Swee Choon Tim Sum Restaurant

1962. That is how old my aunty is. And that is how old Swee Choon Tim Sum Restaurant is.

 

Located at the heart of Jalan Besar, Swee Choon is well known for delicacies such as xiao long bao, mee sua kueh, la mian, Shanghai and Hong Kong dim sum. Many of us have this conception that dim sum should be eaten in the morning. I feel the same too. But when I knew about 126 and Swee Choon, I am starting to love my dim sum dinner / supper.

 

The girlfriend and I love dim sum, so we decided to head to Swee Choon dim sum dinner. At 5.50pm, I arrived at Swee Choon and was shocked to see the long queue outside the restaurant. Once they are opened, people dash in to grab a table, as though they were grabbing freebies.

 

If you have heard of Swee Choon, you would have heard of their famous Swee Choon Mee-Suah Kueh (瑞春招牌面线粿，$2 for 2). My family used to do this when I was young, this deep-fried vermicelli cake has a brown and crispy skin, but when you bite it, the inside has soft mee suah packed together. It can get quite filling.

 

Another specialty here is the Swee Choon Big Pau (瑞春招牌大包，$1.60) . The skin was thick but fluffy, and it was filled with  minced pork, a piece of chicken, egg and half a shitake mushroom. The ingredients made it very juicy. Eat it while it’s hot!

 

Siew Mai (烧卖，$1.60 for 2) was ordinary, but then again, I couldn’t ask much for that price.

I like prawns and banana so the Prawn & Banana Fritter (香蕉炸虾筒，$2.60 for 2) was a good combination for me. I thought it would taste weird, but the fried banana fritter complements with the shrimps.

If I am not wrong, there were 3 shrimps in the Har Kow (虾饺，$2 for 2), which was plump and juicy. However, the skin was a tad too thick.

It is not easy to make a good BBQ Pork Pastry. Swee Choon’s Baked BBQ Pork Pastry (叉烧酥，$1.80 for 2) was okay, the crust was flaky but the char siew could have been more juicy.

The Portugese Egg Tart (葡式蛋挞，$2.60 for 2) were pretty average. The crust was flaky and the egg fillings weren’t too sweet.

Chive Pork Dumpling (韭菜饺子，$3.50 for 4) was filled with minced pork and chinese chives. I like it steamed rather than pan fried.

 

I saw this cute little Fried Custard Pumpkin (奶黄南瓜果，$1.80 for 2) that looks rather impressive, so we decided to try it. However, the skin was too thick and starchy, it kinda overpowered the sweetness of custard.

The Steamed Salted Egg Yolk Custard Bun (奶黄流沙包，$3 for 3) unfortunately didn’t flow as well, perhaps we have let it stay for too long.

 

Swee Choon is famous for Shanghai and Hong Kong dishes. It was raining when I visited the restaurant, so a bowl of Spicy & Sour Soup La Mian (酸辣汤拉面，$4.50) is the best.

 

Shao Xing Wine just does wonder to chinese dishes. The last time I use it to cook my Sai Pang Xie, we love it very much. And when I tried Swee Choon’s Drunken Chicken in Shao Xing Wine (花雕酒醉鸡，$5.50), I love it too. Enjoying this cold dish made me feel like I am in one of the Shanghainese restaurants, the chicken was well flavoured by the wine, hence creating a deep and intense taste.

Fried Golden Toufu (黄金豆腐，$3) gives the tofu a golden colour and soft texture, that goes great with pork floss.

Shanghai Xiao Long Bao (上海小龙包，$3.80 for 4) is one of the better ones in Singapore, I would say. The skin has a moderate thickeness, and the soup was delicious.

Girlfriend’s favourite was the Red Bean Paste Pancake (豆沙锅饼，$4.80).

 

There are definitely hits and misses but if you are craving for dim sum at night, this is a good recommendation!