To start off, we had the 豉汁蒸肉排 Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce ($4.20). This was not overly oily and marinated just right to produce soft steamed ribs. It can be easy to go overboard with the black bean sauce, as it's quite a salty paste, but this was perfect. Very good start.

Hearing so much about the 4 Heavenly Kings Dim sum (四大天王点心), a homage to old-school Hong Kong celebrities the 4 Heavenly Kings, it was time to see whether they live up to the name.

This is the 黄沙猪润肠 Vermicelli Roll with Pig’s Liver ($5.50), which is quite rare in Singapore to use pig's liver wrapped in Chee Cheong Fun/Vermicelli Roll. I initially thought it was beef before popping it in my mouth, then the liver hit me. Now personally I hate liver, but in a bid for an objective view, the liver was about medium cooked still having some redness thus being tender and fresh. It was good for Chef Warren. We also had the prawn and char siew version of the this dish, which all had very fresh ingredients as well.

The chee cheong fun roll wrap for all of them was silky and smooth yet firm enough to hold all the ingredients in without breaking apart. Soak up more of the sweet soy sauce for a nice well-rounded taste. 酥皮焗叉烧包 Baked Bun with BBQ Pork

酥皮焗叉烧包 Baked Bun with BBQ Pork ($4.50).
OHMYGODWTFBBQ. Biting into the crispy sugary skin breaking apart to reveal savoury char siew brought me to wonderland for a few seconds. Traditional Char Siew Bao is with steamed white skin but this was more like when a Bo Lo bao 菠蘿包 and a Char siew bao got married and had a beautiful, delicious baby. This was in my opinion the best dim sum I had at Tim Ho Wan. Chef Warren found it a tad too sweet though for him though, but Chef Cheung explained later on it was intentionally made this way so the palate would crave for more buns. Sneaky.

香煎萝卜糕 Pan Fried Carrot Cake ($4.50). I'm pretty neutral about carrot cake because it's so starchy usually, but this was not as jelat and had bits of Lap Cheong (chinese sausage) inside giving it a sweeter fragrance. With the addition of meat inside, this became such a joy to eat.

Rounding up the heavenly kings is the 香滑马来糕 Steamed Egg Cake ($3.80). I originally thought this was a Singapore adaptation, but this has been on the Hong Kong menu since long ago as well. Extremely fragrant with Gula Melaka and coconut milk flavours, this cake had such a Q texture that if you pushed down on it flat, it would bounce back up. This was very fluffy and would break apart with a fork easily yet still retaining it's overall form. Not exactly a Malay cake fan, but this was on such a different level I became a convert.

鮑汁闷风爪 Steam Chicken Feet with Abalone Sauce ($5.00), 家乡咸水饺 Deep Fried Dumpling with Salted Meat($3.80). These are specials exclusive to the Toa Payoh Tim Ho Wan branch. I really liked the chicken feet that was cooked till the meat skin pretty much dripped from the bone, but some people enjoy it firmer like Chef Warren. The Deep fried dumpling with salted meat however, was a complete miss for me. The dough was sticky and stuck to my teeth, the meat to bun ratio was damn imbalanced (can barely taste the meat), and the cloves marinate just overpowered everything. Just give this dish a miss and stick with the traditionals.

You know it's not dim sum until the Har Gao arrives. 晶莹鲜虾饺 Prawn Dumpling ($5.50) had very fresh huge prawns and wrapped in the same silky skin that's not overly chewy. The secret is in the technique and also the recipe that is well-guarded by Tim Ho Wan.

Mainstay of dim sum is the 鲜虾烧卖皇 Pork Dumpling with Shrimp ($5.00). A wonderful meat dumpling with fresh prawns, this was version was flavourful with a unique hint of wolfberries that most Siew Mai's don't have.

Another classic fried dumpling, the crispy 青芥末明虾角 Wasabi Salad Prawn Dumpling ($5.00) comes with Wasabi dressing and Tobiko roe which adds a slight spice to make the fried dumpling less common and expected to the bite.

杨枝甘露 Mango Pomelo Sago ($5.00) and 杞子桂花糕 Tonic Medlar & Osmanthus Cake ($3.50). Even though we've had so much already, we struggled to move on to dessert since we've heard such praise. The mango pomelo sago was pretty average in my opinion, probably because so many famous Hong Kong dessert shops have already started selling this in Singapore. The Osmanthus cake however was quite unique to me and not really a cake. Within the jelly texture you can taste the wolfberries and the strands of Osmanthus flower, making a very refreshing light dessert. I loved this jelly cake.

Chef Cheung was very hospitable and came out to speak with many guests here for feedback and comments. He explained how they only used fresh ingredients which is the key cornerstone of their popularity.

With Tim Ho Wan's roaring success, it's only a matter of time till the next few outlets open. I've heard there will be more local flavour infusions in the next outlet, but Chef Cheung kept the details a secret. I'm guessing chili crab dumpling somewhere in there! Fresh ingredients and classic award winning recipes, Tim Ho Wan Singapore is definitely worth the slightly pricier dim sum. Skip the monthly specials and go straight for their famous dishes.

For full review and more photos, please visit
http://sethlui.com/food-review-tim-ho-wan-singapore-toa-payoh/

Expect a really long queue, even at the Toa Payoh neighborhood branch. I think the only off peak time is 3-5pm.

I like how they have modified some of the dishes like the BBQ pork bun with crispy skin and the Carrot cake having some Lup Cheong inside. Adds a bite more twist to Singapore's common expected dim sum. Slightly pricier, but good award winning dim sum!

Skip the monthly specials (which taste like my dog's armpit. wait how would I know what tastes like? HMM.) and go for their popular dishes.

Chef Cheung has also indicated the next outlet will have more local infusion dim sums, so do look forward to it!

For mind blowing dim sum photos and review click below:

http://sethlui.com/food-review-tim-ho-wan-singapore-toa-payoh

Managed by former world's number 1 restaurant elBulli? check.
Food made from scratch with fresh ingredients? check.
Stunning view of Marina bay and excellent ambience? check.
Award winning bartender with one-of-a-kind cocktails? check.
Authentic Spanish service hospitality? check.

You MUST TRY the Suckling Pig tapa ($22), and the Spherical Olives ($3/each).

This is going to be quite an expensive meal, ranging $150-$180 a person if you want to be full.

http://sethlui.com/food-review-catalunya-singapore/

Open Door Policy is another one of those places you hear a lot of people talk about and want to see what the fuss is about. And there is a lot of fuss.

Located at the Tiong Bahru Neighbourhood, this seems like an odd match. The food is average I would say, but atmosphere is very appealing.

Tried the 48hr braised beef cheek, tender but slightly gamey in taste. Roasted chicken was rubbery in texture.

Apple crumble was very nicely baked though, crusty and fragrant vanilla custard on top.

The entire experience and more photos can be read at my blog:For full review and more photos, please visit http://sethlui.com/food-review-open-door-policy/

Saveur serves quality French cuisine at exceptionally low prices. For example, the Duck Leg confit is only $10.90 (WUUT?!), while their signature Angel's hair pasta with sakura ebi is only $4.90. The duck leg is crispy on the outside and tender inside. Pork Belly is also quite good, paired with runny poached egg but slightly gamey if you don't like the taste of uncooked egg. Portions are not very big, but definitely quite worth the price. The menu is simple and short, with premium dishes as well like the Beef Tenderloin if you want to splurge.

Don't expect a large wine collection as well, as they keep their list very simple.

For full review and more photos, please visit
http://sethlui.com/food-review-saveur/