Swee Choon Tim Sum Restaurant stands a dim sum icon for many Singaporeans and has even garnered international popularity. Besides being one of the rare few dim sum eateries in the country that opens till late, they’re more famously known for serving several different varieties of dim sum—both the traditional as well as innovative creations.
What started out as nothing more than a mere hole-in-a-wall eatery dishing out humble baskets of dim sum, is now one of the biggest (and busiest) late-night eateries in the Jalan Besar precinct, but is this fan-favourite on par with Singapore’s dim sum greats, or is it hugely overrated? We paid a visit to find out.
Har Kow
Among their list of steamed savouries, the Har Kow (S$2.60 for 2) is a definite must to include in your spread. These prawn-filled dumplings may be pricey considering that you’re paying S$1.30 a single mouthful but they’re well worth it given the amount of prawn there is in one dumpling.
Swee Choon Mee Suah Kueh
A rice cake of sorts, their house signature Swee Choon Mee Suah Kueh (S$2.40) is made by densely packing mee suah noodles together before flash-frying the whole lot. The result? A soft, flavourful and ultra-filling snack that’s gloriously crispy around the edges. We recommend dipping this in sweet chilli sauce.
Shanghai Xiao Long Bao
If we were to be brutally honest, their Shanghai Xiao Long Bao (S$4.50 for 4 pieces) was far from impressive. The outer skin was thick and chewy and the soupy filling within tasted bland. The plum vinegar and ginger served alongside it does provide an additional lift, but it was otherwise mediocre at best.
Steamed Salted Egg Custard Bun
Perhaps the most popular item at Swee Choon—seeing as to how nearly every table had at least one basket of it—their Steamed Salted Egg Yolk Custard Bun (S$4.50) was soft, fragrant and oozed with a molten salty-sweet salted egg yolk filling. This sweet bun is pure heaven when eaten fresh but just be careful because it is insanely hot.
Yam Paste With Ginkgo Nut
Among their various sweet and savoury dim sum offerings, Swee Choon also boasts a pretty decent selection of desserts. Their Yam Paste with Ginkgo Nut (S$3.80) is one that comes highly recommended. The yam paste was smooth, luscious and neither too rich nor too sweet. The coconut milk provided an additional creaminess to the dessert, giving it a more velvety texture.
Red Bean Paste Pancake
Their Red Bean Paste Pancake (S$4.80) sees finely ground red bean paste enveloped in a thin layer of crispy pancake. What intrigued us was how incredibly crisp the pancake was without being the slightest bit greasy. Red bean may be a hit or miss for some, but if you enjoy it, we guarantee you’ll enjoy this.
Overall, we must admit that Swee Choon Tim Sum Restaurant’s reputation is well deserved. The quality of food that they serve is of an exceptional standard—despite a few misses here and there. Our only gripe, however, is that the prices are not as cheap as many would assume. Check out their menu here.
Disclaimer: Uncover Asia made an anonymous visit and paid for their own meal.
Address: Jln Besar, 183-191, Singapore 208882
Opening Hours: 11AM – 2.30PM, 6PM – 6AM (Mon to Sat), 10AM – 3PM, 6PM – 6AM (Sun), Closed on Tuesdays
Contact: +65 6225 7788
Nearest MRT Station: Farrer Park
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