Ding Tele (Bukit Timah)

As good as it was before, this was takeaway yet it's still delicious after steaming. Their strength lies in the high quality candied wintermelon hidden underneath which is difficult to acquire, apart from everything else being solid

Of the dishes we tried, this was probably one of our favorite as the noodles were cooked to an al dente texture. Apart from the minced meat in braised sauce, there were also braised tofu cubes sitting above the chewy noodles. The sauce was however rather oily and they could have drained some of it away before serving.

While it looks quite similar to the fried rice from DTF, we found this dish to be slightly underwhelming. It wasn’t too bad, as the rice grains were chewy and there was fragrance from the eggs elevating it. However, it is probably a far cry from the fried rice you can get from DTF or King of Fried Rice in terms of the wok hei and flavor.

Famous for their pan-fried pork dumplings, we ordered a serving of 4 to share. Free flow chili oil and vinegar could be found at the side of each table and ginger slices were given with this dish. While the charred bits of the dumplings were slightly crispy, these dumpling were pretty ordinary. Cutting through the skin of the dumpling, there was some pork broth that oozed out and the amount of meat given was also decent. While nothing to really fuss about, we believe that there are nicer pan-fried dumplings elsewhere.

A must-order whenever I visit a dim sum store to judge their chilli quality, wonton skin & wrapping skills.

The skin was slightly thicker than usual, but still silky smooth when you bite & slurp it up. The fillings were meaty, with small chunks of prawns available in each bite. The sauce mixture though was slightly lacking. We had to add in more vinegar & chilli to oomph up the kick. Then again, if you're not a fan of anything too sour or spicy, this would be just right for you.

When you serve this in your menu, you know you're up against tough competition with the likes of DTF & KOFR. Seeing that it's one of the staples, we had to give it a try.

Alas, the dish wasn't as good as we expected it to be. First, let's talk about the rice-while it looks perfectly fried with each grain being separated from the other, it was dry & slightly under seasoned, making it rather underwhelming. However, the pork chop wasn't too bad. The crispy panko-crusted batter helped to retain some moisture within the meat, but still didn't help to bring out the flavours of the dish.

The team might be having a rough day, but I'd skip this the next time round.