Located at Bendemeer Market & Food Centre, Singapore Bao is a popular stall which is known for its Glutinous Rice Chicken (Lo Mai Gai) and Siew Mai. Get there early as there’s a long queue at the stall every day and it is usually sold out by 10am.

Ironically, Singapore Bao no longer sells any buns (baos) and it specialises in only two items—Siew Mai & Glutinous Rice Chicken.

Each Siew Mai is priced at S$0.70 and you can get three Siew Mai at S$2. The value-for-money Siew Mai is plump and meaty.

At S$2, The Glutinous Rice Chicken comes with flavourful and not overly greasy glutinous rice, mushroom and a generous portion of chicken meat.

Needless to say, Singapore Bao is definitely worth queuing up for if you love Glutinous Rice Chicken and Siew Mai. It is so popular that there is usually a queue even before the stall opens in the morning.

Singapore Bao
#01-61 Bendemeer Market & Food Centre
Blk 29 Bendemeer Road
Singapore 330029

One thing that Singaporeans can’t get enough of is dim sum. There is just something so comforting about these small bamboo baskets of steamy goodness that make our mouths water.

Dim sum also comes in all shapes, sizes and flavours. So, whether you’re a sweet tooth, someone who prefers something savoury or someone who is picky about textures and flavours, there will definitely be some kind of dim sum out there that will suit your palates.

However, a solid dim sum meal does not always come cheap. Most of the time, you can only find the good ones at restaurants, which can be a tad harsh on your wallet if you’re running on a tight budget. However, fret not because we have here, a list of 10 great dim sum places that serve quality dim sum at reasonable prices.

126 WEN DAO SHI 

Geylang is a well-known food haven, so it is no surprise that they have a place there that sells really affordable yet solid dim sum. 126 Wen Dao Shi may not be the most polished of places, but they compensate for this with their delicious, fresh dim sum. Some must-try items include their Liu Sha Bao, Har Gao and Man Tou with Chilli Crab Sauce.

126 Sims Avenue
Singapore 387449
Tel: +65 6746 4757
Daily: 24-hours
Nearest Station: Aljunied

DIM SUM HAUS 

Tucked away a few streets down from the famous Swee Choon is Dim Sum Haus, a small dim sum shop that serves up affordable yet amazing dim sum. We feel that this place is a strong rival to Swee Choon as their dim sum is really good and affordable at the same time. Our favourite is their Baked Salted Egg Custard Buns and their Charcoal Siew Mai.

57 Jalan Besar
Singapore 208809
Tel: +65 6909 0777
Tue to Fri: 11.30am – 3pm, 5.30pm – 10.30pm
Sat & Sun: 10.30pm – 3pm, 5.30pm – 10.30pm
(Closed on Mondays)
Nearest Station: Jalan Besar

Photo Credit: Hong Kong Zhai 

HONG KONG ZHAI HOUSE OF DIM SUM 

Tucked away in a corner of Ang Mo Kio is Hong Kong Zhai. Here, they sell fresh, hand-made dim sum that will not cost you more than S$10 for a substantial (and beyond satisfying) portion. One of their most popular items here is their velvety Beancurd Skin Rolls that is a must-try for anyone who loves beancurd rolls.

Block 107 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4, #01-138
Singapore 560107
Tel: +65 6748 4893
Daily: 7am – 4pm
Nearest Station: Yio Chu Kang

JOHOR BAHRU PAU/TIM SUM 

No, Johor Bahru Pau/Tim Sum is not in Johor. In fact, it isn’t anywhere near Johor at all. Instead, this small dim sum place is hidden away in a crevice of Changi Village. They have a wide range of handmade paus and dim sum classics such as har gao, siew mai, char siew baos and chee cheong fan.

4 Changi Village Road, #01-2082
Singapore 500001
Daily: 9am – 9pm
Tel: +65 6542 2311
Nearest Station: Pasir Ris

KUAI SAN DIAN XIN 

Kuai San Dian XIn is one of the rare places that sell all their dim sum for the same price, which is a shockingly affordable S$1.30! Imagine the amount of food that you can get for S$20 when everything is priced so low. Definitely a great place to pig out on dim sum to your heart’s content.

Blk 346A Kang Ching Road, #01-01
Singapore 611346
Daily: 6am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Lakeside

LAI KEE DIM SUM 

Lai Kee is another great place that serves affordable and delicious dim sum that is great for when the dim sum cravings hit you hard. Besides the usual array of classics such as har gao and siew mai, they also sell unusual creations such as Century Egg Dumplings, Ji Guo Pau and Emerald Prawn Dumplings.

190 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh
Toa Payoh Central, #01-528
Singapore 310190
Tel: +65 8128 9970
Daily: 7.30am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Toa Payoh

Photo Credit: v99tz

SHI WEI XIAN HONG KONG DIM SUM 

Shi Wei Xian sells a spread of the usual dim sum classics such as har gao and siew mai. Besides that, they have some menu items that are not on the list such as their popular Prawn Paste Fish Maw in Egg White, Scallop Dumplings and Prawn Paste Beancurd Rolls.

Blk 119 Aljunied Crescent, #01-06
Singapore 380119
Fri to Sun: 7am – 5pm
(Closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays)
Nearest Station: Aljunied

SWEE CHOON TIM SUM RESTAURANT

If you haven’t heard of Swee Choon, you’ve probably been living under a rock. Swee Choon is a well-loved supper spot that people head to whenever the dim sum cravings strike. This place is open till the wee hours of the morning which is great for satisfying those late-night hunger pangs. However, the downside of this Swee Choon is the never-ending, snaking queues.

Jalan Besar, 183-191
Singapore 208882
Tel: +65 6225 7788
Mon to Sat: 11am – 2.30pm, 6pm – 6am
Sun: 10am – 3pm, 6pm – 6am
Nearest Station: Jalan Besar, Farrer Park & Bendemeer

WONG CHIEW EATING HOUSE

At the mere mention of dim sum for supper, most, if not all minds, would naturally gravitate towards popular Swee Choon if not its more rustic counterpart, 126 Dim Sum Wen Dao Shi over in Geylang. If you’d rather do without the queues and the crowd, consider Wong Chiew Eating House located along Upper Thomson Road.

Despite being around for over a decade now, this humble corner coffee shop hasn’t gotten much limelight, but trust us when we say that these folks are worth a visit. Opened 24-hours a day, they dish out anything from roast meat, various rice and noodle dishes, dim sum as well as their signature Kampung Chicken.

19 Sembawang Road
Singapore 779075
Tel: +65  6456 6838
Nearest Station: Khatib/ Yio Chu Kang

YI DIAN XIN 

This hidden gem tucked away in Kovan serves darn good dim sum that we feel is on par with many restaurants. Despite that, the prices here are cheap and affordable, so you can eat as much of you want without feeling a hole in your pocket. Try their famous Steamed Carrot Cake, it’s worth the calories!

1012 Upper Serangoon Road
Singapore 534750
Tel: +65 9168 5587
Wed to Mon: 7am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Kovan

ZI YEAN BISTRO 

If you’re looking for a dim sum place that sells something more exciting than your usual dim sum, then Zi Yean Bistro is the place you should be at. Here, you can get your hands on interesting creations such as their Cream Of Yam In Watermelon Bun as well as their Steamed Black Truffle Mushroom Bun.

56 Lengkok Bahru, #01-443
Singapore 150056
Daily: 8am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Redhill

Amongst the Crystal Jade Fine Dining restaurants, there are Crystal Jade Golden Palace at Paragon (contemporary Cantonese & Teochew cuisine), Crystal Jade Dining In at Vivocity (modern Cantonese cuisine) and the flagship Crystal Jade Palace at Ngee Ann City.

There are 35 items on Crystal Jade Palace’s dim sum menu, with the usual suspects like rice roll cheong fun, deep-fried shrimp dumpling, baked egg tart, siew mai, har gau, and steamed pork ribs. The prices are very reasonable for a Chinese fine dining restaurant, with most of the dim sum ranging from $3.60 to $5 per basket.

The Char Siew Sou ($4) had buttery and flaky pastry, and I love the sweet yet savoury char siew fillings. I’d think that Crystal Jade Palace’s char siew sou is on par with the ones that I’ve had at Taste Paradise and Yanting restaurant.

There were so many different types of steamed dumplings on the dim sum menu and we were spoilt for choices. Since it was our first time to Crystal Jade Palace, we took the safe option and went for the ubiquitous Steamed Prawn Dumplings ($5). It was fairly decent, the translucent skin was not too thick, and came with fresh crunchy shrimp.

Similarly, the Steamed Pork Dumplings with mushroom ($4.8) were not out-of-this-world good, but they were tasty and that was enough.

And what’s dim sum lunch without Steamed Rice Roll cheong fun ($4.8)? We easily finished it and only decided against ordering another portion as we had other dim sum coming.

When broken with a pair of chopsticks, the Xiaolongbao ($3.9) released the tasty stock into the spoon. Paired with vinegar and ginger, it was satisfying to swallow the whole pork dumpling.

My friend was feeling a little health conscious that day so we went for the Steamed Carrot Cake instead of the pan-fried one. It would not win a food photography competition, but the steamed carrot cake definitely tastes good.

* * *

With the fairly good dim sum at reasonable prices and its convenient location at Orchard road, Crystal Jade Palace has joined my ranks of my favourite dim sum restaurants in Singapore. If you don’t feel like having dim sum, there’s always Crystal Jade Korean Restaurant as well as the more affordable Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao at level four of Takashimaya.

The fine dining restaurant was packed when we went there on a weekend, reservations are highly recommended.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Crystal Jade Palace Restaurant
391 Orchard Road #04-19
Ngee Ann City Singapore
Tel: +65 6735 2388

Operating Hours: Daily 11.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 11pm

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An oasis of blue, with a glimpse of gold. Royal China. There are places which you will proudly recommend to your friends when they want suggestions for food, and I raved about the best dim sum before. Indeed, my fond memories of the exquisite Chinese-tapas still lingers in my heart. My perennial return was long overdue.

But perhaps it was my mistake not to check with the restaurant before going, that I didn’t realise they had a special dim sum menu for the Chinese New Year period. With just a selection of 12 different dim sum, all priced at $6.80++ instead of the normal price, I did feel being rip-off, but that’s Chinese New Year for you, and it was my fault for not checking beforehand.

In place of the usual red roe on top of the steamed minced pork dumpling with abalone ($6.80++, usual price $4.80), we had tiny abalones instead. Right, the siew mai was up to standard, but I’ll not say the same having pay two dollars extra for the tiny abalone on top.

From the outside, the steamed prawn dumplings with black moss ($6.80++, usual price $4.80) looked the same. The exotic ingredients kicked in with the addition of black moss (fa-cai), an ingredient that is never missing from Chinese New Year menu. I certainly understood the significant of the auspicious ingredient, but I must admit that there wasn’t any enhance in the flavour of the har gau.

The Crispy prawn rolls with sesame ($6.80++) was one of the item which I did not try before, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. Fundamentally prawn roll with mango, fried crispy with the sesame stuck on top. A dip into the mayo dressing completed the whole taste.

My love, the Baked barbecued pork puff ($6.80++, usual price $4). Royal China’s rendition was very good, with golden butter flaky skin and juicy red char siew. The only problem, this was exactly the same without any addition of “exotic ingredients” and I had to pay almost three bucks more for it.

Total bill was $43. 90 for 4 dim sum, 1 appetiser, and of course the other charges. Was I disappointed by the second visit? Certainly, counting by per piece, it’s close to $2.60 each, even more expensive than Yan Ting. But you can’t fault them for the quality in dim sum, it’s just that I’m sore over paying more than usual for my char siew sou. Will I go back again? Certainly, I still have good impression of them even though this was a bad experience.

And one more thing which I was not pleased about. For those of you who had been there, you’ll know that in their middle seating area, it used to be square tables with the nice white chairs. But they had removed them, and placed round tables with ugly brown chairs instead. I presumed this was done to increase the seating capacity,  but the different furnitures was certainly not pleasing to the eyes, and the seating arrangements were not comfortable at all. After checking with a friend who went after the cny period, it seems everything is back to normal.

One thing’s a definite. We will find out the next time I revisit the place.

Royal China
1 Beach Road
#03-09 Raffles Hotel
Tel: 6338 3363