A popular Cantonese cuisine that comes in bite-sized portions is known as dim sum1. The food is usually served in steamer baskets or on small plates. As dim sum is served in small quantities, customers can order a wide variety of items to try different options. A typical dim sum menu includes a myriad of buns with different flavors, rice noodle rolls with shrimp and pork, and dumplings with chicken and pork filling2.
In Singapore, Din Tai Fung is a highly regarded Taiwanese restaurant that serves one of the best dim sum in town2. Awarded as one of the World’s Top Ten Best Restaurants by The New York Times, the restaurant has history dating back to Taiwan nearly 40 years ago2. The restaurant offers diners a holistic experience. In its exquisite setting, customers can observe the world-class workmanship of the Din Tai Fung’s chefs through an open kitchen concept. Its signature dish is the xiao long bao which are basically steamed pork dumplings that can be prepared in many different ways. The chefs roll out the dough, place the dumpling mixture, pleats the dumpling with a knot at the top, and steam to perfection. This dish has a minimum of 18 intricate folds per dumpling2. The restaurant serves other popular dishes such as chicken herbal soup and sliced duck in crispy onion pastry. The restaurant has expanded around the world with outlets in Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan and many more.
Tim Ho Wan is a two Michelin-starred restaurant known for its scrumptious dim sum3. It started out as a humble eatery in Hong Kong. Today, it has expanded to 39 restaurants across nine countries. Tim Ho Wan is most famous for its baked buns with pork3. Soft interior with a crispy exterior, each savory bite is packed with bold flavors. This Hong Kong brand opened its first international restaurant in Singapore in 2013. It serves its popular dim sum options to patrons in Singapore, including steamed chicken feet with black bean sauce and glutinous rice with chicken, sausage and mushroom.
Swee Choon Tim-Sum Restaurant is one of Singapore’s oldest dim sum restaurants that has over 40 years of heritage4. Located in a shop house in Singapore, this restaurant is famous for its mee suah kueh that is a fried carrot cake with noodles. Priced at just S$2 (US$1.40), diners flock to this restaurant for quality dim dum. The restaurant also serves other popular dishes such as egg tarts, steamed chicken claw and fried prawn dumplings5.
References
1. The Spruce. (2017). Chinese Dim Sum Menu Translator. [online] Available at: https://www.thespruce.com/dim-sum-menu-translator-694589
2. Din Tai Fung. (2017). The Cuisine. [online] Available at: https://www.dintaifung.com.sg/about.php#thecuisine
3. Tim Ho Wan. (2017). Our Brand Story. [online] Available at: http://www.timhowan.com/our-brand-story/
4. Seth Lui. (2017). Swee Choon Dim Sum: Singapore Food Review. [online] Available at: http://sethlui.com/swee-choon-tim-sum-singapore-food-review/
5. Swee Choon Tim-Sum Restaurant. (2017). Our Signature Dishes. [online] Available at: http://www.sweechoon.com/en/signature.htm