Sum Dim Sum @ Jalan Besar in Singapore

Don't you just love the play of words in the name of eateries? And in the case of Sum Dim Sum, the meaning changes between its Chinese and English translation; former was full of heart whereas the latter seemed to downplay its passion. 

Whatever the case, this was my birthday lunch and I had been waiting to check out Sum Dim Sum! I do visit the district of Jalan Besar quite frequently but there were just too much eateries in the area! To put things in context, the popular Berseh Hawker Centre was just diagonally across the dim sum restaurant. 

Noting that the eatery had a long queue on weekends, I made it a point to reserve beforehand even though it was a weekday. We were first in line to step into it! Interior design was more cartoony and it's obvious the clientele it wanted to attract would be from the younger generation.

Whatever the case, the food matters more than anything in eateries! And it's time to pencil in our order using the ordering sheet, which was still pretty traditional for traditionalists like me.

You can opt to leverage on the newer technology by scanning, ordering and paying via the QR code! With the double whammy of the irritating presbyopia (due to ageing) and myopia conditions, I am sometimes better off with paper and pencil.

The saucer of condiments for our dim sum; I literally didn't touch the chili as it wasn't the paste-form, sweeter kind that I prefer. The other one was way nicer; deep fried shallots with spring onions in chili oil.

Pu Erh Tea - our pot of tea for two persons. I guess it's traditional to have tea with dim sum and I have been quite accustomed with this arrangement since I first started, although I would still crave for iced water on a ultra hot day.

Fresh Prawn Dumplings - decently sized with translucent 'clothing' that vaguely showed the red-orangey meat within; the skin did appear to be relatively thick.

The dumplings were dry even though the prawn meat (whole prawns, mind you) was crunchy yet succulent without compromising on the seafood sweetness. As usual, the thick skin was a hindrance and I happily removed it and just attacked the filling. 

Wolfberry with Mushroom Siew Mai - absolutely love these! Generously filled with two small prawns within, texture was juicy with bites of earthly mushrooms and tinge of herbal sweetness from the wolfberries. Max satisfaction. 

Fried Prawn Roll in Beancurd Skin - deep fried to a thin crisp, this had surprisingly quite a lot of mashed prawns. Only thing was they were quite oily, and rightfully so.

Pan Fried Carrot Cake - after having the super delicious one at Mongkok Dim Sum, I made it a point to have this as my regular to-order when I am having dim sum. Sadly, it was just lightly pan-fried and bland; the flavor came from the accompany ingredients like shallots and spring onions, with a touch of spiciness.   

Signature Hot & Spicy Dumplings - I have often said that the one from Crystal Jade is the best! Now, there's a close competitor in Sum Dim Sum! Well balanced in both spiciness and vinegarish-sourness, it literally brought me back to the time when Crystal Jade had a branch at Northpoint and I would visit often for their dim sum (especially 红油抄手).

Golden Custard Bun - don't you feel that the custard buns in general should improve on their visual appeal? From their smooth and plain appearance, you wouldn't have expected there were any filling! 

Tear it open and be surprised by its flowing, oozy, creamy sauce! The bun was bouncy and pillowy-soft, and it was nice to have tasted such creamy custard that wasn't overly sweet. My only grouch was that the bun had the tendency to stick to my teeth! And that's frustrating. 

Crispy Prawn Rice Roll - this was like a fusion between prawn and youtian chee cheong fun and had apparently won the hearts of many. Let's see how it fares. 

Honestly, I didn't like it; it was complicated with the different layers of texture that didn't complement with each other. I am actually better off either having prawn chee cheong fun or zha leong. p.s. Maybe also because this came last and I was already pretty full by then. 

Signature Pandan Crispy Pork Bun - this would remind many of the ones from Tim Ho Wan, the michelin dim sum eatery from Hong Kong famous for their baked buns with bbq pork. I would say this was an unconventional version.

First bite and you would have the nice fragrance of pandan hitting the end of your palate. Skin was thin and the filling was a generous bundle of char siew that, again, wasn't overly sweetened. I was so pleased with this; I had 2.5 of them! p.s. Alex didn't like it and prefer the ones from Tim Ho Wan.

=====

This was a satisfying birthday lunch and no doubt I would be back again! Three items deserved a re-order and they shall be the Wolfberry with Mushroom Siew Mai, the Signature Hot & Spicy Dumplings and the Signature Pandan Crispy Pork Bun! 

Address

161, Jalan Besar, 

Singapore 208876

Map

As above.

Website

https://sumdimsum.oddle.me/en_SG/

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Pu-Erh Tea - S$1.70

Fresh Prawn Dumplings - S$4.90

Wolfberry with Mushroom Siew Mai - S$4.80

Fried Prawn Roll in Beancurd Skin - S$4.80

Pan Fried Carrot Cake - S$5.00

Signature Hot & Spicy Dumplings - S$4.80

Golden Custard Bun - S$4.50

Crispy Prawn Rice Roll - S$9.20

Signature Pandan Crispy Pork Bun -  S$6.00

(Subject to Service Charge and GST)