Date: 15th Nov 2019, Friday, 8am
I needed a full breakfast. And I wanted to try the local Guangdong congee (广东粥) again. I had first tried this locals' favourite breakfast choice some 7 years back and liked the congee since then, so it was a must-eat for me when revisiting Kinmen after all these years.
I came to a Guangdong congee shop — Lian Cheng Guangdong Congee (连城广东粥) —just 80 metres from Backpack Home 497, where I stayed in Jincheng Town. Despite the cold late-autumn morning, it was rather warm inside the shop. All the guests were wrapped in their cold-weather gears, except the staff. I felt a little warm, took off my light jacket and invited some curious looks from the next table. I just smiled back — no reasons to explain to strangers that I came from the equator and did not feel the "cold" as much as them.
After looking at the shop's options, I decided to go for minced pork with century egg congee (皮蛋瘦肉粥, NT$60) and a fried dough stick (NT$10), instead of ordering Guangdong congee (NT$70). It was not a complete flip of mind from what I had intended to eat, as the two types of congee were the same except for the difference in ingredients. I would have some cuts of century egg with lean pork instead of minced prawns with minced pork and pork balls. Both congee would have thinly-scrambled egg and chopped spring onions added.
Although Kinmen's Guangdong congee originated from Guangdong Province of China and very similar, the greatest difference, in Kinmen, was the way the congee was cooked until the rice grains could not be seen. It was like drinking "powdered-rice soup" rather than eating congee. Topped with different ingredients and powdered pepper, and the hot congee was definitely a welcoming delight in the cold morning.
Pairing with a fried dough stick (油条) was the Chinese's traditional way of eating congee, it was a common culture in Singapore and Malaysia too.
After breakfast, I headed off to Shuitou Pier (水头码头) for Little Kinmen (小金门).
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