August 05, 2013

One Dim Sum Cafe (Yi Dian Xin) 一點心茶餐厅 @ Upper Paya Lebar Road, Serangoon



After a round of fulfilling shopping at Orchard Road, the next thing to do is to fill up my hungry tummy. With the crowds converging everywhere in town on the Friday evening, I'm so glad to have my friend picking me up and driving off to have a quiet and simple dinner at a place where we don't have to queue or worry that we're too dressed down to be seen. Dim sum sounded tempting and I was told that the Custard Bun at One Dim Sum Cafe 一點心茶餐厅 at Upper Paya Lebar Road, Serangoon is very good! Bring me there! Bring me there quick!


Let it flow. Let it flow. Let it flow. What's not to love about these Golden Flowing Custard Bao (3pcs/$4)? Extremely well executed with the steamed soft pillowy dough enveloping piping hot lava of golden salted egg yolk filling which came oozing out as I gingerly teared it open. So nice, so beautiful, we ordered two baskets of these steamed molten delights because one just isn't enough.

Steamed Shrimp Dumpling (3pcs/$3.50) and Steamed Siew Mai (3pcs/$3/50) are perennial favorites which we simply have to order, ordinary as they are, else a dim sum meal will not seem completed. These were served super hot and tasted very fresh.


Only after ordering the Steamed Pork Ribs ($3.50) that I realized that my friend doesn't eat pork. So I'm left with the task of finishing the whole plate by myself, which was a tad difficult as the pork wasn't as tender as I prefer it to be. But he did me a great job by finishing most of the Steamed Chicken Rice ($4) as I'm trying to cut down on carbs. A great enjoyment though, as the rice was bursting with awesome flavors from juices which flowed from the chicken during the steaming process. Each piece of chicken was extremely well marinated, tasty and tender. A must-order!


After all the healthy steamed items above, it's time for some deep-fried goodness to balance up the meal lol! The choice of Fried Vermicelli Cake ($3.50), as strongly recommended by my friend, is something new to me. It's the first time that I'm tasting mee sua (thin wheat flour noodles) done in a more unusual way of being deep fried into golden rectangles pieces. Though slightly greasy, I would say the experience is still very pleasing.


The Fried Carrot Cake ($3.50) may not be a very photogenic dim sum item but its attractiveness lies in its wonderful combination of texture and flavors. The soft rice flour cake is wonderfully contrasted with a outer layer that is pan-fried to a very thin, light crisp. I can hear the crunch echoing softly as I take each bite. Not exaggerating!

Complementing the fried items perfectly is this Dried Shrimps Chilli! The unami notes of spicy dried shrimps is very addictive and the level of spiciness is not too overwhelming. A bit strange because my friend was not served this chilli during previous visits, but the service staff said they have it all along. So, if you make a visit here, do not make do with the sweet chilli from the bottle on the table. Remember to ask for this dried shrimp chilli!

I was told that the Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice ($3), Fresh Prawn Tofu Skin ($3.50) and Chee Cheong Fun - Scallop / Fresh Shrimp / Char Siew ($3.50) are very good too but they would have to wait till my next visit. No more tummy space already.


We rounded off our meal with Mango Sago ($3), a dessert which is rather forgettable over here. I would be satisfied with just the dim sum items and a pot of Chinese tea to go with it. Selections include Jasmine, Iron Buddha and Pu'er.

Service was very efficient and friendly. We were not pressurized to leave even though we stayed passed their opening hours and were even blessed with a discount when we called for the bill. Very surprising because my friend has never been given one before during previous visits and no, we did not even ask the service staff for it. There is no GST or service charge but do note that they accept cash only.

Good food, good company, simple contentment of life. I can only say, we are blessed much. TYL :)



One Dim Sum Cafe 一點心茶餐厅
Address: 331 Upper Paya Lebar Road, Singapore
Contact: +65 62836938
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-10pm / Sat & Sun 9am-10.30pm


2 comments:

  1. the dim sum here looks really fresh and well made, and for the price, its oredi good value :)

    ReplyDelete