The folks at Yuen Kee Dumplings are certainly not resting on their laurels having opened their second outlet within the Food Junction food court at NEX — these folks had recently opened their third outlet; another one that is located within a food court setting being the Food Republic food court at VivoCity (there is some talk that a fourth location at 313@Somerset and a fifth outlet at Lot One are also underway). For its VivoCity outlet, Yuen Kee Dumplings can be found tucked towards one end of the food court right next to Nana Curry’s mini restaurant concept there — Yuen Kee Dumplings being located along the same stretch of food stalls that one can find the outlet of Bara Food as well. As mentioned previously about the establishment when we had made our first visits to their Fortune Centre and NEX outlets, Yuen Kee Dumplings is a brand that originates from mainland China; operating as “Yuan Ji Yun Jiao” there, they operate more than a couple of thousand of outlets there with the bulk of their operations being situated in Guangzhou province. The stall does seem a lot wider than their location at NEX; otherwise, the stall is laid out in quite a recognisable fashion for those whom are familiar with the brand — think a display case that is stocked up with raw dumplings and wantons that comes filled with different fillings. Whilst the menu does seem fairly reminiscent of their other locations being segmented into categories dedicated to Dumplings, Wantons, Noodles, and Sides, patrons are also free to opt for the Set Meal options that allows one to bundle their choice of Dumpling / Wanton Noodles with a choice of side and a drink. Drinks offered at Yuen Kee Dumplings would include Fresh Corn Juice, Ginseng Chrysanthemum and Monk Fruit “Luo Han Guo” Herbal Tea.

For those wanting to give as many of their variants of Wantons a try, the Family Feast Assorted Pork Wantons would be the item on the Wanton section of the menu to go for. This is a “platter” that features an assortment of wantons that they have to offer — namely the Shrimp and Crab Roe Pork Wantons, Pork Wantons and the Corn and Pork Wantons; come in a portion size of twelve (12) pieces, with patrons also being able to opt for either a type of sauce or soup to go along with their wantons. We found ourselves going for the Viral Mixed Sauce with Chili Oil — the very sauce that is the go-to for us at Yuen Kee Dumplings which the brand does seem to be all about. Having made our trip to Yuen Kee Dumplings for dinner, we also opted for an additional portion of noodles for our order which would otherwise have came sans the carbs. Between the option of Egg Noodles and La Mian, we opted for the latter. The Family Feast Assorted Pork Wantons also does notably come with beansprouts as well. With the Viral Mixed Sauce with Chili Oil puddling at the bottom of the bowl, tossing the La Mian around would inevitably meant that the La Mian would be coated with all that sauce. The Viral Mixed Sauce with typical Oil seems to be a mix of their Peanut Sauce and the standard Chili Oil found in Chili Oil Dumplings; the sauce lacquers well onto the La Mian, providing a hint of spicy fragrance that one would associate with Sichuan peppers which should be pretty manageable to those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness — also coming with a creamy nuttiness likened to that of peanut butter as well. The crispy bits of chili also adds on a textural contrast to everything in the bowl, while the La Mian does come springy with a little bit of a bite whilst at it.

The Shrimp and Crab Roe Pork Wantons, Pork Wantons and the Corn and Pork Wantons are done with a fairly similar consistency where they all feature a smooth and silken wanton wrapper; all that whilst coming with a decent amount of pork filling that ensures a good bite within. Of the lot, the Corn and Pork Wantons stood out the most amongst the three; while not being something for everyone considering how it features actual nibs of corn amidst the meat fillings in the wanton, it does add a slight hint of sweetness that was fairly distinct — definitely the most interesting of the lot out of the three. The Pork Wantons would be the most predictable of the lot; that being said, we do like how these didn’t carry a particularly strong meaty note, while the Shrimp and Crab Roe Pork Wantons were came with a softer bite with a more subtle hint of sweetness from the crustacean coming amidst the meat filling. Not sure if it is just us, but the creaminess and the nuttiness of the peanut sauce is particularly prominent on the wantons that the other elements within the bowl; something we really loved and couldn’t get enough of. Meanwhile, the beansprouts within the bowl does give the entire dish a little bit of a crunch factor as well.

Whilst we were very impressed with Yuen Kee Dumplings when we had first made our visit to their Fortune Centre outlet, we did note a slightly more disappointing experience at their NEX location when the food items were generally a tad drier; we are glad to find that the consistency and quality of the food served up at their VivoCity location are pretty close to that of what we had experienced during our first exposure to the brand at Fortune Centre. There was also significantly lesser crowd at their VivoCity location when we made our visit as compared to the visits that we had made to both NEX and Fortune Centre — this also made for a much more pleasant experience and faster service overall. The Noodle Set Meals are priced from $10.80 to $11.80, while ala-carte orders or their dumplings and wantons that typically come in portion sizes of ten (10) pieces for dumplings and twelve (12) pieces for wantons are priced from $7.80 to $10.80; the latter being good items to share around the table or to have as a light meal option. With more outlets of Yuen Kee Dumplings coming up around the island, it would be interesting to see if they are able to sustain both the quality of their food and the hype behind their brand in time to come.