Three Sundays ago, Rick and I had a double-date with Keropokman and his babe (and my old schoolmate), Momo. It was Momo who suggested dimsum brunch at a very old-school Cantonese establishment — Yan Palace Restaurant.

Steamed Pork Dumplings "Siew Mai", S$3.20

We kicked started our meal with the pre-requisite siew mai. Meaty and bouncy — it was rustic but good.

Deep Fried Yam Balls with Lychee, S$3.20

Curiosity got the better of me. Yam puff with lychee? We all agreed it sounded much more interesting than it tasted.

Baked BBQ Pork Pastry, S$3.20

With its thick crust, the char siew puff didn’t look promising. Surprisingly, the pastry was buttery and rather melt-in-the-mouth. Definitely not as stellar as Crystal Jade’s version, but I’d order this again.

Steamed Chicken Claws in Spicy Sauce, S$2.60

I didn’t touch the chicken feet. Not very nice, according to Keropokman and Momo, who are THE chicken feet experts.

Steamed Dumplings "Teochew" Style, S$2.60

Filled mostly with veggies, these were pretty refreshing.

Steamed "Cheong Fun" with Prawn, S$3.60

The rice flour rolls were rather thick but sufficiently soft, with a single big prawn in each roll.

Deep Fried Prawn Dumpling, S$3.60

Except for siew mai and har kow (which come in fours), dimsum items always come in threes. I wonder why?

Anyway, the wait staff at Yan Palace thoughtfully cut all trio dimsum items into halves so all four of us could have a go.

Steamed Prawn Dumpling "Har Kow", S$3.60

The har kow — though petite in size — boasted fresh, bouncy prawn and sufficiently thin, resilient skin.

Deep Fried Banana & Prawn Rolls, S$3.60

Momo and I both love banana and prawn rolls. Not many places do this well, but this was a very good rendition. Would definitely order this again if we return.

Deep Fried Pumpkin Pastry with Oatmeal, S$2.60

Another interesting-sounding item. Couldn’t detect where the oatmeal part was. The crispy skin was slightly chewy (probably glutinous rice flour dough).

Pan Fried Carrot Cake, S$3.20

Radish cake = too dense and not enough flavor. Will skip this next time.

Steamed Spare Ribs in Black Bean Sauce, $3.20

Well-executed, but nothing wow about the steamed spare ribs.

For old-school, decent quality, and affordable dimsum, Yan Palace fits the bill nicely. The dimsum is not say the refined type, but I was impressed with the freshness of the ingredients, particularly the prawns.

Out of around 30 items on the dimsum menu, we ordered 12. The bill, including tea and taxes, came up to a very affordable S$50.55 for 4 people.

By the way, good luck if you’re coming here for Sunday breakfast/lunch. Expect full capacity, with lengthy queues at the door to boot. Apparently, Yan Palace remains a popular Sunday dimsum destination for large families and groups.

Yan Palace Restaurant
Blk 531 Upper Cross Street
#01-49 Hong Lim Complex
Singapore 050531
Tel: 65-6222 2516
URL: http://yanpalace.com.sg

Mon – Sat: 11am – 2.15pm
Sun & public holidays: 10am – 2.15am
Dinner: 6.30pm – 10pm daily

Couch potatoes and potato chip junkies, here’s a handy guide to some of the best-tasting potato chips available in Singapore! Whether you like it thick or thin, salty or lightly salted, there’s something for everyone. Click here to read the full article.

It seems that Singaporeans can’t get enough of kaya toast. Just look at the recent mushrooming of kopi (coffee) and kaya toast chains! For the latest Tried & Tested mission, we taste-test a mix of established kaya toast chains as well as independent shops. How do they measure up against each other? Read on to find out!

Craving for a steamy bowl of comforting creamy congee? Read on to find out where to find some of the best Cantonese porridge in Singapore!

Who knew pubs served such delish chicken wings? I’m no pub crawler, but these fried chicken wings are so good I’m tempted to go back just for them. Find out which pubs serves some of the most finger lickin’ yummy wings!

Me? Well, I wasn’t hip and I didn’t like queuing (actually I’m still not hip and I still don’t like queuing). I like iced tea, but somehow never quite took to bubble tea.

What was so appealing about artificially colored and flavored water with chewy tapioca balls? Sure, those balls were fun to munch, but they were also tasteless and very filling.

Bubble milk tea

It didn’t take long for the bubble tea bubble to burst.

A Taiwanese friend told me, “The bubble tea sold in Singapore is nothing like those in Taiwan. Over there, it’s really very delicious! They use fresh tea, and fresh juices to flavor the fruit-flavored tea. Even the texture of the tapioca balls is much nicer. Here, the bubble tea vendors use artificial flavoring and take no pride in the preparation, unlike in Taiwan, where they have very high food standards. No wonder all the bubble tea shops here have closed down.”

KOI Cafe @ People's Park Complex

Fast forward to 2010: KOI Cafe is the overseas arm of 50嵐, a Taiwanese bubble tea chain that has over 300 branches in Taiwan. Yeah, it’s like the Starbucks of Taiwan! To date, KOI Cafe has 6 outlets in Singapore.

Several raving sources persuaded the skeptical me to try out KOI Cafe. Ooh, they were right! KOI Cafe’s bubble tea was indeed a refreshing improvement over the pathetic imitations I remember!

Hubby also liked it a lot. We tried the Jasmine Green Tea (S$1.90, medium) and Oolong Milk Tea (S$2.40, medium). Both were delicious in their own way. Jasmine Green Tea was light and refreshing, while Oolong Milk Tea was rich, smooth, yet not too heavy! Best of all, they didn’t have that icky, artificial scent and taste.

The tapioca balls had superb texture too. They struck the right balance between soft and chewy, and were mildly tasty. Also, they weren’t too big, which minimizes the risk of choking. Yes, that’s very important for me cos I’ve accidentally swallowed a few of them whole!

Invert KOI and you get 豆 (bean)!

Another plus: You get to choose the sugar level you like. There’s 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, and 0%! I picked 100% for Milk Tea, and it was still ok for me. Hubby prefers his at 75%.

And another plus: The straws are individually wrapped and sealed. Not so environmentally friendly, but definitely more hygienic.

Compared to other bubble tea brands, KOI Cafe is slightly pricier, but I don’t mind paying a bit more for quality ingredients. They are also more generous with tapioca balls. (Click on thumbnail image on the left to view their menu)

List of KOI Cafe outlets in Singapore

This is the latest list of outlets they have in Singapore (image taken from 50嵐 website).

I’m very happy to report that there’s no lack of superb bak chor mee stalls to be found in Singapore! Too bad we could only feature 5 of them. Click here to find out where to find some of the best bak chor mee in Singapore.

Annoying Orange is a talking orange who derives joy from irritating his fellow fruits and vegetables.

Watch how he gets a kick out of annoying Toe-May-Toe!

Rice dumplings from Hiong Kee

Mom-in-law had warned me that this year’s Bak Chang Price Index is higher than last year’s, but I hadn’t quite bargained for jaw-dropping price hikes. Hiong Kee is selling their signature Hokkien meat dumpling with salted egg yolk at S$3.80, up from last year’s S$2.50.

That’s a whopping 52% increase! Phwar!

Even then, people were still queuing to buy bak chang (rice dumplings) by the dozens. I joined the queue cos my backside was itchy it’s been ages since I last ate Hiong Kee’s salted egg yolk dumpling so I was craving for one.

Nonya dumpling, S$3.10

This is my first time trying Hiong Kee’s Nonya dumpling. It tasted like what a respectable Nonya dumpling should taste like. Very nice, I like!

Hokkien meat dumpling with salted egg yolk, S$3.80

Last year, I wrote a Tried & Tested: Bak chang (published in May 2009) for inSing.com. I remember Hiong Kee’s salted egg yolk dumpling tasted much better then. This time, it wasn’t as outstanding. Part of the glutinous rice wasn’t thoroughly cooked and the meat was a bit dry. But I still like the overall flavor very much.

I’m guessing that quality control was a tad lacking given the bulk orders to be fulfilled during this busy festive period. Am willing to give it another chance, but only if the price comes down. S$3.80 is just ridiculous!

Hiong Kee Dumplings
#01-09 Hong Lim Temporary Food Centre
Hong Lim Park

Sushi snobs might wrinkle their noses in disdain, but takeaway sushi still has a place in the culinary world, for moments when we need:

• a quick and cheap sushi fix
• a light meal/snack
• something convenient to eat on-the-go
• instant party food

Read here to find out where you should go for takeaway sushi!