The media invite promised Teochew porridge, a sauce maker that has been around since 1892, and a National Day menu built with both. What it did not warn me about was the carrot cake.
Kevin and I arrived at Four Points Eatery to a counter already loaded with more dishes than two people have any business attempting. We told ourselves we would be civilised about it. We managed that for about the first five minutes.
Why Teochew Porridge, and Why Now
This is the Ah Pui Teochew Porridge SG61 buffet, running at Four Points Eatery from 25 July to 31 August 2026. It is a collaboration between Four Points by Sheraton Singapore, Riverview and Kwong Cheong Thye, the local sauce maker, put together for Singapore’s 61st birthday.
If you grew up in a Chinese household here, you already know the format. Teochew porridge is not one dish. It is a counter of small dishes and a bowl of plain porridge, and the meal is whatever combination you decide to build from it. Salted vegetable, braised things, steamed things, something fried, something with sauce. No two people at the same table eat the same lunch.
That is the part worth paying attention to. Keeping a tradition like this going is not automatic and it is not easy. It carries our culture, our history and the way people here used to eat, and I would like it to still be around for the generation after mine. A hotel putting it on the menu for a National Day promotion is a small thing, but it is not nothing.
The Sauce Maker in the Room
Kwong Cheong Thye has been making sauces in Singapore since 1892. That is 134 years, which is older than most things I own, including some of my opinions. They started with soya sauce and have since gone into chilli sauces, noodles and more. Their own standee at the buffet claims their products reach over 90 per cent of Singapore’s top hotels and restaurants and are distributed in more than 30 countries, so take that as the company’s own count rather than mine.
What I liked was that they did not hide it. The sauces are displayed out on the floor next to the food, with the standee and QR codes right there, rather than living quietly in the kitchen. If a collaboration is the whole point of the promotion, you may as well let people see what is doing the work.
Getting There
Four Points Eatery sits inside Four Points by Sheraton Singapore, Riverview at 382 Havelock Road, Singapore 169629.
By train, you want Havelock MRT on the Thomson-East Coast Line, and specifically Exit 4, which is the exit signposted for the Havelock Road hotels. Fort Canning MRT Exit A works too if you are coming from the other direction. Drivers, there is on-site self parking, and the hotel lists it at $4.20 an hour, with a per-entry charge in force from 6pm to 6.59am and a $10 day rate for in-house guests.
Booking is through SevenRooms, and the buffet has its own page rather than sitting inside the general restaurant booking, so use this link rather than hunting for it. You can also reach the restaurant on +65 6349 4872, or on WhatsApp at +65 9837 3635.
The Four National Day Specials
Four dishes were built for this promotion, and they are the reason to come during the window rather than after it.
Heritage Seafood Hong Kong Noodles came in a claypot with squid rings and prawns through it. Fried noodles at a porridge buffet sounds like a contradiction, and then you eat it and stop caring.
Classic Steamed Chicken was my pick of the four. Steamed chicken is the dish with nowhere to hide, because there is no sauce to rescue it and no char to distract you. This one did not need rescuing.
Teochew Style Steamed Squid came with its own dipping sauce and a pair of tongs, and became Kevin’s territory for the rest of the afternoon. Kevin likes sotong. Kevin kept whacking the sotong. I learned early not to reach into that tray while he was standing at it.
Riverside Steamed Seabass was my other favourite. The fish held its shape in the tray, which is more than I managed by the end of the meal.
The Rest of the Counter
Beyond the four specials, the spread runs long. Chef’s Heritage Braised Duck, Braised Pork Belly, Steamed Muar Otah, chilled prawns, and a rotating pair of weekly specials, which on our visit were Curry Chicken and Chye Poh Omelette. Steamed Muar Otah was my third favourite of the day and I would have gone back for more of it if I had the capacity.
Here is the detail that told me someone had thought about this properly. Every chafing dish carries its own small printed card naming the dish in English and Chinese. It sounds trivial. It is not, because half the point of a Teochew porridge counter is knowing what you are looking at before you commit half your plate to it, and older diners should not have to ask.
Mixing Your Own Rojak
There is a DIY rojak station, and the signage describes rojak as a symphony of sweet, savoury and umami, which I was not going to argue with. Rojak is a local dish that is genuinely difficult to explain to anyone who did not grow up with it, and far too good to skip on those grounds.
The Carrot Cake That Says 61
Then they brought out the cake, and by cake I mean steamed carrot cake, the savoury kind, presented as a slab with a large 61 laid across the top.
When it was time to cut it, the whole room crowded in for the shot. I think Kevin may have photobombed one of the VIP photos by accident, though nobody has raised it with me since, so we will treat that as unconfirmed.
Now, I am not a carrot cake person. I have never sought it out and I have never finished someone else’s. I had a second helping of this one, which rather undermines a position I have held for most of my life.
Dessert, and Kevin’s Opening Move
Dessert is where Kevin started his entire meal, which tells you something about him. He went straight for the Durian Pengat before touching anything savoury.
For durian lovers this is simply a licensed excuse to eat durian in the middle of a Teochew porridge lunch, and it was the thing that impressed me most on the sweet side. There is kueh alongside it if durian is not your fight.
Worth Going?
Yes, with one honest caveat.
The variety is the selling point. With a counter this wide you will find something you like even if you arrived unconvinced, and if you bring people with very different tastes, nobody has to compromise. Kevin has more selective taste buds than mine and he still ate well.
The caveat is price. It sits a little steep for what is, at heart, humble food. Weekday lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Thursday runs S$28.80++ for adults and S$15.80++ for children. Friday to Sunday and public holidays go up to S$33.80++ and S$18.80++. Add the service charge and GST on top of that, because the ++ is not decoration.
What I would say is do not plan for two rounds. One serving of each thing you want and you will be well fed until supper. I intended a second pass at the seabass and the otah, and my stomach declined to negotiate.
Official Details
Ah Pui Teochew Porridge SG61 Buffet
Four Points Eatery, Four Points by Sheraton Singapore, Riverview
Address: 382 Havelock Road, Singapore 169629
Nearest MRT: Havelock (Thomson-East Coast Line), Exit 4
Telephone: +65 6349 4872
WhatsApp: +65 9837 3635
Runs: 25 July to 31 August 2026
Book: SevenRooms, Ah Pui Teochew Porridge Buffet
Instagram: @fourpointssingapore
Facebook: fourpointssingapore
Tuesday to Thursday
Lunch 12pm to 3pm, dinner 6pm to 9pm
Adults S$28.80++, children S$15.80++
Friday
Lunch 12pm to 3pm, dinner seatings at 6pm and 7.30pm
Adults S$33.80++, children S$18.80++
Saturday and public holidays
Lunch seatings at 12pm and 1.30pm, dinner seatings at 6pm and 7.30pm
Adults S$33.80++, children S$18.80++
Sunday
Lunch seatings at 12pm and 1.30pm, dinner 6pm to 9pm
Adults S$33.80++, children S$18.80++
All prices are before service charge and GST. Please note the buffet is not halal certified, and the kitchen handles soy, wheat, seafood, shellfish, egg, peanuts and sesame, so speak to the team if you have an allergy.
Full event details are in our earlier write-up here: Ah Pui Teochew Porridge SG61 Buffet 2026.
Which dish would you build your porridge around, and is there a Teochew porridge stall I should be trying next? Tell me in the comments.
