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2013-05-31
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For full review and photos: http://makeyourcaloriescount.blogspot.sg/2012/03/sg.html'Wan dou sek' or printed on their shirt as 126, it is a very family-styled Char Chan Teng that serves dim sum. With a rather deceiving display shelf at the front of the store, I almost thought that it was just a pseudo shop for people to eat on the go.Stepping into its actual premises, I was surprised to see how spacious it was inside, (for a store that size) to be able to house about 15 tables easily. Luckily we
'Wan dou sek' or printed on their shirt as 126, it is a very family-styled Char Chan Teng that serves dim sum. With a rather deceiving display shelf at the front of the store, I almost thought that it was just a pseudo shop for people to eat on the go.
Stepping into its actual premises, I was surprised to see how spacious it was inside, (for a store that size) to be able to house about 15 tables easily. Luckily we were there during off peak hour, about 1pm and there were plenty of seats for us to choose from. Very similar to Swee Choon in terms of the service staff and ambience, though having alot more variety than Swee Choon.
Very crispy skin, packed with lots of solid filling inside. Could really taste prawns in it, though not very fresh prawns used. The skin that was used to wrap the dumpling and fried in was of the right thickness and gave an appropriate amount of chewiness to the dumpling. It was slightly over-fried which made it seem very greasy. Good thing is that it still tasted good even after being left there for some time, only difference between one that's freshly cooked and one that's left on the table for a while is perhaps the temperature!
A very unique dish and the best one out of all those that we've tried. With prawn wrapped with potato strips, it gave a very different texture and taste to it. The fine potato strips were fried till golden brown on the outside, tasting like potato chips and once you sink your teeth into the entire piece, you could taste the soft tender prawn and sweetness of the potato strips bursting in your mouth! It was a great mix of flavours and well, for a potato lover like me, I absolutely loved it especially when you can see the real potato strips used!
We ordered two of these, one prawn and another char siew. It wasn't impressive and perhaps one of the weirdest I've tried. With a paste-like sauce that tasted very savory, it masked the taste of the prawns and char siew, rendering the different fillings as just something for you to chew on. The sauce was unique and perhaps an acquired taste, seemed very similar to shrimp paste and it certainly didn't go well with me as I felt that it was too strong a flavour. The 'Fun' was also too thick though it gave the chewy texture hence the whole dish became very filling.
It didn't look exactly impressive at first and I was even complaining how there wasn't any soup within the XLB itself. Next thing I know, while tossing the whole thing into my mouth to get the full flavour of it, a part of the skin decided to come apart and I jolted with the shot of piping hot soup gushing down my throat in a split second! Such a love-hate relationship with XLBs, you gotta pop it in while it's hot to enjoy the shiok-ness of it, yet always scalding your tongue/throat with the soup. I was delightedly surprised by the tasty soup contained within this deceptive looking dumpling. It doesn't have the strong smell of pork and the soup was awesome (perhaps scarcity made it more cherished!) The skin was also of the right thickness and was chewy enough.
It wasn't an impressive rendition, a seemingly simple dish yet hard to perfect. The filling didn't have very fresh prawns and were full of impurities to make up the size I guess. The skin wasn't too bad, though it didn't gel well with the prawns and it became quite a chore eating it.
Oh did I ever mention, egg tarts sold in such packaging while eating at the place itself is totally unacceptable! It came cold and soggy, and it doesn't deserved to be called an egg tart at all. There wasn't a slight hint of egg taste to it and the crust tasted more like bread instead. It was totally disappointing and well, regretted ordering it as an add-on to our order as it left us more dissatisfied after that! ):Overall, I would say that it's not a place worth raving over. Good if you're not exactly particular and have got cravings for dim sum while around the area. One thing I would recommend would be the Fried Fries Prawn, they were probably better with novelty items rather than the standard fare, so perhaps other dishes might be better! Slightly overpriced, we paid about $14 each, which in my opinion, wasn't exactly worth it for such quality. The ingredients used could be fresher and well, the ambience didn't exactly correspond with the price paid.
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