SINGAPORE, June 28 — Dining out in Singapore can be a pricey and highly stressful affair; especially when the tastiest foods are either served in premium restaurants in swanky hotels or shopping malls, or at the most obscure locations in the heart of neighbourhoods far from the city.

Some might argue that you still get “hidden” gems right under your nose in the most strategic of locations, but that did not seem to be the case throughout the one year I was based in Singapore.

Oh, let’s not forget the fact that most of the popular ones have either a battalion of loyal fans queueing up for more than half an hour (some even up to an hour or more!), or in some cases... let’s be honest here, overhyped ventures that left me stumped after the tiresome ordeal of planning, commuting (okay, maybe this is not so much of a hassle in Singapore) and lining up with the eagerness level of a child anticipating that first roller-coaster ride.

The steamed dumplings are freshly prepared from the kitchen upon every order, hence the slower service turnaround time but you get quality dim sum in return.
The steamed dumplings are freshly prepared from the kitchen upon every order, hence the slower service turnaround time but you get quality dim sum in return.

Now, Ipoh has always been known to be the best city for Cantonese-style dim sum in Malaysia. You can argue otherwise with challengers in the Klang Valley dishing out refined morsels under the umbrella of major conglomerates, but that will be comparing apples to oranges in some ways.

Despite the love-hate affair with Foh San and Ming Court, the perpetually sturdy support from not only visitors but locals alike is testament to their popularity, quality (this I beg to differ though, especially for Foh San), and well, general preference for a Sunday morning yum cha session with family members.

That being said, searching for a dim sum restaurant in the league of Foh San or Ming Court in Singapore could be a futile attempt; the big divide between higher-end restaurants and the neighbourhood stalls in food centres is hard to ignore.

At times it does seem hard to find a middle ground of reasonably priced and delicious dim sum in a decent environment.

Buttery cookie crust egg tart and baked Polo bun go well with their milk tea.
Buttery cookie crust egg tart and baked Polo bun go well with their milk tea.

Although I am far from a dim sum fanatic, I have tried several dim sum places in Singapore including the Hong Kong one Michelin-starred Tim Ho Wan at two different locations; Plaza Singapura on Orchard Road and Jurong Westgate, Jalan Besar’s night-only affair at Swee Choon Tim Sum, several random stalls in food centres (none particularly memorable thus far), and Victor’s Kitchen.

Whose kitchen again?

Many might not have heard of this place; a hole-in-a-wall eatery housed within one dilapidated mall named Sunshine Plaza (at least, when compared to the average impression of a standard shopping complex in Singapore), but Victor Leung, the brain and brawn behind the name, had more than two decades of dim sum experience in renowned restaurants in Hong Kong and around the globe before settling down in Singapore with his Singaporean wife.

Staying true to the league of popular eateries in Singapore, a queue is almost always guaranteed especially if you come on weekends and during the hotter hours. A general hint? Come during the odd hours in-between meals, like after 3pm to avoid the crowds, since they open throughout the day from 10.30am until 8pm everyday.

Summer Iced Tea; an ingenious way to preserve the icy cold temperature yet without risking dilution of the milk tea flavour (left). Steamed carrot cake with XO sauce; an item seldom found in other dim sum outlets (right).
Summer Iced Tea; an ingenious way to preserve the icy cold temperature yet without risking dilution of the milk tea flavour (left). Steamed carrot cake with XO sauce; an item seldom found in other dim sum outlets (right).

The seating arrangement can be nightmarish for a blessed person with a rotund belly like yours truly, or someone who’s claustrophobic. You could be seated almost elbow to elbow with your ravenous neighbours, so don’t bother bringing your trolley bags filled with groceries or make-up kits here; you risk spilling juices from the BBQ pork buns onto your precious bags.

Ordering dim sum here is a breeze, you get an order chit with bilingual descriptions (English and Chinese) to guide your selection process. They only have 20+ items on a one page chit, so you are saved the hassle of a flipping coin to decide between plain shrimp dumpling, shrimp dumpling with black truffle, shrimp dumpling with cheese, shrimp dumpling... you get my point.

Victor’s signature items include the self-proclaimed #1 golden egg yolk lava bun (also called lau sar bao in Cantonese) in Singapore; arriving steaming hot, fluffy dough filled with runny, golden custard filling although this was not the best lau sar bao I have ever eaten.

Golden Egg Yolk Lava Bun is one of their most promoted items, even proudly proclaiming theirs to be the #1 in Singapore on their website. Well, you be the judge then! (left). Lotus leaf glutinous rice with chicken and sausage is one of Victor’s Kitchen’s signature items that you should not miss (right).
Golden Egg Yolk Lava Bun is one of their most promoted items, even proudly proclaiming theirs to be the #1 in Singapore on their website. Well, you be the judge then! (left). Lotus leaf glutinous rice with chicken and sausage is one of Victor’s Kitchen’s signature items that you should not miss (right).

Try also the lotus leaf wrapped steamed glutinous rice with chicken, salted egg yolk and sausage although sausage is literally what you get, instead of the more common traditional Chinese waxed sausages.

The steamed carrot cake in soy sauce and chopped scallions served with XO sauce is quite unlike what you expect, but the wobbly cake reminded me of the Hong Kong-style but chai gou albeit savoury, and the XO sauce on the side added a pungent kick to the dish.

In a tongue-in-cheek way, he named the boring har gau as Victor’s King Prawn Dumplings and siew mai as Tasty Queen Siew Mai. Both of the items tasted fresh, succulent and not artificial unlike some dim sum outlets that I have visited. And a plus point of dining at Victor’s Kitchen is the fresh from the kitchen concept; hence the rather blunt reminder at the bottom of the order chit — “We serve the best food, not fast food”.

If you have grown accustomed to the predictable pot of Chinese tea for every dim sum meal, then you’re in for a surprise.

You can and should try their Hong Kong-style Summer Iced Tea; a refreshing iced milk tea kept chilled in a bowl of ice, instead of having ice cubes in the drink that may dilute the flavour. This clearly sealed the deal for me being a milk tea lover.

What a brilliant way to start the day with a glass of this in one hand, and a buttery egg tart in the other.

Victor’s Kitchen
91 Bencoolen Street
Sunshine Plaza, #01-49
Singapore 189652
Tel: +65-9838 2851
Open daily from 10.30am until 8pm

James Tan loves good food and blogs at Motormouth From Ipoh (www.j2kfm.com)