Chao Zhou Teochew Fish Soup in Ang Mo Kio

I've never eaten at Mott 32 at Marina Bay Sands, but it seems that this guy learned from their former head chef on how to make fish soup. He now runs stall number 5 in the Johnson9 Eatery kopitiam (332 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1), and his fish soup is quite unlike how it is usually done.

The biggest difference is the broth, which is not the more common crisp and clear fish-bone based one, but rather a thicker and murkier version due to the use of chicken and pork bones. Yes, that made it kinda like a tonkotsu, and I liked how savory it was. But the fried fish was mushy, as was the rice, which made the entire thing sludgy, albeit not as much as a Cantonese congee. (In case you are confused by the photo above, that's a big wooden ladle with a black claypot. It wasn't very functional, but I guess they were going for a unique look.)

The other thing that I got here was the congbao niuroufan beef rice, which featured some pleasantly thin and tender slices of meat. But again, the rice was mushy. I was still happy enough to eat it, but it does make me wonder if that's the way they intentionally did the rice.