One thing that we Asians cannot get enough of are dumplings. We are sure that everyone can agree that these delicious little blobs of joy are one of the best things that have come out of our Asian cuisine.

When we heard about a new stall located along Amoy Street that is solely dedicated to dumplings, we knew that we definitely had to check it out!

From interesting flavours such as Momo Curry to fusion dumplings such as Fried Pierogi, Dumpling Darlings is definitely an interesting place to check out if you’re a dumpling lover.

Hidden away in a little crevice at Amoy Street, Dumpling Darlings is almost hard to spot amongst all the other colourful stalls that line the street. We soon found it after spotting their adorable neon light sign in the shape of a dumpling.

They have both an air-conditioned dining area as well as a small al fresco portion. The interior was quirkily decorated and looked like a modern oriental Japanese bar. The entire space was incredibly small and intimate, so it makes for a perfect place for a date!

Before we got our food, we were served a complimentary vegetable appetiser. We ordered their lunch set meal which was S$16 per set. Each lunch set comes with your choice of noodles, 5 dumplings as well as a drink.

For drinks, we opted for a Longan Osmanthus Pu-Erh and a Grapefruit Thyme Strawberry Tea. The drinks were incredibly satisfying to drink, especially on a sweltering hot day.

For the lunch menu, we were given a choice of Miso Mushroom Noodles, Braised Pork Noodles or Sichuan Pork Noodles. We opted for a bowl of Braised Pork Noodles and Sichuan Noodles and we were pleasantly surprised by how it turned out.

The noodles for both dishes were delightfully springy and had just the right amount of chewiness to it. The Braised Pork Noodles was coated in a delicious, savoury sauce that had chunks of pork in it while the Sichuan Noodles came with a lovely, tangy sauce that was not too spicy.

Finally, we have the star of the show: the dumplings themselves! There were a number of interesting flavours such as Fried Pierogi, Spicy Sichuan, Smoked Duck, Momo Curry and Veggie Mandu.

The Original dumplings had a lovely, crisp underside that gave the dumpling a nice crunch when bitten into. The ratio of filling to dumpling skin was just right and it was filled with a generous amount of juicy minced pork collar.

The Smoked Duck dumplings were definitely interesting. Each dumpling was filled to the brim with chunks of chopped-up moist, tender smoked duck.

Dumpling Darlings
44 Amoy Street
Singapore 069870
Tel: +65 8223 9249
Mon to Thu: 11.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 10.30pm
Fri: 11.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 2am
Sat: 6pm – 2am
(Closed on Sundays)
Nearest Station: Telok Ayer

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