Dim Sum boogie-woogie

The legendary Swee Choon Tim-Sum restaurant has according to word on the street been around close to forever. Since the company has existed for almost 50 years, and the state of Singapore only 47 years, I said okay lah, true, let's check it out.

So off we go, commenting on the rising expectations whilst walking over to 191 Jalan Besar Rd. During the walk the question also rise of what a dim sum really is. In my personal opinion it is a fluffy ball with stuffing. The fluff is something close to a compact white and flavourless spongecake, and the filling can be quite sweet, especially if it's red beans and lotus hidden inside. Being a Chinese type of food, one can also be sure to find some pork in the mix.

Swee Choon Big Pau

Swee Choon restaurant is popular, lots of people are hanging around crowding up this little hawker-goes-restaurant type of place. Upon arriving at 8pm we were given a cue number and told to wait for approx 30 minutes. Thankfully we were given menus, started to fill in the order form while working up a roaring hunger, and then we were quickly offered a table outside around the corner. With fans and cool weather this is no problemo. We also realised Swee Choon takes up quite a number of shophouses, it is not just a small little piece of Dim Sum Heaven, it is also quite a big chunk of Jalan Besar Rd. 

According to Wikipedia, dim sum literally means "touch the heart", and is supposed to be a light snack served with tea. Light enough to only touch the hearth is pretty long gone though. Even if these little fluffy balls are steamed (healthy right?!) they are not overall that healthy. Nevertheless we tried a hearty number of snacks including; Swee Choon Big Pau, Salted Egg Yolk Custard Bun, Lotus Paste Pau, Chive Pork Dumpling, Fried Dou Miao, and then there was something very slimy but tasty (noodles and shrimps among the things identified from the dish), another couple of buns with stuffings, something pale with a black sauce, dumplings, the classic spring rolls and a pumpkin cake with sesame seed that really did not live up to expectations (to be fair the pumpkin thing was not a dim sum, so Swee Choon legacy stands intact).

Since I am not a great fan of dim sums, I think the best thing about Swee Choon is the awesomely low price. With no service charge and seriously cheap prices it's enough to bring along some pocket change, and you'll still be dining like a king. 

If you want to visit this legendary dim sum restaurant, please take note they are open from 6pm to 6am only, 6 days a week. Check out their website for more info:  www.sweechoon.com