[SG] Swee Choon Dim Sum Cafe
Sunday, April 01, 2012
A place that has been much raved about whenever I speak of dimsum, known for its affordability and some say its 流沙包 (molten custard bun with egg yolk). Being a 流沙包 fan, my friend brought me through the narrow alleys to finally arrive at a brightly lit family-styled restaurant. Though the place opens at 6pm, there was already a snaking queue outside with easily 20-30 people at about 5.45pm!
Love the presentation of it, but the taste wasn't up to standards. Not the authentic teochew style of yam paste, it has generous servings of coconut milk. That aside, the paste itself wasn't fresh and had a tinge of stale oil, commonly known as 臭油味, infused in it. The pumpkin has also lost its sweetness that's supposed to add flavour to the yam paste and the rare gingko nuts inside were boiled beyond recognition. I might be abit harsh on the review though, since I'm an absolute yam paste fan and it hasn't been easy finding good yam paste around. (That's why I love going for wedding dinners! :P)
Overall, it's a pretty alright place, with several hits. Not exactly very affordable though as we paid about $20 each. It probably isn't worth making a special trip down to try, but would suffice if you're in the area looking for some decent dimsum around the vicinity.
They really open at 6 sharp, check out the dark interior.
How can any dimsum meal not have eggtarts!
Piping hot, I love the pastry flaky texture of the crust and the tender egg portion. Handle with care!
Char siew shou - no comments on this as I hardly eat char siew shous. According to my friend's review, it was pretty good though!
红油抄手
Wontons in spicy chilli sauce. This was definitely a kick with very tender wonton skin packed with fresh minced meat. The sauce could be spicier though to really have the full taste of authentic 红油抄手.
Hargao
It wasn't very impressive, the skin was a tad too sticky though they had fresh ingredients. I didn't really like the type of prawns used though, the usual processed prawns or 玻璃虾, as it failed to bring out the natural sweetness of seafood.
小龙包 Xiaolongbao!
This was quite a good one, or perhaps it was because I was craving for it. Plenty of soup inside which made eating it abit tough but worth it. There was abit too much skin though, in terms of proportion with the meat and soup inside.
Banana prawn fritters
Tasted alot like goreng pisang, except that prawns are added inside. Same as hargao, I didn't really like the type of prawns used. It was abit too oily though, gave the rather jelat feeling after eating it.
流沙包 (molten custard bun with egg yolk)
This was the base right after peeling, call me anal or perfectionist, I somehow prefer my food to look untouched and the molten contents contained within the skin. Taste-wise, it wasn't too bad, with the flowy texture and served piping hot. It could have been less oily, perhaps with lesser egg yolk used as I couldn't really taste the sweetness of the custard in it.
Pork floss pancake
Quite an interesting dish, it has egg omelette, a crispy sesame crust topped with pork floss that created a surprisingly good blend of flavours.
Yam paste served in a tub
Overall, it's a pretty alright place, with several hits. Not exactly very affordable though as we paid about $20 each. It probably isn't worth making a special trip down to try, but would suffice if you're in the area looking for some decent dimsum around the vicinity.
Overall nom factor: 7.0/10
Swee Choon Dim Sum Cafe
187/191 Jalan Besar
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