Yum Cha (Chinatown)

Yum Cha is a Cantonese dim sum restaurant on Trengganu Street, just off Temple Street in Chinatown. It first opened in Chinatown in 2000, and the idea was to recreate the feel of an old-style dim sum tea house. The restaurant is on the second floor, above the street, and there is now a second outlet at Changi Business Park.

The kitchen makes its dim sum by hand every day. The menu mixes the classics you would expect in Hong Kong with a few newer ideas that borrow from local flavours.

What to order

Start with the steamed baskets. The restaurant names its fish roe siew mai, xiao long bao (soup dumplings) and BBQ pork bao as signatures. The salted egg custard bao has a soft, flowing filling that is both sweet and salty. The baked mini egg tarts come in flaky pastry and make a good finish.

From the fried side, try the deep-fried prawn beancurd roll or the fried pork pancake, which is cooked prata style. Paper chicken wings are another house signature. For a local twist, look for the otak siew mai, the laksa crispy prawn rice flour roll and the truffle mushroom bao.

Bigger plates suit a group. The menu includes a whole Peking duck, assam prawns in a claypot, crispy roasted pork, and braised pork belly cooked with Shui Xian tea. There are also several congees, such as sliced fish congee and the house ting zai (sampan) congee. For dessert, there is mango pudding, Chinese herbal jelly and ma lai gao, a steamed sponge cake.

The setting

The room is set up like an old tea house, with marble tables and wooden chairs. It is a large, air-conditioned dining room, which makes it a good place to rest after walking around Chinatown in the heat. The mood is casual, and it works well for families and groups who want to share lots of small dishes.

Good to know before you go

• Booking: you can walk in, but booking ahead is a good idea. Online booking is linked from the Yum Cha website.
• The menu: the printed menu shows the main dishes, and more appear on its electronic menu.
• Pork: pork features in many dishes, such as the BBQ pork bao and the pork pancake. Ask staff if you do not eat it.
• Vegetables: there are a few vegetable dishes, such as homemade beancurd with mushroom and broccoli.
• Delivery: Yum Cha also offers dim sum delivery and catering for events.

Getting there

Chinatown MRT station is about five minutes away on foot. Walk to Trengganu Street, near the corner with Temple Street, and head up to the second floor. The address is 20 Trengganu Street, #02-01. You can check the latest details on the Yum Cha website.

Nearby

Yum Cha sits in the heart of old Chinatown, so it pairs well with a morning of sightseeing. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and the Sri Mariamman Temple are both close by. You could also join the Chinatown Heritage Walk before or after your meal. For more food ideas, try our Chinatown cheap eats crawl, browse more Chinese and dim sum restaurants, or see all restaurants in Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar.