‘Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng’ – ‘包發茶餐廳’ – A Dim Sum Restaurant

Dim Sum meals, for me, are few and far in between. I do enjoy the occasional meal of Dim Sum, but they are quite rich and filling and it is not the kind of meal one takes often – not for me anyway. There may well be people who like Dim Sum every day. Anyway, coincidentally, I had three Dim Sum meals in a month recently, at friends’ suggestion.

The latest Dim Sum lunch was with my ‘Motley crew’ of friends to celebrate a birthday in the group. Someone in the group suggested Dim Sum at ‘Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng’. Since all of us in the group are quite easy going, we generally go with what was suggested.

Suz, in the group, had dined at Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng recently and she highly recommended we all give it a try.

‘Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng’ restaurant is nestled in a row of shop houses along Upper Paya Lebar Road, an industrial area. It is helmed by a Hong Kong chef and offers a variety of classic home-made Hong Kong style Dim Sum dishes and also a small selection of Western fare and local dishes.

The food was good. They are fresh and don’t have a lot of seasoning that we find in mass, factory produced items. Unfortunately, the place was not air conditioned. However, there is a constant breeze from the many fans in the shop. Price wise, I feel it is a bit high for such a location and not air-conditioned place. The restaurant is also not very big and it feels kind of cramped. But Dim Sum dishes are known to be a bit pricier and considering the food are hand-made in the shop and the chef is from Hong Kong, I guess the dearer price can be overlooked.

These were what we had. Most Dim Sum dishes have three portions. Since there were seven of us, we ordered three sets per dish. The good thing about Dim Sum with a group is that we can try many dishes on the menu. If the dish is good, we can always order more. 'Siew mai', or 'siu mai' are pork and prawn dumplings.

Prawn dumplings

Prawn 'cheong fun' rolls. 'Cheong fun' is broad rice noodles.

Fried prawn dumpling

Fried seaweed beancurd roll

Spinach prawn crystal dumpling

Steamed carrot cake

Chicken claws

A plate of yellow noodles, as a substitute for longevity noodles. Some people believe a birthday meal should always have longevity noodles. But since it is a Dim Sum restaurant, they do not have that dish. So, they had to improvise.

For dessert, we tried the crispy durian recommended by the restaurant owner.

Some had the custurd bun

A sample of their menu

‘Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng’
Operating Hours: Daily, 8am – 8pm
119 Upp Paya Lebar, Singapore 534835

They are five minutes walk from ‘Ta Seng’ MRT Station which is rather convenient.

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Dim Sum – "Yum Cha"

Dim sum is a Cantonese term referring to a variety of small Chinese dishes, that are served in restaurants for brunch or tea. It's a light meal of small, savoury or sweet dishes like dumplings, and pastries commonly enjoyed with tea. However, nowadays, people also use the term to mean a light snack.

The practice of having tea with dim sum evolved into the modern "yum cha", which literally means ‘drink tea’. Tea helps in food digestion and also cancels off the fats – or so it is believed. Anyhow, ‘yum cha’ is an occasion to socialise and catch up with each other, to share information and news – or just to gossip among friends.

Dim sum restaurants typically have a wide variety of dishes. Traditionally, they have staff going around the restaurant with dim sum dishes on carts. As they approach, you order what you need from them. Some restaurants still do that here, but most have the dim sum items listed on menus and you order from the menu.

Most dim sum dishes are made of seafood, meats, or vegetables wrapped in dough or thin wrappings and steamed, deep-fried, or pan-fried. Other dishes are steamed green vegetables, stuffed eggplant, stuffed green peppers, roasted meats, congee and soups. Nowadays, most Chinese restaurants have a small section of dim sum items on their regular menus. Customers can order dim sum as a side dish to go with their meals.

I am not a big fan of dim sum dishes. I find them too rich and filling. However, I do enjoy the occasional meal of dim sum. Recently, some friends suggested we go for dim sum. I went along gladly since it has been a while since I had dim sum.

We went to the ‘Peach Garden’ Chinese restaurant. It is one of those upper mid-end kinds of restaurants – if you know what I mean. The food was okay. Typical dim sum fare.

Dim sum dishes are not served together. They are served as and when they are ready. Normally, people would start off with a few dishes, and order more as they go along. This way, the food will be hot and the table would not be cluttered.

All these and more for a group of five. It was too much food. Someone in the group over-ordered. It was a good lunch, catching up with friends I haven’t seen for a long time while slowly going through the dishes.

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Little India – Sakunthala’s Restaurant / Mustafa Shopping Centre

Sakunthala’s restaurant is a home-grown chain of Indian restaurants well-known for its home style Indian cooking – ‘Fusion Cuisine with Signature range of South Indian, North Indian and Chinese dishes”.

Sakunthala’s was founded in 1997, as a small family run street stall in Little India. Over the years, they expanded their business to the rest of Singapore. There are now six dine-in outlets. They also have take-away and home delivery services, catering packages, bento-box meals, tingkat (tiffin/lunch box) services, in-house catering as well as external/outdoor catering.

I was there recently with a friend for dinner. They were very busy. The turn-over was quick too. People come, eat and go.

Complimentary Pappadam

This is one dish they are famous for – fish head curry. My friend had tried that before. He said it was nice, but too big a dish for one person. Since I like fish head curry too, I said I will share the dish with him. As you can see from the photo, or maybe not, it is a big dish – a big fish head with plenty of vegetables – okra, egg-plant, and tomatoes in a big claypot. It was nice, and plenty even for two.

Here’s the address of the restaurant. They are across the street from Mustafa shopping centre.
Sakunthala’ Restaurant
88 Syed Alwi Road, Singapore 207667
11am – Midnight

Mustafa Centre

Mustafa Centre is a shopping mall in Singapore, situated on Syed Alwi Road in the cultural district of Little India. It is a retail hub catering mainly to the budget market, attracting many shoppers with its wide variety of products and services. The place is huge. It reportedly, occupies an area of 75,000 square feet.

The retail hub consists of two shopping centres selling more than – supposedly, 300,000 items and provides many services such as foreign exchange and travel arrangements. It is known as a one-stop shopping center, and “the best place to go if you’re after a bargain or enjoy shopping late into the twilight hours”. They are open 24 hours and are always busy. It is worst during the weekends.

However, not all are fans of Mustafa Center. People who like to shop in comfort complain that the space between rows of shelves are too narrow and difficult to move freely. And because they are always busy, the shelves are not stocked nicely and there are boxes and packages on the floor making the place look messy.

My friend and I had a quick tour of the place after dinner at Sakunthala’s since they are literally across the street from each other.

Photos of a couple of buildings in the area.

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The Little Nyonya (Peranakan Restaurant)

Celebrating the birthday of a member of the ‘Motley Crew’. This time, we went to ‘The Little Nyonya’ for Peranakan food.

“Peranakan” in Malay and Indonesian means “local-born” or ‘descendant,” referring to people of mixed Chinese and Malay/Indonesian heritage, particularly those born in the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Penang, and Melaka) or former British Malaya.

Male Peranakans are referred to as “Baba” whereas females and the culture in general of this matriarchal community are addressed as “Nyonya”.

I had a look at their menu online before we went to the restaurant. From what I can see, I wasn’t impressed with their menu. So, I had no expectations. Hence, I wasn’t too disappointed when their food fell short of what Peranakan food should taste like.

You see, at ‘The Little Nyonya’, they “reimagined Peranakan cuisine with a health-conscious twist’, “while prioritising reduced sodium, sugar, and healthy cooking methods like air-frying and steaming”. Their aim is to let customers enjoy their favourite dishes without compromising on their health.

Personally, I like the idea of eating healthy. However, if that means changing the tastes of the food, then it is no good at all. Peranakan foods are known for their rich spices and full bodied flavours. If the taste changes, then it is not authentic Peranakan food any more. What good is that? It is not everyday that one eats Peranakan food. Surely, there is no harm in savouring the lovely authentic Peranakan tastes, once in a while?

Anyway, true to what they are promoting, I found the food a bit lacking in the richness in taste. The food was all right, but it is not a restaurant where we say ‘we must come back again’.

Here are the dishes we tried.

Kueh Pai Tee - Crispy pastry cups filled with vegetables and a prawn. This is a hands-on dish.

Ngoh Hiang - Baked rolls filled with meat, prawn and spices.

Beef Rendang - Beef infused with spices and slow-cooked.

Ayam Buah Keluak - Chicken with Buah Keluak (black nuts) cooked the traditional way.

Prawn Asam Pedas - Prawns simmered in a sour, spicy tamarind-based gravy.

Nyonya ‘Chap Chye’ - Mixed vegetables

Blue pea duo coloured basmati rice

Pandan Lemon grass drink

The Little Nyonya is at 11 Bedok North Street 1, #01-11 Heartbeat@Bedok (Opposite Pizza Hut), Singapore 469662

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Seiwaa Okonomiyaki & Teppanyaki Restaurant

I was out last Saturday with my usual group of friends for dinner to celebrate a birthday boy in the group. This time round, we went to a Japanese restaurant, for a change – the Seiwaa Okonomiyaki & Teppanyaki Restaurant.

Okonomiyaki literally means ‘grilled as you like it’ in Japanese. Apparently, this is often referred to as Osaka soul food, a nostalgic taste of Japanese comfort food. You can order the ingredients you want and cook your own food, if you are so inclined – like a table next to us.

I am not very familiar with Japanese food. So, I left the ordering to my mates and partook of what was served. We didn’t do okonomiyaki. We had teppanyaki. I don’t know whether the food was good, but they disappeared very quickly from the table, and there were no negative comments about them. So, they must have been good. The company was also important. It was good company, and a good evening was had by all.

Some photos from that evening.

There were a couple of dishes that were already in my stomach before I realised I hadn’t taken a photo of it.

Customers cooking their own food.

This is their 👉 menu if you are interested to have a look.

The restaurant is in 72 Dunlop Street. Singapore 209400. They are open for lunch and dinner from Monday to Saturday.

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