Swee Choon: Dim Sum Culture!

Singapore has a unique dim sum scene. When you normally speak of dim sum, the first thing that comes to your mind are the cantonese restaurants that has push carts (extinct already) delivering steaming hot bamboo cages of snacks and pastries.

But over here, you also have eateries serving up dim sums that are not purely of the canto type, some of which are unheard of in Hong Kong (Yes I do know) and originated from other places. Swee Choon @ Jalan Besar Road is an example of such eatery.



The air-conditioned interior is kept clean and simple with their food menu pasted on the wall. It boasts a menu of 50+ Cantonese and Shanghainese snacks that are mostly popular and known among the locals. Been there twice, not all the chosen items were to my liking and thus posted only those worth mentioning.


Yu Jiao

The yam pastry had a crispy coating and was piping hot on the inside. The yam was soft and thick with the the filling of just nice flavour. Not the best yu jiao I had but was above average.


Hand shredded Pancake

This strikes a great resemblence to our Roti Prata, but was less rubbery/chewy and more flaky due to its shredded and thin nature. Its also more intense in flavour, with a buttery aroma and bits of spring onions. Nice!


Lo Mai Kai

This was a better one compared to the mass produced versions you get at coffeeshops and canteens. Its very much less oily and the glutinous rice were evenly steamed, soft and rich in taste. The chicken was not the harden minced type but thigh meat and topped with juicy mushrooms. The size is rather small but good enought to be shared by two.


Mee Sua Kweh

Now this is the highlight dish. I have not seen this snack elsewhere before and never thought that rice vermicilli can be cooked this way. Deep fried to a golden brown, the surface was crunchy and reminded me of the MaMe Monster snack that you eat as a kid. The inside was soft and chewy with every strands of vermicilli easily distinguishable in your mouth. Thumbs up!


Pumpkin Bao

IF you are craving for something sweet, this would be a more interesting one. The outer layer is steamed using pumpkin-flavoured flour and inside filled with custard cream. Not particularly tasty but plus point for its cute look!

The things that I don't like about the place are the century egg porridage (way too plain), portugese egg tarts (not enough of the burned coating on top) and the Har Kow (skin too thick, shrimp dropped out before I picked it up). Well, maybe its just that day, and every restuarant has their pros and cons.

Dining here is rather cheap with prices ranging from 70cents per piece to about $3 for a bowl of noodles. We had two soya bean milk and about 7 dishes, with the bill totalling to less than $20. They also have a take-away counter at the side of the eatery. The Mee Sua Kweh is a must-try if you happen to drop by!