Exactly one week after my visit to Su Korean Cuisine near Jurong Bird Park, I went back to The Village for brunch with my special guest star of the day. As the both of us haven’t had dim sum in a long long time, I thought that this would be a good opportunity! We went there on Mothers’ Day and it was really crowded, which came as a surprise to me given its somewhat deserted location. But then again, it’s Mothers’ Day. Thank goodness I made reservations the day before!

It is not my first time at Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant. I have been there for their seafood as well as dim sum, on separate occasions of course 😛 I suppose ‘dim sum by day, seafood by night’ would be an apt description here.

Before I proceed, I sincerely apologize for the photos. The lighting in the restaurant was quite yellowish and I struggled with my camera settings before giving up altogether because it’s not nice to make hungry people wait right? Hehe. Also, the presentation of the food was kind of a let-down that day but I believe it was because there were more people than before to cater to. Anyway, please carry on reading because I will tell you why Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant is worth a visit! 😀

Mention dim sum , and inevitably, har gau and siew mai would flash across my mind. For others, it could be char siew bao, chee cheong fun, lo mai gai etc. The har gau or Steamed Shrimp Dumpling (4 for $3.80) is best eaten hot, when the thin translucent skin is soft. I always get a kick out of eating shrimps that are succulent and crunchy.

Har Gau and Siew Mai always go hand in hand. I have been eating dim sum since I was a little girl, and they are the first things that my mum would order every single time. The original Cantonese Siew Mai is usually made out of pork and mushroom, but the Steamed Siew Mai (4 for $3.80) has fish roes on top, which I think is a fairly common sight these days. I believe it will still taste as good, even without the fish roes!

Ahhh.. And now, the Steamed Chicken Claw ($3.20) or better known as Feng Zhua. Many people struggle with this term and out comes Feng Jeow instead, which translates to chicken leg. People who have little or no experience in eating this might be horrified with the number of tiny bones that can be found. I think…..you need to be a good french kisser to be able to wipe this dish clean, only leaving the bones behind 😛 Jokes aside.. This is one of my favorite dim sum dishes and is always in my request list when dining with my family. The chicken feet is marinated in black bean sauce and is slightly spicy at the same time. I only have one word for it, Shiok.

I absolutely love Xiao Long Bao! I shall not reveal how many I can eat in one go, and that’s because I have not eaten at any of the Xiao Long Bao buffets. Not a good idea to become one yourself right? Haha! I swore our faces fell when the Steamed Shanghai Dumpling (3 for $3.20) came. Just as I had mentioned, there were some issues with presentation that day. The dumplings looked flattened. But I would still order this anywhere and everywhere if it is available!

To prove our love for meat dumplings, we ordered the pan-fried version as well. However, the Pan-fried Dumpling with Minced Meat (3 for $3.20) was too oily for our liking. The steamed version is still a much better choice!

Desserts anyone? The Baked Mini Egg Tarts (3 for $3.20) are surprisingly good. I have never thought much about egg tarts but I liked these because of their soft, smooth and flaky crust.

If you have a sweet tooth like me, you would probably enjoy these Banana Ball with Red Bean Paste (3 for $3.80). Each of them is deep fried, with a smooth blend of piping hot banana and red bean paste in it. They would probably taste better if they weren’t that hard.

We didn’t how Steamed Pumpkin Dumplings (3 for $3.20) look like (rather than taste like) so we ordered this out of curiosity. Imagine making mini Jack-o-laterns out of them! Cute right? 🙂 Actually they taste like green bean paste ang ku kueh! Just too cute to be eaten.

And now, for the good news! For those of you who don’t already know, there is an awesome promotion at Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant for its dim sum dishes! 50% off from Mondays to Saturdays and 40% off on Sundays and Public Holidays (it used to be 30%)! So, hurray! And I don’t suppose you need to hurry down because this promotion seems to be permanent 🙂

Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant
Blk 241 Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim
#01-01 The Village
Tel: +65 6265 8218

Opening Hours:
Mon to Sun and Public Holiday
Lunch
11.30am – 2.30pm
Dinner
5.30pm – 10.30pm