Victor's Kitchen: Authentic Hong Kong Tim Sum!
With liverpool, smart, yummydummies, tamago, iwatch_ueat and PK
Ignorance is bliss. It really is! If you don't know that there is something else better out there, you will be content with whatever you have. Before I had the Wagyu Grade 9 Ribeye at Aston's, I was quite happy with my USDA Prime Ribeye. Now when I eat the same US Ribeye, I don't get as much satisfaction knowing that Steak can be more tender and flavoursome! Same with Tim Sum. During my trip to Hong Kong last December, I managed to eat some really good Hong Kong Tim Sum and suddenly my yardstick for Tim Sum was raised another foot.
The really good Tim Sum in Singapore like those in Lei Garden or East Ocean are very expensive. I don't know about you but for me, food that is Shiok still loses out to food that is Shiok AND Cheap so that you can eat as much as you want and still have change left over. (Ai Pee Ai Chee Gor Ai Zhao Lui)
So with that lengthy preamble, let me just cut to the chase and just say that the Tim Sum at Victor's Kitchen is SHIOK AND CHEAP and the taste really reminded me of the stuff I had in Hong Kong! Most items are very good, but some really have that oooomph factor. The steamed radish cake is the first one that I will rave about. The texture is smooth and you can really appreciate the taste of the radish, dried prawns and lup cheong. One of the best version of this dish I have tasted. 4.5/5 The Za Leong (Doughstick in Rice Rolls) is also excellent. If you think about it, it is all made of flour, but the contrasting texture and tastes of the 2 flour based items combine so well to entice the tastebuds. My staple at every Tea House I visited in Hong Kong! 4.25/5
The other worthy mentions (there are lots) is the Her Yeh Fun (Lotus Leave Glutinous Rice). By soaking top grade glutinous rice overnight, Victor managed to get the texture of the rice so soft but at the same time so sticky and fragrant. It is noticeably different from the ones I am used to in Singapore. 4/5
Don't forget to order the Egg Cream Pau for dessert. The custard combined with salted egg is proof that Heaven really exists! 4.5/5
Conclusion
Be forewarned! After eating this, you might never derive the same pleasure eating Tim Sum at other ordinary Tim Sum joints again!
Victor's Kitchen
91 Bencoolen Street
Sunshine Plaza
#01-21
98382851
10.30am to 8pm
Closed on Mondays
44 comments:
looks good...but whats the price range and is the place a restaurant with 15% or a normal eatery in shopping centres?
Must go back with family.
Hmm I enjoy going to Red star with my grandma and my aunties and uncles... its very cantonese ...
I have to agree the dim sum at Victor's is nice, especially the steamed carrot cake. A must-try! Haven't been to Red Star in a long while but I have good memories of the dim sum there.
Re Luc: The shop is just a normal no-frills eatery in Sunshine Plaza. The prices are pretty affordable, ranges from around 2.50 to 3.50 for a dish.
The double-boiled milk dessert is highly recommended too, but be prepared to wait up to 20 minutes for it to be brought to your table.
Tried the place with my family and find them a bit over-rated.
for a family of 4 with 10 over basket, the bill of $70 turns out a bit questionable but since it's CNY, not prepared to create a scene about that.
the name of the dish seems rather overstretch like "king prawn" chee cheong fun comes with only small little prawn.
the only thing that is nice there are the prawn chee cheong fun, carrot cake and the pau which is just ok but not that heavenly.
ok thanks...will find someday and go down with my family... =)
I was there again today. I must say that it was better the last time I went. This time round the Za Leong was a bit overfried. The custard pao and the carrot cake seemed to lack that extra oomph. I wonder if it is because of CNY and a lack of fresh supply.
I guess it must be the CNY period where you do not get the usual daily supplies or that there have been too many customers they could not cope. Have been a frequent visitor since it is near my church at Sophia Road, and standard has been consistent so far. If there was one thing I'd order every visit, its the custard and salted egg pao. Not too sweet, and the skin is nice and soft. The chicken feet is slightly different from most, no black beans and I like the soya bean skin at the bottom
anyone knows more info for this place? opening hours etc. do u normally need to book before hand?
Sorry forgot to add the opening times. Thanks for reminding me. Its 10.30am to 8pm closed on Mondays. I don't think you can reserve a seat as the seating is very limited.
Price-wise, it's not that cheap as each "long" cost about $3-4 bucks.
I usually only order the steamed carrot cake and glutinous rice. Both damn shiok.
The chee cheong fun is above average (albiet a little too salty because of the sauce)and I find their chicken feet and siew mai too bland.
On the same row, there's a stall selling muffins, chicken pies and curry puffs.
Highly recommended are the chicken pies $2 and curry puffs $1.70 (brought me back to the good ol days when Chocolat and Spice was still selling them.
Thanks Damien for the tip. Missed C & S chicken pie n curry puff when they discontinued making them.
what I feel is the Chinese tea not shiok enough, it's nothing comparable to a teapot with tea leaf inside.
Then the 排骨饭 also a bit weird, the rice and the pork rib are steamed separately, thus you don't get the juice in the rice. There is a reason why they steam it in the same 盅 in HK.
The food there is YUM! went there today and will def. be going back soon. Love the steamed custard bun and oyster sauce char siu pau! the porridge so 'silky'! i never imagined myself using such an adj to introduce porridge. but it's really reflective of its nature and texture. yumm. the prawn chee cheong fun is to die for.. i'm hungry now.. Victor's Kitchen rawks!
Had dinner there yesterday. As usual the carrot is supreme.Found the char siew chee cheong fan and port ribs great too.
Yes reconfirmed Victors' steam carrot is so far the best I had tried, better than Crystal Jade Palace @ Taka. Die die must try at CJP is the duck tongue and the fried pig intestines.
Contrary to your review, I found that Victor's dim sum is generally over-rated. It certainly isn't the same standard as the ones that you can find just as cheaply in Hong Kong restaurants (its even cheaper in HK restaurants if you can catch their 'specials' before 11am). E.g. the dough fritters in the zhar leung had the fried-in-old-oil taste.
I just can't see myself going down specially just to eat it, though if you're in that area, it might be an option. I find the dim sum store in Upper Thomson better.
Can you please give the details of the Upper Thomson Dim Sum place
If it is the Dim Sum shop next to MacDonald near Sin Ming Rd, where the Prata shop is, I will give it a miss. Average dim sum like swee choon at Jalan Besar.
Tried Victor's dim sum 2 weeks back. Find it average compared to the one in the upmarket Chinese restaurant. Victor's is quite similar to Zi Yean's dim sum but I prefer Zi Yean's.
I find it average only.Like one of the blogger said the Za Leong had reused fried oil taste.
Chinese tea was cheap with extra ingredient...lipstick stains on the melanine mug!
I feel its very over rated. But i thought Swee Choon at jelan besar is good. I like the lou mi ji, glutinious rice with chicken. The best i ate so far. Qi zhi, steam chicken with egg white, is good too. Their porridge is not bad.
I feel its very over rated. But i thought Swee Choon at jelan besar is good. I like the lou mi ji, glutinious rice with chicken. The best i ate so far. Qi zhi, steam chicken with egg white, is good too. Their porridge is not bad.
wife and i visited the shop about 2 mths ago. ordered some very typical dim sum to try out how good they were. had prawn chee cheong fun (disappointed with the sauce and the texture), steamed chicken feet (just so so), 艇仔粥 (totally different fr the authentic one in HK)，Siu Mei ( just so so), char siew bao ( so so). would rather pay a few more dollars for better dim sum at places such as Red Star.
i went to victor's kitchen yest wif my BF & it was great! Har Kow was fantastic!!fresh juicy prawns.. love the radish cake n the pork with black bean. Everything was satisfying, victor n his wife was so friendly, having seen that we could not finish our food, they even offered to pack it up. 2 thumbs up!! definately gonna tell our frens bout it.. thks for putting up such a great post =)
overrated!! went twice with different groups of people(once because I wanted to eat it, another time because someone else wanted to). average pricing only and you can get cheaper nicer dimsum elsewhere. love the carrot cake on the first try but the second time i ate it, wasn't as nice. got some special stuffs like the custard bun though.
pls adv where we can get better n cheaper dimsum.It is sad that many 'anonymous' commenting about food being overated but without a pen name or justify where we can find better/cheaper similiar food.
i went there today and ordered carrot cake, siewmai, chee cheong fan (char siew), har kau, custard bun and chinese tea.
I absolutely adore the sweet scallop taste in the unique carrot cake.
Love the milky custard bun which is NOT overly sweet and the way the egg yoke melts in my mouth.
Har kau is worth the price tag as the prawn is truly fresh and chock-full.
Chee cheong fun didnt meet up to my expecatation. The skin is too soggy for my liking. I had my best chee cheong fan in malaysia where it is really bouncy and chewy and addictive! However, i must give credits to the soya sauce (or whatever it is) as it is slightly salty but not overly so. Very fragrant too!
Lastly, the skin of Siew Mai is very DRY! very very dry and tough! OMG. However, the filling is decent. Better than having soggy dim sum. I really hate soggy dim sum~
Thank you for introducing Victor's kitchen to me as i've always been reluctant to try any dim sum as NONE can meet up with an anonymous HKG eatery. Victor's kitchen manage to curb my suppressed craving for dim dum. HKG still rulez thou.
Their service is slow and the kitchen helpers are rude. It really tests your patience.
service slow? helpers rude? I must be very lucky then... :)...my longest wait is usually 15-20 mins before the first order arrives...and the uncle that waits on the table is always harried but service is good enough for a place like that...
maybe you were there when there are not many customers. The wait for a table can be quite long as tables are limited.
that anonymous is right. of the 3 times i went there ... the service was very slow, and super rude ... there's this lady who mixed up my order ... and this guy in the kitchen whom i suppose to be the boss and main cook who keeps shouting and scolding the staff. and when i proceeded to pay he snatched my receipt to count the amount ... and the dim sum is really super average ...
sorry ieat could you do a revisit on this place again?
im really not impressed by their dim sum... generally overcooked and slightly hard for their food items menu wide
Fancy a stranger can request u to go try food that he/she is not comfortable.Hello what is your name or pen name?
I think it's being awhile since anybody posted any comment on this. I just went down sometime last week. Have to queue as it's lunch hour.. price.. think it's too ex for a small shop and the dim sum only so so only. Given a choice, I won't go back again
Agree with Anonymous that this place should be re-visited, as it really could have been great the 1st time it was reviewed, but has since dropped in quality (drastically) and the current score doesn't reflect this. I am sure many people have been and will continue to be fooled (though inadvertently and not the intention of ieat) that this is a "hidden gem". Disappointed with the food; prices are not cheap for the fare served + ambience + service. I would suggest either they reduce their prices or improve on the other aspects.
Which is why it is important for our readers to give their comments here so that the wider audience can be forewarned.
tried it 2 weeks ago, yes, the siew mai was not good, carrot cake, custard bun still one of the better ones around...
Sad to inform all that i went today and agreed that their siew mai, carrot cake were good! however, i found a strand of hair in the chee cheong fun, and they were not apologetic at all! i demanded for a refund of the chee cheong fun but they were relunctant. i wanted a demand not because of that pathetic $3 but cos i was disappointed that they did not bother to rectify the situation and not knowing how serious this can lead to...
finally got to try this the other day. Gal and I enjoyed the dimsum very much. We had the steam carrot cake, hargow, fried wonton, "teh zai" porridge and custard buns. All were lovely except for the teh zai porridge which I found it a lil too bland but my gal loved it and walloped the most of it. One other thing that I enjoyed alot was the XO scallop sauce that was served along with the dimsum. It was simply delicious~!~! They actually bottled the sauce and sell it at $12 a bottle :)
Their milk tea is very flavourful but a little too sweet.
had this today with a guy who can walk around Singapore without breaking into a sweat and our doc, the carrot cake is still good, siew mai a bit dry side...
Oh no, he doesn't sweat, he just sparkles.
For me the highlight was the milk tea. One of the best Teh Si I have had for a long time.
I speak for the younger generation. The carrot cake with xo sauce doesn't really appeal to us as much as the prawns chee cheong fun and the other yummy dishes. =l I guess it could be the xo sauce was a little too strong for us adolescence. =) My favourite drink would be the milo-bing. What made this drink stand out would be that it wasn't you watery milobing that you get from the usual "kopitiams".. I must rave the milo-bing was really just right. =D
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