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| Just head for the lifts, and press the Seventh floor button, |
If you love dim sum, and do not mind the extra hassle, this might be the place for you. Oh, how we love those old fashioned yumcha places commonly encountered in Hong Kong, and here is a local version in its no frills glory. We were introduced to Five Star Hong Kong Style Handmade Dim Sum by the foodee Tans, who insisted this was a "die die must try" place. What seemed like a god-forsaken location right in the middle of an industrial estate turned out to be rather accessible, if you have a car. It's also near Geylang, which is a guarantee of sorts of quality, you know, the culinary kind.
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| The unprepossessing entrance to some sort of a canteen. |
Located on the seventh floor of Shun Li Industrial Complex, you must first navigate the right lifts that take you the level 7. All others end at Level 6. But there are ample signs to lead you there.
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| The actual entrance to the air-conditioned dining area. Good luck when it becomes busy. |
The set-up looks rather unprepossessing but there is method to the madness. It's all self-service, including ordering with a paper chit, the crockery, cutlery and condiments, it's all DIY. Place your order at the cashier, pay first and get a buzzer which sounds whenever a dish is being served. Then you get it yourself.
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| Here's the menu and where you place your order and pay up. |
The portions are reasonable, and so are the prices. You order whatever you want, and just wait, and wait, and wait... for your order to be ready. It can take up to two hours to complete your dim sum fix, but hey, isn't this what people do in Hong Kong during yumcha sessions - sit around, chit chat, people-watch or read The New Paper? By the way, we've never seen more overweight people in a single location outside of Hawaii. They obviously know where to come.
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| Fat people alert. More to arrive soon. |
The Cantonese porridge is fine and tasty, but not as good as Mr Hui's in Commonwealth Crescent. Try not to order too much of the fried stuff (it makes you fat), so chee cheong fun with many choices of fillings should fill you up. The mushroom filling is rather nice. So are the siew mais, tasty and filling.
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| Seafood porridge. |
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| Chee cheong fun with mushroom filling. |
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| Tasty siew mai, which reminded me of an old university song not worth repeating in these pages. |
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| The zi bao ji (paper-wrapped chicken) was oily, difficult to extract and no match for Union Farm Eating House. |
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| The home styled fried dumpling was tasty but little stodgy. |
Overall, an OK nice experience but not when you have to hurry. "In our culture, we take our time," as one of Janet's patients memorably once proclaimed. So it's better not to "get to the point" for that would be missing the wood for the trees. We might try the Five Star outlet in Clementi next - its nearer to home and does not look so busy.
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