Dim Sum King 粤心聚 (Northpoint)

Dim Sum King 粤心聚 is one of those places that we got to hear about by chance whilst scrolling around social media — the establishment is probably one that folks would not likely know about unless one stays or works in the area considering how it is located a bit of a distance away from the closest MRT station. Situated in the Kim San Leng coffeeshop at Northpoint Bizhub, Dim Sum King is located within the industrial estate area in Yishun; the building being a light industrial complex considering its vicinity to a HDB estate that is located just right across the road from the complex. Dim Sum King can be found at the back of the entire coffeeshop, occupying a corner unit that is next to an outlet of Hong Style Fried Rice 四哥炒饭 at the coffeeshop itself. Considering how Dim Sum King’s set-up is like, the variety of dim sum that is served up at Dim Sum King can be described as pretty decent — the menu here features dishes spread across several categories such as one for steamed items, one of congee, one for pan-fried / fried dim sum, one for Paus and one for desserts. A selection of their pan-fried / fried dim sum can also be found being displayed prominently at the counter in a display case which shows the various pan-fried / fried dim sum still available to order for the day.

While the dim sum menu at Dim Sum King may be less extensive than what some other dim sum stalls situated within food courts, coffee shops and hawker centres around are offering, what Dim Sum King does seem to have a focus on would be the range of Paus — apart from the more standard Paus such as the Big Bun and BBQ Bun on their menu, Dim Sum King also serves up a variety of buns that are shaped in the form of cartoon animal characters which gives their buns a visual appeal. We found ourselves settling for the Ducky Custard Bun; shaped just like a duck, the buns comes with a yellow aesthetic with eyes and a beak to complete the look — all along with “wings” attached to the side. All of the animal character Paus come in a portion of two buns per serving; it is also noted that the size of the buns are a little bigger than what some would expect based on similar offerings that one can usually find at more upscale dim sum restaurants. Considering how the bun is being sized, it comes with little surprise that the bun itself can be a little thick — the bun could also have been a little more fluffier to match our preferences, though all these wouldn’t be too bothersome for those whom aren’t looking into the textural details of the dish that much. They have gotten the main star here right though; the custard lava is molten and flowy — just like how one would expect things to be so in the typical molten lava custard bun. The filling leaned closer to being sweet, though there is definitely an undertone of saltishness coming from the salted egg coming through that provided some balance — the filling also being quite rich and creamy; definitely hit the spot for those looking for a decent molten lava custard bun out there.

Other items that we had tried at Dim Sum King that are worth mentioning included the Trio Egg Congee; one could definitely find chunks of salted egg and century egg amidst the porridge that added a note of saltishness — then congee also done really well being thick, smooth and velvety texture that was totally on-point and got us yearning for more despite not being fans of congee in general. The pieces of fried dough fritters also do not reek of any undesirable notes of overused oil nor had absorbed the grease; the chunks of chicken meat found within also being incredibly tender at the same time. The Black Truffle Siew Mai came with a rather confusing aesthetic on first impression; rather than coming with the usual yellow Siew Mai wrapper on the outside, the Black Truffle Siew Mai at Dim Sum King came with a green-coloured wrapper that is usually associated with Otah Siew Mai at some establishments — something that Dim Sum King also serves. Topped off with Ebiko, one can say that it comes with a good proportion of pork and shrimp that both provides a bite and a crunch; the shrimp also adding a hint of natural sweetness to the Siew Mai as well — all that whilst a hint of truffle runs at the back of the tongue to provide that note that one would expect out of the namesake of the dish. We liked how the truffle here wasn’t overwhelming — just enough to taste without throwing the entire item off-balance. We weren’t expecting too much with the Orh Nee initially considering how it comes in a plastic container but this was yet another well-executed item.

There was enough oil to go around to give the Orh Nee a smooth texture while the Orh Nee itself came all earthy and sufficiently sweetened — all that accompanied with Gingko Nuts that provided a bit of a bite and a slight bitterness for a flavoural contrast. The Fresh Shrimp Chee Cheong Fun was the only item thus seemed to be overshadowed by the quality of the rest of the items that we have had during our visit to Dim Sum King — we must say that the Fresh Shrimp Chee Cheong Fun at Dim Sum King is probably better than most of the rice vermicelli rolls that most dim sum stalls at old-school coffeeshops and generic food court stalls dishes out; definitely decent on its own right. That being said, the Fresh Shrimp Chee Cheong Fun just lacks that finesse that we had found in their Trio Eggs Congee, Black Truffle Siew Mai and the Orh Nee; it did feel a little thick for our preferences, though we did like how there was ample soy sauce provided a good sweet-savoury note to the entire dish anyway. Dim Sum King is one of those establishments that we have felt that they surpassed our expectations for a dim sum stall situated in a coffeeshop; its offerings does seemingly feel a little more quality than the generic items that some similar stalls serve up — the fact that Dim Sum King is located within a coffeeshop in a light industrial building making it a rather hidden find that one would not quite expect at such a location. Prices for its dim sum items on the menu are mostly kept below $4 per dish; the only exceptions would be the Hong Kong Egg Tart (priced at $4), the Orh Nee and the Almond Tea with Peach Gum (priced at $4.80). Their congees are priced from $4.50 to $5.50; the only exception to this being the Abalone Congee priced at $8.80. With quality that somewhat exceeds its price point given the settings of its location, Dim Sum King is a spot in the North which we will gladly revisit if craving for some affordable and reasonably well-executed Dim Sum!