Instead of back logging, I’ve decided to review the places right after I’ve visited them so i wouldn’t feel so lazy to do it and spend a lot of time trying to recall those thoughts! Anyway, I had a very eventful Saturday morning today! I’ve accidentally chanced upon this little dimsum place near my hood recently, which I’ve heard a lot about, and hence I was really excited to visit them! So the boy and I decided to take a short morning run from my place to have a sumptuous dimsum breakfast!
The Place
I’ve walked past this area a lot of times and yet this place has never caught my attention. Why? The reasons being,
1. It hasn’t been as highly raved as places we know like, Swee Choon or 126.
2. It is nestled within a small coffee shop along Upper Serangoon Road.
Its inconspicuous location is a HUGE reason why I haven’t found out about this hidden gem till only recently. I’ve seen reviews of this place many a times on blogs, however, I never seem to be able to locate it or have an impression of where is it. When I finally chanced upon it on one of my visits to The Bread Table, I knew I had to visit this humble little place.
Yi Dian Xin is located at 1012 Upper Serangoon Road, just beside The Bread Table, and along the stretch where Midnight Curry and Selegie Soya Bean is. It is pretty much within walking distance from Kovan MRT, about a 5 minutes stroll should get you there. You may miss this humble little stall at first glance, but be sure to keep an eye out for their pink stall board.
The Food
Their food on the menu is not exactly extensive, but it’s definitely sufficient for that dimsum fix. They serve up a simple menu of the usual suspects of Steamed dimsum, Fried dimsum, Handmade paus, Congees and Rice rolls (Chee Cheong Fun). Their array of dimsum offered may not compare to that of the more established Dimsum places, but their prices are far more affordable, ranging from $2.20 to $3.50, with the Prawn Chee Cheong Fun priced at the highest range.
Here’s the menu!
And here’s what we ordered!
Steamed Carrot Cake, $2.20, which is a slight twist from the usual fried ones we have. I’ve seen from reviews that this is really good so we decided to order it, even though we aren’t big fans of carrot cake! This was indeed good! The combination of sesame oil and the carrot cake was genius, because I was caught by surprise of how good it actually tasted. Besides, the serving of this was pretty huge for its price, just perfect for sharing!
Siew Mai with Mushroom(3 for $2.80), we didn’t intend to order this initially because the boy says he doesn’t like Siew Mai, but we ordered it eventually because our orders look quite pathetic and because this says it’s with mushrooms and I love mushrooms. Being a Siew Mai hater, the boy said he was surprised at how good this is, so it must be pretty good. Hahaha!
Har Gao (3 for $3.30), was pretty underwhelming because of its overly thick skin. So far, none of the hargaos I’ve had can top the one from Swee Choon. Those from Swee Choon are an absolute delight because of their huge and fresh prawns!
Xiao Long Bao (3 for $2.80), was disappointing. Just like the Hargao, the skin of the xlb was too thick, to allow the sweet broth and pork to shine through, taste wise.
Lo Mi Ji ($2.20), something the boy ate throughout his childhood, and was the main reason why he came here cause I sent him a picture of it yesterday. Hahaha! Ridiculously photogenic Lor Mai Kai ever. I didn’t taste it, but I’m pretty sure it was either average or good since he didn’t complain about it!
Char Siew Pau (2 pieces for $2), is a potential crowd pleaser because the BBQ pork was really tasty, however they could do better with a little more filling. But it’s a dollar each, it’s good enough for the price tag!
Okay, maybe asking for filling was too demanding. Hahaha! But this is pretty good!
Here’s comes the highly anticipated dish (FOR ME) of every dimsum place we visit, Liu Sha Bao (3 for $3.30)! It’s a tad bit small, but for its price, it’s probably one of the cheapest you can find in town!! Being bite sized means that I can have more than one serving without feeling guilty!
This was the first one I had and I was very sad because it did not Liu. This teaches you that you should always eat these baos first and not last…
Then again, I might just be unlucky with the first one! Cause the next two FLOWED. Hahaha! Taste wise, this was really really good for me because it had a good milky texture with the buttery taste, less the salted egg yolk. The boy thought it was too buttery for his liking, but to me, this is one of the best Liu Sha Baos, I’ve had!
Chee Cheong fun with prawn ($3.50), the most expensive dish on the menu. WHAT. HAHA! I thought this was just average. They could probably used fresher prawns for the added crunch but it’s good enough, really!
Closing Remarks
I’m overall very satisfied with my visit to Yi Dian Xin. Good tasting food at good prices never made anyone upset right. Hahaha! I would definitely come here for my dimsum fix in future, and that means I don’t have to get the boy to fetch me all the way to Swee Choon if I’m craving for Liu Sha baos next time! However, the downside is that this place has unfriendly operating hours from 7.00am to 6.00pm, which means for the working people, you could probably visit them only on the weekends.
Despite that, I was really pleased that it didn’t get crazily crowded even though it’s a Saturday today. A perfect spot to sip on some coffee and enjoy our dimsum after a run. I definitely wouldn’t mind doing this every week!
Oh, oh before I end off, the boy made me risk my life to get him a drink today.
Took this photo as evidence. Look! What if I get knocked down by a car while walking back?! Haha! But not to worry, the people from the drinks stall do come over to get your orders from time to time!
How to get there?
1012 Upper Serangoon Road
Buses that go there (Glad Tidings Church): 80, 80A, 81, 82, 101, 107, 107M, 112, 113, 115, 119, 136, 153
Opening hours
Opens daily from 7.00am to 6.00pm
Closed on every alternate Tuesdays
No GST or service charge
Here’s a picture of us to end off this post!
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