Entree Kibbles: Hong Bao - Said to have the "Best Dim Sum in Town" @ Central Embassy in Bangkok [Thailand]

Saturday, April 29, 2023

Hong Bao - Said to have the "Best Dim Sum in Town" @ Central Embassy in Bangkok [Thailand]

I was half hearted when our Thai friend suggested a visit to a dim sum restaurant in Bangkok as I had some a few days ago at the good rated "Hua Seng Hong Restaurant, and it was quite a letdown.

That friend was insistent; explaining that his family would only patronize on special occasions and Hong Bao (literally means the red packets distributed / received during lunar new year) is hugely popular among the Thai Chinese community!

Just slotting in a random photo taken at the Central Embassy mall, where one of Hong Bao's branches was located. Based on their Facebook page, there are currently 10 branches in Bangkok, one in Phuket and an overseas outlet in Phnom Penh.

Starting the meal with a simple appetizer that I had never seen before. Swimming in a pool of soy sauce that had cut chilli padi and garlic, I took a bite and a wave of familiarity hit me; it's like the preserved lettuce from the AAA brand! I loved it!

Hong Bao Crispy Roasted Pork - the Thais love siew yoke and my friend ordered a small portion for us to try. One thing that caught my attention; that layer of roasted skin was very thin!

Despite the skinniness, this was one of the better roast pork that could have beat some from Singapore! Meat was moist and it didn't taste overly oily; furthermore, the crispness of the skin was just right and didn't overwhelm the palate.

Golden Salted Egg Creamy Bun - I had to order this and boy, they didn't disappoint. Unlike the tiny ones we are accustomed to seeing in Singapore, each bun was big and filled with the delicious salted egg cream that were liquified with clusters of semi solidness that added to the texture.

Superior Steamed Shrimp Dumplings - another dim sum dish I couldn't resist no ordering even though 90% of the time, they failed to make a deep impression.

The ones from Hong Bao were unforgettable; portion was bigger and together with the intense flavor from the prawns was this soft texture material that I had never encountered before in other har gow.

Pan-Fried BBQ Pork Bun - we were deliberating between this, the BBQ pork polo bun and the steamed BBQ pork bun. I can't remember why we were with this pan-fried version; maybe it looked the best on the menu.

Surprisingly, the bun had a soft texture, and generously filled with char siew that was on point! Usually, such pan fried buns would have a thick dough but it sure wasn't the case here.

Crispy Shrimp Rice Noodle Rolls - the rolls were too thick for my liking! To me, I eat chee chong fun for the rice rolls and while shrimps / char siew would flavor the dish, they shouldn't smother the main star.

Crispy Roasted Duck Spring Rolls - enlarged and separately displayed on the menu, I assumed this would be special and requested to add to the order.

Personally, spring roll without roasted duck would have tasted better, and cheaper. Maybe I am too accustomed to vegetarian spring rolls, and made it a point to have one if I see them for sale at vegetarian tze char stalls in Singapore.

Congee with Century Egg and Shredded Pork - Hong Kong style and came with a serving of Chinese youtiao; the consistency was thick but not smooth and had slices of ginger to hype the taste. Overall, a tad too bland for my liking.

Shanghai Xiao Long Bao - another must order whenever I see it on the menu! For Singaporeans accustomed to eating dim sum in our little red dot, what was the one thing that stood out when you saw the above photo?! Obviously the size of the soup-filled dumplings!

Thin-skinned and bursting with sinfully yummy meat juice; there's only one Singapore word to describe the xiao long bao. Shiok!! Okay, maybe two words; shiok max!

Hong Bao Supreme Pork Dumplings - any dish that had the words "hong bao" attached to the dish name seemed to infer that it was chef recommended or popular. Whatever the case, siew mai is synonymous with dim sum.

Thinly wrapped once again, this was meaty and definitely took its place as one of the better tasting siew mai around. Compared to the har gow from Hong Bao, however, it was still no match.

Deep-Fried Squid Cake - do you prefer prawn balls or squid balls? I have always been a fan of the latter but when it comes to Thai appetizers; you would see prawn cake rather than squid cake. Therefore, we should order this when we see it on the menu right?

Disappointing; it sure wasn't! See how plump and moist the filling was; tasted way better than any of the prawn cakes I have had so far in my life!

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Before and after; worthy of its claim to be the best dim sum in town, even though I haven't tried enough dim sum in Bangkok. Nevertheless, what I had would have placed Hong Bao as one of the top ranked dim sum restaurants in Singapore.