Swee Choon Dim Sum

I LOVE it when people visit from overseas. :D It's the perfect excuse/opportunity to take a break from work and go on a FOOD FEST. I'd been meaning to try this place out after hearing so much about how it's one of the best places for affordable Dim Sum in SG. Everyone seemed to have heard of it/been there before. And know how I found out about it? Instagram. :) After stumbling upon someone's photo of dimsum. That's why it's worth 1 billion.





The famous fried mee suah (type of noodles) that I'd read about online. I would say it's worth trying and definitely had a unique taste (who doesn't like something crispy and fried?) but... probably wouldn't go all the way there for it. Could feel my arteries clogging up with every oily bite. O_O 



Fried eggplant with pork floss was nice!




Yeap, we had a great spread. :D See, that's another reason why it's good to have people visit from another country. You can order a ton of stuff that you really want to try and they're enthusiastic about it because it's all new to them and they don't know any better! 

Swee Choon Dim Sum 

187/191 Jalan Besar, Singapore 

Tel: +65 6294 5292 

Mon–Sat: 6pm – 10am 

Sun & PH: 6pm – 12pm 

(Closed on Tue)

Verdict: Decent dimsum BUT not really worth waiting in line for. And finding parking in that area is not easy. Service is good and efficient and they cater for customers queuing outside by providing seats and passing you the menu early on. Still, the dim sum was so-so. If you ask me, I'd rather go back to Victor's Kitchen for the best egg yolk custard buns that I've tried so far. :D 

BTW, recently a friend of mine mentioned that he doesn't agree with how people tend to do research on places to eat at before going there to try the food, because it spoils the experience/surprise. But does it really? In my opinion, I'd rather read up on a place beforehand so that I don't miss out on their best dish/really good recommended dishes which would make the eating experience worth it. What's your take on the practice of checking out eateries/food reviews before trying a new place out? 

EDIT: (29 July 2012)

SO GUESS WHAT. I happened to go back to Swee Choon last night for supper with some friends and I must say that my impression of the food there has gone up a few notches. :P A couple of things that are definitely worth ordering: 

- Xiao Long Bao

- Chicken drenched in some alcohol/Chinese wine? (I have no idea what it's called but it's a cold dish and unexpectedly tasty ;p) 

- Onion pancake -- and this has to be dipped in the chili soy sauce concoction they provide you with. HUGE WIN.

AND, something else even better? I discovered the presence of the "BACK ENTRANCE" to Swee Choon that allows you to bypass the queues up front and sit at the back of the restaurant to dine al fresco. It's really a good option since it saves you time otherwise spent queuing up with the rest of the crowd at the front and you get to enjoy a cool nighttime breeze. But if you're desperate for some air-conditioning then be prepared for the wait! We went at about 11pm and found seats immediately at the back. :D

Thank goodness for friends who know all these secrets. And this makes it way more likely I'll be going back for more. 

Dimsum at Victor's Kitchen

Recently went to a fantastic dimsum restaurant for lunch with my very awesome clinical groupmates. We skipped a lecture in the afternoon(SHHHH) and braved the stifling humidity and hot noontime sun for it but really, when it comes down to a reasonably priced and very tasty dimsum lunch with friends versus... 3 hours in class half-drooling and lapsing in and out of consciousness, which memory would you rather have?? >:D

 

Victor’s Kitchen 

91 Bencoolen Street #01-21 

Sunshine Plaza Singapore

Here's Victor's Kitchen which, apart from the hefty number of positive food reviews plastered on its walls, is an otherwise unassuming restaurant tucked into the deep recesses of Sunshine Plaza. I'd heard about it previously but it always seemed to be packed with people that I never felt the urge to stop and try it out. This time however, we were all under the influence of one of my friends who swore that the dimsum was one of the best in Sinapore he'd ever tasted. And he knows his food. >:)
 

While I didn't have my camera with me on hand at that time, I did have my iphone + Instagram! :)

Row 1 
Left: Cripsy deep fried beancurd skin rolls. I have no idea what was inside; possible some veg and shrimp and minced meat, but it was GOOD. Each bite was hot and crispy.

Middle: Milk tea! I've never seen it served in this manner before :D but it certainly makes it unique. Highly recommended by my friend. I myself, had iced lemon tea which reminded me a lot of the iced lemon teas you get in HK cafes where they add many thin slices of lemon into the tea (unlike say, some places that merely serve a single slice on the rim of the glass...for decorative purposes), making it pretty authentic.

Right: Pretty decent Chee Cheong Fun. I've never been a huge fan of it but this one had a nice sauce you could dip it into.

Row 2 
Left: Glutinous Rice with Sausage, Chicken...and other ingredients. :D This one's a must! We each ordered one and thank goodness we did, because otherwise we might not have gotten full fast enough from the individual dimsum dishes. I'd recommend ordering this as well, since it does act as a staple for the entire meal and while I can't remember all that was in the glutinous rice dish that made it so tasty, I remember there being hefty chunks of meat and very tasty glutinous rice that you could spend a long time chewing on because of its stickiness.

Middle: THE famous Golden Egg Yolk Lava Buns. Voted one of the best in Singapore if I'm not wrong. And mannnn they were good. A combination of sweet and salty in a hot molten yolk pasta that spilled out on the first bite. A must-try!

Right: Just a picture of the carnage after we got through with everything.

After that, even though we were pretty much bursting with dimsum, we still wanted dessert so we ended up going to THE original Rochor Beancurd House :D. For those of you who don't know, there's even a second floor above this place for customers to eat at. A good place to go to on weekday afternoons since it's pretty quiet and you get the almost all of the space on the second floor to yourself before they chase you out (which they didn't, for us!). Ice cold soya bean and beancurd is possibly one of the best desserts for a hot afternoon. 

Our attempts at a self-taken "Family Portrait". :) 

Honestly, I think most of the time the equation goes: 

overall meal experience = 40 % food + 60 % company. 

Yes?