ChuXinWonTon

Didn’t even know about the existence of Chu Xin Wonton 初心私房馄饨 until we have found ourselves passing through the East Coast Road area; these folks are conveniently located along the main stretch of shophouses along East Coast Road that is right across the road from i12 Katong. The shophouse where Chu Xin Wonton is located should not be too difficult to locate — the facade features a brick wall and an arched door, all that whilst also featuring the use of wooden elements as well that provides a very warm, cosy and inviting look for those passing by. As one walks through its doors, one would find a pretty homely interior with warm lighting whilst also fitted with wooden furniture and fittings with vast use of greenery to provide a look that is pretty close to nature; the furniture also exuding some sort of an oriental vibe at the same time. The dining hall features a mix of tables they are good for groups of four (4) pax as well as pairs; somewhere further into the establishment would also be a long table that would cater to individual diners as well. As one would expect from its namesake, Chu Xin Wonton is an establishment that focuses heavily on their Potsticker, Wonton and Dumpling offerings; they also do serve up snacks, Chuan Chuan, and Tang Shui as well.

Since the signature offerings at Chu Xin Wonton would be their wonton and dumpling dishes, we decided to go for one of the items that is being listed in the Wontons Series section of the menu. The “Family Photo” (translated this way in their printed menu) is the best item to give all of the twelve (12) flavours of their dumplings a go in one seating; however, we weee informed that the item was unavailable for the day. The staff recommended for us to try their fish roe, fresh shrimp and pork wontons instead. It is worth noting that all of the items that are listed in the “Wonton Series” section of the menu comes in a serving size of twelve wontons per order, and it also comes default in a single type of soup that features shreds of eggs, anchovies and some greens. The wontons do come with a pinkish hue within the dumping wrapper; chewing into the wontons through the slippery smooth dumpling wrapper, the wontons were well-packed with filling — whilst one can feel the bite of the mix of shrimp paste and minced pork that is used in the making of the filling, one thing which we did find a little lacking is how the sweetness of the shrimp paste wasn’t particularly prominent. That being said, the inclusion of fish roe does provide a popping sensation that adds a variance of contrast of textures to the wontons.

Meanwhile, it is interesting to see the Whole Shrimp and Fresh Meat Potsticker come with an entire prawn less its head. The tail of the shrimp is left exposed on one end of the dumpling, while the potstickers is also noted to come without the starchy webbing that one would typically find for such dishes. The shrimp does come relatively fresh with the meat coming off the shell at the tail fairly easily; all that whilst also coming with a natural sweetness. The fresh meat filling provided a firm bite; not carrying any undesirable hint of porkiness as well. The dumpling wrapper does come a little chewier, having been pan-fried with a browned crust on the undersides as well. If anything, one thing that Chu Xin Wonton did not do particularly well would be with the desserts — the Mango Pomelo Sago was actually rather disappointing. For one, the mango mousse was especially runny and bland; the watery base just didn’t carry the sago nor the pomelo well, with the pomelo now being a little too sourish especially considering the lack of sweetness from the mango mouse that would have helped to balance things out properly. Very uninspiring, and an item that we would skip out on unless they are making the necessary adjustments after the feedback that they had gathered from us.

Chu Xin Wonton is one of those dining establishments that seems to be inspired by Yuen Kee Dumplings 袁记云饺 to a certain degree; there has definitely been an uprising of Chinese dining establishments emphasising on freshly-made dumplings ever since the entrance of the brand in Singapore; Chu Xin Wonton also stands out as one of the very few Chinese dining establishments that are located within a shophouse unit along East Coast Road as well. While the dumpling and wonton offerings are pretty decent, its dessert offerings do feel like they need plenty of work so that it can be improved upon; this is based on the experience that we have had with the Mango Pomelo Sago. Prices of its wonton and dumpling dishes range from $6.90 to $12.90; the lowest-priced of the lot would be the Fresh Meat and Chives Potsticker in the 5-pieces serving size, while the priciest would be the Bayu Chives Fresh Meat Dumpling (or rather, Mackerel Chives Fresh Meat Dumpling) which comes in a portion-size of 10 pieces per serving. It remains to be seen if such an establishment would do well in the East Coast neighbourhood; an area that is known for its deep-rooted Peranakan culture and an expat enclave; though those craving for freshly-made dumplings and wontons might be glad that such an establishment now exists within the neighbourhood nonetheless.