It has been quite some time ago when I last had Dim Sum and I have been looking forward to this day ever since.. π There are so many Dim Sum places that I wanna go to! Finally settled for East Ocean Restaurant at Shaw Centre.
We were first given 4 small cups of tea. Does anyone know what’s the actual purpose? Are they meant for drinking or for rinsing your utensils? Hehe π
Let me introduce Chewy Charles to you. His name has been changed to protect his identity. LOL. Anyway, whether you like it or not, you will be seeing him quite frequently in my future posts π The both of us share a love for everything, well.. almost everything. Haha! π
I love the Mini Crispy Egg Tarts (4 for $5.50) here because of the crust. “It’s so fluffy I’m gonna die!” Ok kidding. But they should consider renaming their egg tarts because the crust was soft rather than crispy. Personally, I prefer a soft fluffy crust. I also liked that the egg custard was rich and slightly molten.
The prawns in the Steamed Shrimp Dumplings (4 for $5.50) are surprisingly huge and a real pleasure to munch on. Definitely a must order if you go to East Ocean.
Besides traditional Dim Sum, East Ocean also has its very own Q Dim Sum which take the form of different animal shapes. Guess what the Bumble Bee (3 for $5.50) is made of? Custard and salted egg yolk. It actually tastes like δΉε±η³ (Kow Teng Kueh). So if you like Kow Teng Kueh, you know what to order π
Eating the Playful Hedgehog (3 for $5.50) felt like biting into a slice of savory pie because of its ingredients which are dried scallop, chicken meat and corn.
The Little Big Foot (3 for $5.50) is a sweet mix of pineapple and ham, and the texture is very uhhhh chewy. If you have tried peanut sesame balls, you will know what I’m talking about! I thought most guys like Jurassic Park and dinosaurs but Chewy Charles didn’t really like this so I happily swapped the Playful Hedgehog with him for this instead.
This is a good alternative to char siew buns if you wanna make sure that you have some room in your stomach for other dishes! The Cobra King (3 for $5.50) taste just like char siew buns except that its texture is similar to that of the steamed bread that goes along with stewed pork, or more commonly known as Kong Ba Bao.
Besides the above Q Dim Sum, there were a few more types that we didn’t try. We went there on a weekday afternoon and business was really good! Reservations are a must. Till the next Dim Sum date! π
East Ocean Restaurant
1 Scotts Road #02-18
Shaw Centre
Tel: +65 6235 9088
Opening Hours
Mon to Fri
11.30am β 3pm (Lunch)
6pm β 11pm (Dinner)
Sat, Sun and PH
10.30am β 3pm (Lunch)
6pm β 11pm (Dinner)
Oh my family and I like Dong Hai! I grew up from their tim sum π So glad you blog about it.
Haha I grew up from Kelong’s dim sum at the now defunct Yaohan!
The dim sums are so kawaii!!! I think its too pretty to eat. haha. If you like slightly molten egg custard with crispy flaky crust I highly recommend royal china π
Yeah i have heard so much abt royal china now i’m seriously itching to go there π
haha the Q dim sum reminds me of a previous drama series on channel 8! i recommend royal china for dim sum too (:
hmmmm.. i dun watch tv one leh! i hope the entire drama is not about dim sum! haha.. ok looks like royal china is very popular huh! π
oh gosh, the Q dim sum looks so darn cute! Kids will be playing with their food instead of eating them xD
haha true true! i can imagine them having like a mini dinosaur war around the dining table. LOL!
eh… so cute~! i’ve honestly never heard of this place, but the dim sum are so adorable haha
yeah it’s located at shaw towers. not terribly hard to find, but its location is a little (just a teeny weeny) obscure π
Ehh Charlene, I think you actually meant Shaw Centre, the one at orchard with Isetan and Lido. Shaw Towers at Bugis with Tom’s Palette. =)
Ahhh yes yes! Always find these two confusing! Shaw Centre π
Wow! Their dimsum creativity is breathless! I agree with Bella V, they’re too nice to be eaten.
So this is a nice dimsum place just like Royal China then…hmm need to take note of this…thanks Charlene! So you got a new camera?
Haha ok that’s 3 votes for royal china now! Nope i’m still holding on to my friend’s Nikon! π
I dun quite remember the purposes of the small tea cups, I think it was meant to warm your stomach or something. Definitely not for rinsing utensils though. lolx
Seems like you ordered more of their cute creations than the traditional ones! East Ocean is usually too crowded for us (a full table of HK family friends), so we go to Kam Boat on level 5 instead. They serve real good dim sum too!
Oh man! Cuz it wasnt my first time being told that the tea from the small tea cups are meant for rinsing utensils. We were already served a pot of chrysanthemum tea so there were alot of question marks floating around in our heads at that time. Haha!
Ohh i’ve not tried Kam Boat before. Gonna check this out too! π
Nice — I used to go there often too! Just that the queue, oooh the queue π
Anyway, in HK (I could be wrong – Daniel?) they serve 2 tea pots. One is for rinsing of the utensils and another for the actual tea.
Bleah I’m dreaming abt dim sum now! Hahaha.
Haha yeah but the utensils are supposed to be already very clean right? So weird la!
Ahh.. I’m not sure if this applies to all, but from what i usually see, one contains tea, while the other contains hot water for children (dislike the bitter tea taste) and non tea drinkers. In fact, we usually add the hot water into the tea pot when we have finished it.
Haha, I haven seen the custom of washing utensils for very long already! Most modern HK restaurants have do away with it (have some faith in their hygiene level la), but i suspect the old school ones are still doing it =)
charlene,
Those cups of tea served at the beginning & at the end of the meal are called “gong fu cha” ε·₯倫θΆ, typically served in Teochew restaurants to cleanse the palate before the meal & after the meal, as well as to wash down the grease from consuming the earlier oily foods.
East Ocean is a Teochew restaurant, that’s why you were served those cups of tea. Most Teochew restaurants in Singapore do serve them. (:
Hello ice! Haha oh dear.. I’m Teochew and yet I know nothing about ε·₯倫θΆ! :X Thanks so much for the info! π
Charlene, is good that a relationship will has smooth sailing when you and your partner share the same interest. I am your regular reader and hope to hear your wedding bell ringing…… God bless both of you, a perfect match!
Haha we try to accommodate each other actually! We dont really share every single interest but we try to accept what each of us likes to do and learn to enjoy these activities together π Thanks for dropping by regularly!
Well, after reading the above reviews, I called up the restuarant to make a reservation for tonight’s dinner. What greeted me over the phone was a lady with an impatient tone, and before i could asked her further on a brief idea on the menu or any special menu set dinner etc and on Buddha Jump Over the Wall and their authentic dishes, she told me she will called me back around 3pm (2 hours later) and that she is very busy now. On and off, she is talking to someone and sounds very impatient. All she asked was, what time and whats your name.
Given this type of attitude, I can understand that the restuarant must be very busy, bustling with customers. However, her attitude puts me off. So what if the food is really good? So what if its popular? And besides, it might not be that good anyway.
She sounds as if all the customers are willing to pay for the food and to endure such attitudes. Wake up! Its not just the food that counts, attitude and services are equally important. I rather pay for good food plus satisfactory service, that lefts the customer feeling good about the restaurant. Dont forget, customers are the one who are paying. What to put up with such attitudes. I hang up the call, telling her I am coming.
She sounds taken aback, and then asked in a softer tone whether to reserve a table for me tonight. Come on, she already spoilt my mood and given a bad impression to the customers! They dont have quality service training
sUCKS!
Oh dear i’m so sorry to hear about your bad experience. Nothing of that sort happened to me when i called to make reservations. The staff who handled your call that day could have had a bad day, i’m not sure. But i’d have to say that if this were to happen to me, i’d be quite pissed too!