Swee Choon Dim Sum Review

Bf and I finally went to try the famous Swee Choon dim sum on the 6 of September. Since it was a Saturday, we were expecting many people and were willing to wait. Very luckily, we managed to get a parking lot immediately when a car nearby left. We got our queue number and menu from the front desk, sat down and waited for only about 5 minutes for an outdoor table. They have indoor seatings too, but the air con's strength is not very strong either. And definitely have to wait longer. Initially, we were assigned to table number 88 and it was just right beside the rubbish bin haha. Thankfully,the staff swiftly helped us to swap to table 84 that is situated in the middle of other tables by the roadside. We ordered our food and all arrived pretty quickly. 

Picture menu

Wet tissues

Tea

We ordered Chinese tea for only one person and it came in this cute metal tea pot that bf wanted to bring home. There was also a bowl of water for us to rinse the teacup, just like the Hong Kong style. The 香片茶 is hot and very nice. But then again, most places serve nice tea! No refills for tea/hot water here as they sell by per cup basis.

A small bowl of appetizer before any food was served. This dish is sour and spicy, which is quite appetizing if you like such food. It is also very crunchy. I have no idea what exactly this dish is but online reviews stated this as turnips. 

Here's my bf's favorite Xiao Long Bao/Shanghainese Soup Dumpling. It looks very appealing and taste pretty good. My only disappointment is that they were not hot enough! I suspect that the quality is decreased due to the overwhelming number of customers. I still prefer piping hot and tasty xlb from Paradise Dynasty.

Swee Choon's signature Fried Mee Sua Kuey is the one beside. It's a very creative dish and it taste somewhat like fried carrot cake. Personally, I think this is quite tasty but it gets very 腻 if you eat too much. On the other hand, bf dislike this kuey because it reminds him of the blood sausage we ate in Korea! Both are similar actually since blood sausages are stuffed with mee sua taste-alike noodles.

I placed my hand there to show you how small this Red Bean Pancake is. It cost $4.80, way too expensive for its size. This fried red bean pancake is not crispy enough and quite greasy. The crispiness is the kind of greasy crispy and it doesn't taste good. I have eaten a more delicious one, at a bigger size, at Sim Lim Square food court before. Sadly, they have since closed down.

The Fried Banana Prawn Fritters is not bad, slightly oily only.

Siew Mai, the compulsory dish I always order, taste original here. It's like those factory made siew mai my mother buy from the market. The standard is similar to the dim sum stall in the coffee shop near my place. Try the siew mai from Canton Paradise, I likey!

The Portuguese Egg Tart is my personal favorite dish of the day. It is like KFC egg tart with less oil. The egg filling is soft and the taste is just right. The crust is also crispy and to my liking. Bf liked it too. I have read some Swee Choon reviews but apparently they say that their egg tart is quite ordinary and not fantastic. Well, try it for yourself.

Century Egg Congee is also another must-order during dim sum feast! However, their congee is really disappointing and just average tasting. Do try Tak Po's, I think they do a much better job. Or if you are a congee lover, I personally love A1's range of porridge, but I usually eat the Hong Kong style one.

Their signature Da Pao is nothing fancy. Normal normal.

This is the Fried Chive Roll that I looked forward to. I love chive dumpling very much, so even though bf doesn't really like it, I would still order them and eat up all by myself! Similar to the red bean pancake, the crispiness is greasy crispy kind and is not very nice. The chive taste is not strong enough. I don't like it overall. Chive dumpling at Canton Paradise is my favourite! I also like those market hand made ones.

A bowl of Jajangmyeun to share. Their Ja Jiang La Mian is okay. The sauce is not bad, not too salty and not too bland. However, the main part of the dish is bad, in our opinion. The la mian turned out to be like mee sua, soft and gluey. I am very particular about the softness of my noodles and I prefer them to be al dente. Hence, this is not for me. The best ja jiang mian I have eaten so far should be the one at Koufu Nyp, though i think they are no longer there.

We decided to have some dessert before we go, hoping that they are not as disappointing. This is their Yam Paste with Pumpkin and Gingko served in a cute small "rice container". Their coconut is too little and whole dessert is quite dry after stirring. The sweetness is okay but the gingko is way too soft.

We also ordered Mango Pomelo Sago. Bf says it's the worst mango pomelo dessert he has eaten. The dessert is very diluted and the mango is sour. We cannot blame them for the sourness of the mango but the dessert could definitely be made thicker for a better taste.

Here's what we ordered and their respective costs. There's no service charge.
Now, the overview of the entire experience>>

The Good

Service

Swee Choon really provides good service despite the busy environment. We were able to change tables very quickly and the staff was willing to answer to our questions. Food was served fast and empty plates were cleared away swiftly. The auntie was also very friendly to us when we wanted to add on our orders. Hence, service is their plus point!

Variety

One important aspect of a dim sum place should be its variety of dim sums. I think Swee Choon provides its customers with a lot of choices. Besides the standard dim sum menu, they also have other dishes like la mian, assorted vegetables, appetizers and etc.

Price

Swee Choon is not an expensive place for dim sum. However, it is still expensive for a coffee shop style of place. 

The Bad

Taste
The reasons are explained above. I don't think their food is that fantastic. Even though it's coffee shop style, I had higher expectations because it is famous for its food.

Environment

I'm not expecting high class ambience at a coffee shop, but I won't be willing to endure the mosquitoes and the smell for the quality of food anymore. Their indoor seating may be better but I think it is quite noisy inside too.

Price

The price is expensive for their standard, in my opinion. Their portion is considered small to me. I can have a nicer meal at $45 in a restaurant.

In conclusion, it was a disappointing experience. We didn't enjoy ourselves at all. And I'm no high class girl who doesn't eat at coffee shops. I frequent coffee shops every week. I just don't think their food is as good as claimed. And if you are a SC lover, please don't hate me for stating my opinion. Different people have different likings and SC is just not for me.