The unique culinary tradition of dim sum started out as mid-afternoon snacks for weary workers and travelers on the ancient Silk Road.
Whether for a mid-afternoon high tea or weekend brunch ritual, here are the best dim sum restaurants in Singapore.
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Classics like deep fried beancurd skin roll with prawn, steamed honey glazed pork bun and more grace the menu together with more unique choices like crispy scallop coated with filo string.
The value for money dim sum buffet — served on trolleys being whelled around — even includes options like baked lobster with cheese.
Level 5 Marina Mandarin, 6 Raffles Boulevard
When this Michelin-starred Hong Kong establishment first graced Singapore’s shores, patrons braved the snaking queues for hours for the crispy bbq pork bun in particular.
Now with eight locations islandwide, you get amazing dim sum sans the waiting time. The outlet at Aperia Mall in Kallang opens till 3am!
You’ll probably have little luck getting a table without reservation for a dim sum lunch here, and surely there’s testament to how amazing the food here is.
Its menu star is a winner packed in a field of champions: the baked chicken and mango tart, a sweet-savoury delight encased on light, buttery pastry.
Orchard Hotel, 442 Orchard Road
Comforting dim sum favourites come in steamed, pan-friend, deep-fried varieties and more.
Our reco: the steamed bbq pork buns trump the baked ones. For sweeter options, the baked mini egg tarts take the cake.
Plus, the kids get cute animal shaped dim sum.
#05-08/09 Ngee Ann City, 391 Orchard Road
Bustling with Singaporean families speaking in dialect, Yum Cha is busy — rowdy, even — but the charm of this restaurant lies in this very authenticity.
Must-tries include tried-and-true classics including siew mai and baked egg tarts, as well as their restaurant specialities like the rainbow seafood dumplings.
If you can ever describe a restaurant and its food as sexy, that’s what Mitzo is.
Mitzo reinvents Cantonese fare with flavours simultaneously familiar and fresh, blowing even the Asians away. A must-try: their speciality char siew caramelized to sweet-savoury perfection.
Level 4 Grand Park Orchard, 270 Orchard Road
The dim sum here is delightfully refined — possibly even a bit too clean for those after the original, busy Hong Kong teahouse experience.
But if luxe is your thing, then it’s worth putting all your eggs in Min Jiang’s dim sum basket. For a change of setting, get a table outdoors on the verandah by the pool.
Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 Scotts Road
This restaurants’s crowning glory: dramatically colourful xiao long bao of eight different flavours.
From foie gras to garlic to cheese, there’s one for just about anyone. Fact: the skin of the dumplings are coloured from natural ingredients like carrot, spinach, red sorghum and more.
This award winning restaurant is helmed by executive chef Fung Chi Keung and seres up delectable fine-dining Cantonese fare.
#03-128A/128B, Marina Square, 6 Raffles Boulevard
With a focus on authenticity, this traditional Cantonese restaurant serves a wide variety of dim sums all prepared by their Hong Kong chefs.
#02-05A/6, Great World City, 1 Kim Seng Promenade
Text: Pinky Chng/The Finder