The budget Dim Sum place. I am sure many are interested in finding one. And perhaps the place at Mongkok Dim Sum might even come close. My visit to the coffeeshop restaurant at Geylang Lorong 8 last Sunday was amidst the sweltering heat and obnoxious weather which showed no sign of relenting its tormenting rays. But that journey was well worth it, with a my fix for dim sum being addressed and happily entertained with a serving of beautifully Steamed Pork Belly with Preserved vegetable.
Juicy, fresh, and very well done. I think this place deserves a second visit, perhaps even more!
The Steamed Rice Roll with BBQ Pork ($3.20) – Mongkok’s serving of Chee Cheong Fun with light soy sauce and stuffed with char siew. The rice rolls were nicely fluid with silk like texture giving full praise to the sweet bits of char siew within enhanced by the dose of light sweet tasting soy sauce and fragrant sesame oil.
Traditional favourites are a must and the Pan Fried Carrot Cake ($3.00) is a well deserved order. Crispy bits coat the exterior with the majority of the fried kueh being gelatinous, slightly starchy, yet savoury with a lasting sweet note.
The Steamed BBQ Bun ($3.00) is cotton like in texture and stuffed with a decent portion of sweet savoury and slightly pepperish char siew. Good and juicy, this is definitely not the one that come like a dumpling with a red dot on the top.
I insisted on ordering this as it just looked so colourful in the menu. And the Spinach Dumpling ($3.00) definitely did not disappoint. Named a spinach dumpling but instead bounded within were layers of crunchy hearty shrimp that were enclosed in a crystal green dumpling skin and endorsed with pieces of shredded spinach. Surprise surprise!
I didn’t try the House Special Prawn Dumpling ($3.20) but it definitely looked good with no complains from the table.
And these Vegetarian Dumplings ($3.00) were another insist by me (also because of the menu picture). Bounded like moneybags, the crystalline dumplings held generous servings of chives, carrots and mushrooms. And its good.
There was also an order of Shredded Mango with Shrimp ($3.00) as recommended by Rachel. Flaked between pieces of crisp sesame pastries, was a layer of mango slices topped with shrimp chunks. Juicy, crunchy, savoury yet fruity sweet from the Queen of fruits, this would have been an excellent dish if not for the overtly oily nature of each piece.
Mongkok’s Pork Dumplings ($3.20) although it is also known as Siew Mai elsewhere, looks good with a nice yellow skin and generous supposedly juicy prawn and pork stuffing within.
Mmmm, Spicy Chicken Feet ($3.00), also didn’t try this as fortune and pu-er tea leaves told me to engage the dumplings more than the phoenix claws.
The Glutinous Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf ($3.00) is well even in flavour, with a decent amount of sliced char siew and egg yolk within. Pepperish and sticky texture complete the deal of this traditional favourite.
And for the last, the best dish served for lunch – Steamed Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables ($6.80). Three extremely tender and jelly soft slices of pork belly with a glistening shine of tastiness lie on a bed of steamed persevered vegetables which was not salty as expected but instead flowery sweet with a hint of savouriness. Delightful!
All in all, I am very impressed with the Dim Sum served at Mongkok. Its affordability, decent variety and quality is the coffeeshop restaurant’s main pull factor here. And even if it means beating away the blistering heat, I would do it, just to get that serving of Steamed Pork Belly with Preserved vegetables.
The Maverick 5 who turned up. Rachel, Kelvin, Nicholas, Me, Keng Huang
| Mongkok Dim Sum 214 Geylang Lorong 8 Tel : 6841 5133 Opens : Weekdays 4pm – 5am Weekends 10am – 5am |