Entree Kibbles: Tien Phat Hong Kong Dim Sum Restaurant @ Ho Chi Minh City District 5 [Chinatown, Vietnam]

What do you feel like having when you are in Chinatown?! For Singaporeans, there's a high chance we would keep a lookout for dim sum! And that's exactly what we did at District 5 of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), the Chinatown locality.

Credits given to the Great Kon, who took pains to plan the itinerary for the entire trip! Despite being a frequent traveler to HCMC, he also took the opportunity to research for new places, including this highly reviewed eatery; Tien Phat Hong Kong Dim Sum Restaurant.

A Google review score of 4.3 across over 1,200 reviewers; it was packed with diners at around 9.30 am when we arrived by GRAB. A shaded waiting area, with seats, was also provided outside the restaurant.

Thankfully, we didn't have to wait long!

Within 5 minutes, we were ushered into the restaurant.

Level one was filled.

We had to take the stairs to the upper floors. Befitting its authentic Hong Kong background, the restaurant reflected the nostalgic feel of old Hong Kong eateries with the guard rails, the flowery wallpapers, the green floor tiles etc.

Final landing, on the 4th floor, I think.

And we secured the last remaining table!

Scrolling through the menu; again, it was hard to decide what we should have even though pictures were included, including Chinese / English translations to let us know what were available!

Getting ready the hot tea to drown the dim sum!

p.s. you have the option for cold tea.

Chee Cheong Fun with Shrimps - this would be the rare occasion that large prawns were used as fillings. In Singapore, you would likely complain about the low ratio of rice roll / prawns.

Prawns were fresh with a satisfying crunchy bite. Sauce that drenched over the rolls was more flavorful than what I typically would receive in dim sum restaurants. Personally, I do like this!

Har Gow - this was average tasting and you can definitely do without ordering it as pricing was almost comparable to Singapore; slightly cheaper S$3.70 for 4 pieces.

Siew Mai - overflowing with meat with thin skin; the thing I didn't enjoy was that the meat tasted porky. Again, this would be subjective as some people prefer this kind of taste.

Seafood with Vegetable Dumplings - surprisingly not bad with a refreshing aftertaste due to the celery and there was a dash of pepperiness that kind of differentiated it from those I had before.

Shrimps Wrapped in Tofu Skin - I love deep fried stuff and combination of prawns and tofu skin should have been memorable, in a good way. These were served hot and fresh from the frying oil, with a lot of prawns within! Nicer with the mayonnaise and the texture could have been crunchier.

Ham Sui Kok - the first time I had this was at Singapore's Shi Wei Xian Hongkong Tim Sum; it was so good; I usually would order it if I see it on the menu. This was delicious; crisp with a chewy interior and loving the balance of savory filling with the sweet, alkaline crust!

Xiaolongbao - another hot favorite whenever I am at a dim sum restaurant although I wonder if I was relishing more the ginger strips in vinegar than the dumplings themselves.

Skin was too thick for my liking but it was rescued by the yummy soup within that surrounded the large lump of meat! If not for the skin, this would have been better than Din Tai Feng.

Steamed Egg Custard Buns - Sweet, lava filling covered by a soft bun; both friends commented that this reminded them of old school custard buns.

Egg Tart - okay sweet-custardy filling; not so okay pastry which was crumbly and a tad too dry for my liking. p.s. I do prefer non-crumbly pastry for my egg tarts.

Wanton Mee with Shrimps - well, I must say I am biased when it comes to Hongkong style noodles. The soup was lightly flavored (bland); noodle was okay, dumplings were edible.

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Overall, I wouldn't say this would be the best dim sum I had; or memorable enough for me to make a return trip for. There were hits as well as misses; more the latter than the former, and pricing wise, was quite similar to our mid-tier establishments although the lack of service charge and GST did make quite a difference in pricing!

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