Swee Choon is always the first on my to-go list for late night supper. After all, it opens till 6am. The Jalan Besar location isn't friendly if you don't own four wheels. We took a bus and still had to walk along dark corridors of shophouses before we reached Swee Choon. I don't like dark places because they are haunted. But still, we will bravely flock to it for its cheap and good shanghainese style dim sum. 

A visit at 11pm - we had to wait if we wanted to sit in the restaurant but they had tables available immediately if we sit at their back alley. No surprises for what an impatient person like me had done - take the back alley. Makeshift tables occupied the unglamorous back alley and we were seated at a table against a grey concrete wall that looked like it had been there since I was born. Can't help but I kept imagining that a toilet was behind it.

The regulars would know that Swee Choon is famous for its signature yellow egg yolk custard buns. I was dining with a friend who doesn't take the yellow gooey stuff so we skipped it. But I had tried it on another occasion and loved it. So would highly recommend it. 4.5/5

Another signature dish would be the Mee Sua Kueh ($2 for 2). Or translated into English, deep fried vermicelli rice cake. Writing about this now makes me want to go back and eat it again. An innovative dish which achieved a balance between crispness and softness (crispy at the top and softness towards the bottom). 4.5/5

The Xiao Long Bao (or pork minced meat dumpling with hot soup broth) ($4 for 4) is pretty decent. But sorry I have given my heart to Din Tai Fung's best Xiao Long Bao in the world. Compared to Din Tai Fung, Swee choon's has thicker skin which is less than perfect. Swee Choon's minced pork is also less tasty than Din Tai Fung's. But both have similar savory scalding soup broth. 3.5/5

We found the Char Siew baked pastry ($2.20 for 2) surprisingly delicious - the sweetness of Char Siew filling was just nice and matched the crumbly golden baked crust well. 4/5

We also ordered some Siew Mai ($1.80 for 2) which in my opinion, was so-so and nothing to shout about. 3/5

One thing I like the place about was the service speed. Before we could get our seats warmed, the food was streaming in non-stop. They also have a takeaway shop next to the restaurant which is very popular. 

Address: 185 Jalan Besar

Tim Ho Wan. The famous Michelin star from Hong Kong. That hole-in-the-wall eatery. The name that caused heart-beats to stop when it first landed in Singapore. The shop that had rumbling tummies queuing up for hours waiting to devour the handmade dim-sum. 

This is a story of how I went to the Tim Ho Wan outlet in Hong Kong and how I didn't queue for long.

As the original outlet at Mongkok was closed down due to high rents, we went to the IFC outlet at Central. Had a bit of issues in finding the outlet. But nothing is going to stand in between me and my beloved Char Siu Pau. With a bit of help from shop attendants, passerbys and a policeman, we found it :)) It's actually quite simple. Once you exit Central station, find Airport Express check-in signs. Take the lift that goes to Airport Express level but alight at level P1. It's right outside the lift.

Somehow there weren't a lot of people during dinner time at 6.30pm. We took a queue number and waited about 5 minutes.

The ordering system is fuss-free one where you indicate the number of items you want and pass to the waiter. The waiter will then pass the list to kitchen.

If you
1) don't know what to order, and/or
2) don't know Chinese,
just make sure you put more than "1" for the item I circled in red below.


I was referring to the Char Siew Pau. One has not visited Tim Ho Wan if one has not eaten the legendary Baked Char Siew Pau (HKD 18 for 3, below). It is seriously the best Char Siew Pau in the world!! The baked crust is crispy yet soft at the same time. As the teeth sinks into the crust, it crumbles.. into the sweet and savoury Char Siew meat that's filled in the bun. 5/5



The Siew Mai with prawn (HKD 24, below), was fresh and had the springy nom nom factor. I've eaten a lot of Siew Mai and Tim Ho Wan's version ranks high in the list for me. 4/5


The reason why Tim Ho Wan's dim sum are so good is because they make the dim sum only when the customer orders, hence ensuring the freshness of the dim sum. This is very evident in its Prawn Dumpling or Har Kau (HKD 24, below) which I could taste the freshness and sweetness of the prawns beneath the skin. 4/5


I loved its Carrot Cake (HKD 14, below) which has bits of shrimp, giving it the savoury taste. 4/5


My favourite way to end off the excellent dim sum dinner - the refreshing and light Osmanthus cake (HKD 12, below). It's not heavy and gives the feeling of cleansing of the palates. 4/5


So that's my Michelin dinner that cost less than S$10 per pax. And most importantly, it's satisfying and once again proves that good food need not necessarily be expensive.


Address:
添好運點心專門店
Shop 12A, Hong Kong Station (Podium Level 1, IFC Mall) Central