Richman Dim Sum

One of the places that had recently been making its rounds around social media these days would be that of Richman Dim Sum 大富豪港式点心茶楼. For those whom have yet to hear about Richman Dim Sum before, these folks are located within the coffeeshop named HOKI Gourmet Dining that is situated within Excalibur Centre in Ubi. The same coffeeshop is also home to an outlet of Yang Ming Seafood 扬名海鲜 as well. Considering how the coffeeshop only houses two food stalls and one beverage stall, Richman Dim Sum is quite easy to find — these folks take up the space of three shop units within the coffeeshop and sports a brightly-lit white signboard which we found to be pretty attention-grabbing. Being an establishment that is focused on serving up Hong Kong-style Dim Sum and Hong Kong-style roast meats, the food menu at Richman Dim Sum can be described as pretty extensive — the menu featuring sections such as Four Treasures, Limited Time Specials, Steamed Delights, Main Dish, Fried Delights, Desserts, Herbal Dang Gui Duck, Roasted / Steamed Chicken, Char Siew, Roasted Pork, Roasted Delight Platter, Rice and Noodles. Whilst not offered by Richman Dim Sum, it is interesting to note that HOKI Gourmet Dining’s drink stall does serve up does serve up a small variety of tea in pots presumably to compliment the Dim Sum dining experience.

Tried a number of items at Richman Dim Sum and the Beetroot & Rice Crisps Rice Rolls was one of the items that can be found in the Limited Time Specials section of the menu. Richman Dim Sum does not describe the elements that come with their various offerings, though one can observe that the Beetroot & Rice Crisps Rice Rolls is essentially rice vermicelli rolls that comes with a purplish-red hue that; presumably coloured by the use of beetroot, while coming with deep-fried spring rolls that is filled with what seems to be prawn paste within. The dish is also doused with light soya sauce that can be seen puddling within the plate as well. The rice rolls here are slurpy, silken and slippery smooth — absorbed the flavours of the light soy sauce which gives it a savoury note; we did find that the flavours of the light soy sauce to be slightly on the heavier side, though it gels well with our preferences nonetheless. With how the spring rolls come with a somewhat netted texture similar to that of Vietnamese-style, the spring rolls rolled within the rice rolls are crisp with a subtle sweetness coming through from shrimp paste within that also carried a bit of a bite.

An item that we had tried from the Four Treasures section of the menu would be the Baked Roasted Duck & Yuzu Bun. These appear to be pretty similar to that of the Baked Buns with BBQ Pork that Tim Ho Wan serves up, though Richman Dim Sum had definitely did their very own twist to it. Coming in a portion size of three (3) buns per serving, the bun of the Baked Roasted Duck & Yuzu Bun here was crusty without feeling too greasy — hints of a buttery note whilst being crusty. The fillings of roasted duck and Yuzu was more like a Char Siew filling; the use of duck rather than pork did see the meat coming with a consistently leaner texture than most typical Char Siew Buns out there — also does not come with any gaminess considering how it is coated in a thick layer of honey barbecue sauce that comes sweet with a savoury note that gives the sweetness a little bit of a depth. That being said, the yuzu was an element that we failed to detect within the Baked Roasted Duck & Yuzu Bun.

Yet another item that we had tried from the Limited Time Specials section of the menu would be the Mentaiko Shrimp Dumplings. These do look a little bit like a twisty to the standard Shrimp Dumplings (also otherwise known as Har Gow) that one can find being served up at other Hong Kong-style Dim Sum establishments with a little bit of a difference in the presentation as well. The dumplings come served in a way where the shrimp paste is being exposed as one would observe the meat filling would also be like within a typical Siew Mai whilst the dumpling wrapper wraps around the shrimp paste; all that whilst coming with a dollop of Mentaiko mayonnaise coming over the shrimp paste. These do come pretty much like what one would expect it to be; the clear dumpling wrappers do seem to come slightly thicker than how we would like our shrimp dumplings to be like. The note of the shrimp paste does seem to have been enhanced with the addition of the Mentaiko mayonnaise — adds a factor of umami to the Shrimp Dumplings for a twist.

Again an item from the Limited Time Specials section of the menu was the Mango Lava Balls. Essentially an item that is more suited as a dessert to end off the meal with, this was one of the more well-rounded dishes that really impressed us during our visit to Richman Dim Sum. These are similar to that of glutinous rice balls that typically come with red bean filling — Richman Dim Sum did seem to have made these a little larger in size, all that whilst using Rice Krispies for the exterior rather than that of sesame seeds. Chewing into the Mango Lava Balls, these were not particularly greasy whilst they were especially crisp yet chewy, whilst one can find a dense and sweet mango sauce within that helps to refresh the tastebuds.

An item from the Fried Delights section of the menu that impressed us was the Crispy Taro & Snow Pear Dumplings — these do come with a pretty crispy deep-fried exterior similar to the likes of what one would expect for Crispy Taro Dumplings that other dim sum establishments serves up. As with most of their other fried items, the Crispy Taro & Snow Pear Dumplings weren’t greasy and does come with a layer of taro and minced meat coming within. Our guess is that the minced meat filling does come with a snow pear-infused sauce considering how the minced meat filling does come with an element of sweetness amidst a little bit of a savouriness from the meat; all that whilst also coming with an earthiness from the taro within as well.

We also given the “Kam Heong” Shrimp Toast from the Fried Delights section of the menu a go; this was perhaps one of the weakest item that we had tried from Richman Dim Sum. Whilst trying to replicate that of the Shrimp Toast, these come in three (3) small squares that are presumably deep-fried bread with shrimp and salted egg within; all that with a sauce that comes at the bottom seemingly to “fix” the Shrimp Toast in place on the plate. There wasn’t much of that “Kam Heong” flavour with the Shrimp, while the “Kam Heong” Shrimp Toast itself were a little too small-sized to allow one to savour the elements coming within as well.

It is interesting to note how Richman Dim Sum also does serve up a range of Desserts — the Signature Richman’s Chocolate Yogurt Bear in Avocado Sauce is one that is likely to capture the attention of most whom would be dropping by Richman Dim Sum due to its slightly cutesy aesthetic that seems to target the likes of both hipsters and children visiting the establishment as a family alike. We did feel that the entire combination of elements coming with the Signature Richman’s Chocolate Yogurt Bear in Avocado Sauce don’t necessarily gel well together — the Avocado Sauce is similar to that of the Avocado Milkshake that one would find at stalls located in Alexandra Village Food Centre and Golden Mile Food Centre; very buttery and creamy, though there was a failure to bridge the Chocolate Yogurt Bear with the Avocado Milkshake via the use of other elements; the cocoa-esque note of the Chocolate Yogurt Bear seemingly felt like a standalone element that didn’t gel with the avocado sauce and the cubes of watermelon that came along with the dessert.

Overall, Richman Dim Sum does feel like a bunch of hits and misses with the items that they are serving up; our favourite items that we have enjoyed during the visit would probably be the Beetroot & Rice Crisps Rice Rolls, Mango Lava Balls, Crispy Taro & Snow Pear Dumplings and the Baked Roasted Duck & Yuzu Bun to a certain extent. Service was largely decent, though it is worth noting that food does take a long while to serve up with the first few dishes coming in within a rather acceptable time frame, though things slow down to a trickle after that with some dishes taking a little bit above an hour to be served up — perhaps things may get a little better once they have sorted out their operations after some time has passed. Richman Dim Sum’s Dim Sum offerings are priced between $4.80 to $8.80, with the serving size of each item usually comprising of three (3) pieces — rather reasonably priced considering the slightly more spruced-up nature of their fare, though might be a little high-priced for some considering it being a stall within a coffeeshop setting. A spot that might be worth giving a try just to see what they have to offer for those curious about what they are serving up.