Win Sum Dim Sum

No snaking queue at Joyluck meant it was time to treat mum and I to some egg tarts, both the pastry and cookie base option. Indeed an egg tart specialist if they have regard to appease two different camps of egg tart connoisseurs?
Well our verdict was still that we preferred the heavy laden Tai Cheong egg tart, because of that memorable custard and lovely cookie base.
Joy luck’s version was good yet not our favourite. We also found the pastry base interesting yet not entirely desirable, guessing lard oil was an ingredient incorporated.

Love is when your Brother packs egg tarts for you after his supper; making these Portuguese like flaky tarts a little extra special and sweet.

The more unconventional item that stood out was the fried radish roll that used a primarily western ingredient of cheese. Mushroom, chicken and cheese hardly go wrong together but to incorporate them into a fried radish roll shell worked and was tasty. Probably amplified by how delicate and finely done the radish roll was done- this is one on the dim sum menu to look out for.
Sadly the similarly categorised vegetarian dumpling with western truffle slice was not as appealing; a thick crystal skin held an almost absent truffle scent filling until biting into the black truffle slice.

The more usual radish cake was great being soft yet with enough 萝卜to be rightfully called 萝卜糕.

Another food date with the gold palates of my family (aka my maternal aunts and Mother). My 大姨 mentions her reason for acceding to my request to try a new place instead of the usual imperial treasure at Paragon; was to try a local chef’s take on the Dim Sum. Fortunately the usual siew mai is up to standard and comparable- succulent shrimps (along with pork and mushrooms) are wrapped in sublime dumpling skins. The salted egg custard bao was good even after sitting on the table for awhile.

Stumbling upon this tea time promotion, that offers any 2 items on the menu for $9.80+, saves you just a bit for Michelin star dim sum.

My favourite has always been (and shall be) the sweet crusted polo char siew buns (UP $5.80+) that are pockets of sweet and savoury harmony. It has been quite a while since my last visit to Tim Ho Wan and I don’t remember the bun to be as thin and tall as the one I had today but all else tasted the same.

My 2nd item was the Shrimp Chee Cheong Fun (UP $6.50+) that might have been a mistake because I was reminded at first bite that the rice flour rolls here are not the best. This is a demanding opinion when my palate has been spoilt by smoother rice rolls; the shrimp filling with strips of spring onion however was good.

P.S: the above in its pristine white glory is not recommended without the tasty sauce.

Stumbling upon this tea time promotion, that offers any 2 items on the menu for $9.80+, saves you just a bit for Michelin star dim sum.

My favourite has always been (and shall be) the sweet crusted polo char siew buns (UP $5.80+) that are pockets of sweet and savoury harmony. It has been quite a while since my last visit to Tim Ho Wan and I don’t remember the bun to be as thin and tall as the one I had today but all else tasted the same.

My 2nd item was the Shrimp Chee Cheong Fun (UP $6.50+) that might have been a mistake because I was reminded at first bite that the rice flour rolls here are not the best. This is a demanding opinion when my palate has been spoilt by smoother rice rolls; the shrimp filling with strips of spring onion however was good.

The umpteen time, thankfully the restaurant switches up the dimsum menu occasionally. After a >6 months hiatus considering how we were overseas for 3.5 months, I spot a new item (at least to me) today: Egg Yolk Cake. My aunts seem to have been here without me for they quickly explained how the cake was layered with salted egg yolk. The itchy sweet tooth in me had to order it and my eye lit up as I worked my way through the layers of soft steam Chinese cake and sweetened salted egg yolk with what seems like a faint resemblance of coconut.
This was after 2 rounds of our usual savory dim sum fare- mushroom dumpling, har kau, siew mai etc (I am sure a post about the consistent dim sum here hides in the archive of this Burrple account).

Vouching for their "steamed/made to order" value proposition; Dim Sum Haus is definitely a great place for..... Dim Sum and just Dim Sum- a variety of it (as seen above is only some from the entire menu).

The generous use of ingredients and fairly commendable skill of the 点心师傅 justifies the price tags (following how Dim Sum cost more and more these days).

Thank you Burrple and Dim Sum Haus for the Eatup invite.

P.S: featuring Tastemaker Peter's signature "food photography timer"

(Part II) We had an order of their wanton noodles that were a mere $1.50 but came in a commendable portion with 2 fried wantons. Whats best, do not expect to discount the quality of the springy authentic HK egg noodles considering the price. A personal opinion- all proclaimed egg noodles vendors should come and taste from a true competitor.
Then the friendly boss that we were conversing with was eager to give us a taste (a full bowl to "sample") of their century egg porridge which was so fine and flavorful! It had way more ingredient that just century egg and would appeal to all ages from young to old.
I ended off with their salted egg yolk and yam custard baos which the restaurant is flexible about mixing. Here I couldn't help but chow down my baos despite being full because they reminded me of my favorite 流沙包 at Imperial Paragon. Not just a flow-y deal but exuding sweet salted egg nuggets with each bite; also a faultless warm bao that tasted great even after being left sitting for a good 20 min as we were chatting.

Long post but worth it because it was another memorable food experience!

P.S: Couldn't leave out their selection of chinese tea (ie. chrysanthemum, tieguanyin) that comes in chinese pots and teacups; still good after 2 refills- evident of the quality of the tea bags used.

(Part I) Stumbled upon a NEW, not your visually appealing Chinese dim sum and roast place beside Mongkok (another dimsum place Easties will be familiar with).
Since we had Mongkok for dinner yesterday we decide to give this place a try and I was nothing but impressed. Aptly my experience could be summed up by "never judge a book by its cover".
My 叉烧包s came out in a bigger than usual dim sum basket and did not disappoint as the lid was lifted- 3 plump steamed baos with a darker than usual char siew filling.
They could be largely classified as hongkong 叉烧包s as the bao was slightly slit open with a glimpse of its tempting filling. A bite and they reminded me of the old crystal jade 叉烧包 that were of earnest and impeccable quality. The char siew filling here was slightly darker as the boss explained that they use no artificial coloring or tenderizer. Talk about generosity and a knack in the F&B business, this goes for their signature char siew that the kind boss gave my mum and I 4 slices to sample.

If you are expecting Tim Ho Wan- like baked char siew buns, you will not get those here. The baked bun here is airy filled with a queer char siew filling that has beans in them. A top coarsely textured crumbles are for you to decide yay/nay.

Situated at the nearest mall to our home, mum and I ventured into this Chinese restaurant in attempts to satisfy our dimsum cravings... Sadly mum was not impressed with the mediocre yet relatively pricey (typically $4.90-$5.60++) steamer baskets of dimsum here.
As for me, the Beancurd Puff left an impression only because I do not reckon any dimsum dishes I've had that used beancurd puff instead of the conventional beancurd skin. Other than that I couldn't help but agree with mum's opinion. We shall still stick to Mongkok/ Tim Ho Wan when we crave dimsum in the East 🙊