Relaxing through the day with a dim sum buffet at Swatow, renowned for its Teochew cuisine. The experience had its hits and misses.
The braised pork belly stood out for its soft, tender, and fatty goodness. The chili crab meat was scarce, but its sauce paired well with mantou. Duck popiah and shark fin soup added a banquet touch. Mini lotus rice and paper-wrapped chicken are worth trying. The rice roll skin was thick, affecting the mouthfeel, but the sauce was redeeming. The egg tart was a miss, while desserts featured a fruit jelly drink, cakes, and surprisingly sweet macarons. The royal raisin ice cream was a rare find, resembling rum and raisin without the rum.
Despite the modest variety, the buffet left us feeling surprisingly full. Overall, it was satisfactory, with excellent service.
Pricing:
High-Tea Dim Sum Buffet (3pm - 5pm)
Weekday/Weekend & PH
Adult - $28.80++/$31.80++
Child - $18.80++/$21.80++
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🚩Swatow Seafood, 181 Lor 4 Toa Payoh, 02-602, Singapore 310181
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Still one of my fav place to go for dimsum, old style comfort dimsum, nothing fancy but I always like the feel to choose my own dimsum from push cart.
Feature their limited dimsum item for this CNY , rabbit bao and siu mai with abalone
📍Swatow Seafood Restaurant.
181 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh #02-602.
#shootoniphone
Confirmed and chopped! Authentic push cart dim sum! Besides Red Star, this is the only other place with old style push cart service that I know of. And I have been looking for these on both sides of the border for some time now.
The dim sum still taste good after all these years. Not mind-blowing good but comfortably adhering to the taste you are used to and familiar with. The selection is somewhat limited and this is understandable due to manpower constraints. But they do have all the popular items like Siew Mai, Har Gao, Braised Chicken Feet, Steamed Pork Ribs, Char Siew Buns, Beancurd Skin Wraps, Chee Cheong Fun and Century Egg / Sliced Pork Porridge. Notably missing were Radish Cake and Lotus Leaf Wrapped Glutinous Rice. The one complain I have would be their rule for 90 mins service limit for each table, although I don’t really see them enforcing it.
Opens from 8am daily so yes, this is the one place in Singapore where you can enjoy a yum cha culture closest to that of Hong Kong. Call it nostalgia but the push cart system is a huge winner for me.
Chee cheong fun with char siew was pretty average as well and it is really filling for 2 pax! Suggest to order this only if you are visiting Swatow in a bigger group or it really takes up your tummy space!
Swatow was around half-full when we visited at 9 am on a Sunday and there were still sufficient tables for 2! Nonetheless, the restaurant got pretty packed at around 10 am and we think it's best if you make a reservation if you are planning to head down in a bigger group!
This item was pretty lacklustre today - while the roll contained prawns, there was almost zero hint of mango! Furthermore, we thought Swatow went a little overboard with the sesame seeds and the sesame flavour was actually a little overpowering. We got this as it seemed like a pretty unique dim sum item, but it wasn't fantastic in our opinion. ☹️
The siew Mai served at Swatow are also pretty standard dim sum fare and we think they went well with the chilli sauce provided. It took quite a while for the har gao and siew mai to be served, however, as we had to wait for the pushcart with the har gao and siew mai to be roaming about first!
Har gao was pretty average as well, although we thought the prawn inside was pretty large by har gao standards. We were quite surprised to find that the skin was really thick, and this made the dumpling a lot more filling than expected.
Carrot cake was pretty average and if you don't have a big appetite, we suggest not to get it as you can probably get better carrot cakes elsewhere! There are 3 pieces so it can be pretty filling (since there were only 2 of us), and the exterior wasn't very crispy either. Furthermore, it was not very warm when it was served. 😰
Char Siew Sou is basically a savoury dim sum pastry containing char siew in it! Swatow's version is pretty decent and we liked that the crust was pretty buttery and thick! 😋 As mentioned in the reviews for the other fried dishes though, the pastry was cold when we took a bite and it would be great if Swatow could keep the fried dishes slightly warmer in the pushcarts!
Swatow's Xiao Long Bao is unique in the sense that the baos each have a really big hole at the top! Otherwise, they taste fairly decent and the restaurant provides a pretty generous serving of soup stock within each of the baos! The stock is rather flavourful and we liked that the restaurant used a cart with a steamer to keep the steamed dishes piping hot before they are served. Swatow should seriously use a cart with a stronger heating element for their fried dishes!
This is another unique pastry that we always get when we go to Swatow for dim sum! The pastry is basically egg white mixed with banana, which is subsequently deep-fried in oil! There is red bean in the pastry too and it reminds us of the red bean pastries served in some Chinese restaurants around here! We highly recommend this item as the banana flavour is pretty distinct and the addition of banana is unique to Swatow! 😋
We thought this was a pretty unique dish for a dim sum restaurant as we have not seen it at the menu of most dim sum restaurants before! This dish is basically contains a chicken drumstick and wing, wrapped in a piece of paper parchment and cooked in oil! The oil is trapped in the paper and this makes the dish really oily, but it also helps to keep the flavour of the marinade in the chicken really well!
As it does take some effort to open the oily paper parchment and eat the chicken, Swatow does provide a pair of gloves (in the red packaging with auspicious Chinese characters on it) and there is also a toilet there if you prefer to use your hands!
Swatow's egg tarts are relatively small and bite-sized and we liked that the crust had a buttery taste! However, it would be nice if the egg tarts were served warmer. It's likely because Swatow is one of the old-school dim sum restaurants where the dishes are served by staff pushing dim sum carts around the restaurant. These egg tarts must have been sitting in the cart for quite a while before they were served! 😰
Initially, was planning to have the dim sum buffet at Yum Cha. However, they told us that due to Chinese New Year period, would only offer the buffet from 1st March onwards.
Hence, detour to Swatow Dim Sum Buffet ($25.80++ for weekday & $28.80++ for weekend) instead. The Dim Sum offered is push in a cart or served in a tray to ask if we wanted it. I would say it is alright. Not as great tasting and not make or steam to order.
I would prefer Yum Cha instead
Tried a range of dim sum items here. Worth it with their current promotions (ending 30 Sept).
🌟 𝗧𝗲𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝘂𝗰𝗸
Served at only half price in their TPY outlet, the braised duck is flavourful and works as a great complement with porridge. It comes with beancurd (tau gua). Definitely try this with their chilli. If you're visiting their other outlets, check out the roasted duck with black truffle which is also offered at a significant discount 🦆
🌟 [𝗡𝗘𝗪] 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗞𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗼 𝗕𝘂𝗻
🌟 𝗧𝗲𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝗞𝗮𝗶 𝗟𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗞𝘂𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗵
This is a unique dish that's certainly a must try! Their signature kuay teow contains chopped kailan that is stir fried with chye poh bits. Charred and interesting!
🌟 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗽𝘆 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶 𝗢𝗿𝗵 𝗡𝗲𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗮𝗸𝗲
Encased in beautiful layers, the Teochew Orh Nee (yam paste) mooncake is made freshly with no added preservatives. I like that it is fragrant, yet not too sweet. Also comes with a salted egg in the centre 🥮
(in clockwise direction, start from top left)
🌟 𝗧𝗲𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗽𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗹
🌟 [𝗡𝗘𝗪] 𝗔𝗵 𝗠𝗮 𝗬𝗮𝗺 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗸𝗲
🌟 [𝗡𝗘𝗪] 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗚𝘆𝗼𝘇𝗮
🌟 𝗧𝗲𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝗞𝗮𝗶 𝗟𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗞𝘂𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗵
Got these as part of their ongoing promotions for 11th anniversary (all-you-can-eat dim sum buffet with over 40 items at only $25.80++ per pax). The yam bowl cake is a comforting dish with chunks of yam in it. Crispy prawn rolls came with achar. The deep fried snow gyoza is beautifully made but also very fragile (ours broke on the way to our table). The fried kway teow is a unique signature dish, not part of the dim sum menu. Would recommend those who haven't try to give it a shot!
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I really like their Chee Cheon Fun (photo no 3), the prawns were fresh, the skin not too thick and the gravy tasty.
Beside that, I also like their Teochew Crystal Dumpling, Photo no 4(I ate 5 🤣). With the chewy skin, the generous fillings of seasoning vegetables.
💰$4.2 -$8 (Depend on items).
📍Swatow Seafood Restaurant.
High Tea Buffet($34.80)@ Swatow Restaurant:
Restaurant is Chinese atas type. Really maciam rich ppl can afford oni. Pace of food arriving at tables can be quicker. 15mins for 2 types of dishes to arrive within eating time of 1h30mins is quite long. Got a large variety but lots of misses. Best would be century egg porridge, Fried Salted Egg Fish Skin, Chicken Feet,Pork ribs and Fried Banana Red Bean. #JonApproves 7.25/10
Chee Cheong Fun is ok.
Chee Cheong Fun with Char siew is ok.
Egg tarts are small and light,easy to pop one into the mouth.
Xiao Long Bao is not bad,soup can have more of pork broth. Meat portion could have Abit more.
Almond Pudding is alright.
Tau Suan is alright, not too starchy.
Red Bean dessert is meh.
Mango pudding is meh.
This was not exactly the nearest and most convenient dim sum place from where I live but definitely so worth the trip! While on the pricier side ($4 for 2 baos), i think the quality does makes up for it.
Ahma's favourite was the chicken claw which I didn't get to try but my favourite was definitely the oozing pandan liusha bao!! 😍 pandan fragrance was so strong and it complemented so well with the liusha i really regretted not dabaoing more home :(
That aside, the prawn and meats in the hargow, siewmai tastes really fresh and huge together with the thin soft skin 😋
Definitely has become my top dim sum place ☺ (although they do sell frozen ones on qoo10 but delivery costs a bomb 😰)
REVEAL: these oozy lava sesame paus are from @swatowrestaurant again!! And they are frozen paus! 12 paus cost $10.80 whereas in the restaurant itself, 2 paus are already $4!!!!! 😮 Pro tip: please steam the paus for at least 5mins before consuming in order to get the perfect flowy goodness (and don’t burn your tongue please 🤪).
PS: if you’re thinking what’s the difference between swatow and bao today’s paus, your girl here is gonna answer it ONCE AND FOR ALL hehe. So I basically fact-checked with a few of swatow’s staff both online and in store (#dedication #foodblogger) and they told me that swatow and @baotodaysg are actl affiliated/under the same parent company, and so the supplier of their paus are THE SAME 🎉!!! So there you have it, have a good weekend and I hope you liked this pau series (more to come 😉)
Do order the black sesame and salted egg paus from @swatowrestaurant (and tell them that I sent you HAHA) and tell me what you think about them!! There’s no promo code for now but maybe in the future...? 👻🤷♀️
PS: omg I j realised that it’s been 1 month since I started this and I’ve hit 700 followers; thank you all for being here and listening to me rambling and my 100% honest reviews 🥺😭💯
