crafted from scratch before the days of Google and modified over the years. Today, Peh and his dad still use the same 15 herbs for the restaurant’s duck braise, the same method of cooking porridge from its raw state over high heat, and visit the same butcher at 262 Serangoon Centre for the freshest cuts of meat. These are flavours that their loyal customers know and love, so there’s no need to fix what’s not broken.
But if old is gold, then why doesn’t the younger crowd see the appeal of Teochew porridge, or herald it among other supper hotspots like dim sum and prata joints? As a young bloke himself, Peh recognises this lack of interest. But he finds that innovation doesn’t have to mean creating new, trendy dishes just for the sake of it. “I don’t want to fry up random chicken wings and charge $2 for it just because young people will like it more,” he says.
Visual merchandising is the answer. As a former marketing student, Peh amassed a bag of tricks he learnt from school that can help make the whole concept of eating porridge in Serangoon that bit more attractive. To him, Teochew porridge is a symbol of kinship. More than a meal, it’s a whole experience involving gathering with friends and family and “making a lot of noise together”. The dish also reminds him of family dinners around round tables and brightly lit dining rooms, with the radio buzzing softly behind. To replicate this atmosphere, he switches up the restaurant’s lights and replaces the chairs so they’re more comfortable for diners yet less ‘grippy’ for pesky pigeons. “I want to make the place look good, but not overdo it,” he explains.
Peh also makes a grand investment on tableware, custom-designing plates and bowls so they’re more picture-worthy and easily recognisable when shared online. Then there’s social media. Instagram, TikTok, Xiaohongshu, Lemon8 – name it, and White House is probably on it. Peh enlists the help of his band of brothers in the kitchen (hired waiters-turned-cooks) with this. Together, they put up all their antics online, from raucous comedy sketches, to informative lifestyle videos sharing more about their dishes, recipes, and know-hows.
But perhaps the biggest misconception surrounding Teochew porridge stalls among young folks is that… you have to only eat porridge here. In fact, most Teochew porridge stalls offer rice too. And for the record, Peh himself doesn’t usually eat porridge. “Actually, I eat rice!” he laughs. Spoon on the tau cheo (salted bean sauce), gravy, and homemade chilli atop of your rice, pair it with a variety of dishes, and all allegations of ‘tastelessness’ should be dispelled quite quickly.
The porridge that keeps a family together
‘White House’ is actually a play on the Peh family name, and it literally translates to ‘bai jia’ (白家) or ‘Peh Family’ in Mandarin. Peh’s sister was actually the one who came up with the ingenious idea. Traces of the family are present everywhere – even the new plates carry an insignia of a tiger, in remembrance of Peh’s late mother whose Chinese zodiac sign was the tiger. Like its name, what started as a humble family business has grown to become its own institution of sorts, safeguarding the tradition of honest-to-goodness Teochew porridge for the tons of regulars who come back every week. So what’s next?
Peh has his eyes set on the Michelin Guide. “I want my dad to be able to have a chance to have it,” he says, sharing that it’s his wish for his dad to receive some form of accolade or recognition in his sunset years. And a crimson red Bib Gourmand sticker should do the trick. “He’s worked for 26 years, blood, sweat and tears, so I think he deserves it”.
But it’s not the end of the world if it falls through. Like many Singaporean children, Peh simply wants his dad to retire well with plenty of opportunities to travel and see the world. “Honestly, I just want to be able to make money,” he adds. “I just want [my family] to have a good life, that’s all”.
White House Teochew Porridge is open daily from 11am to 11pm at 1096 Serangoon Road, Singapore 328193.
