Cheekiemonkies: Singapore Parenting & Lifestyle Blog: Gimme Sum-more at Dim Dim Cheekie Monkies

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(Daddy munches)

Hands up if you know where Marina Link is. I most certainly didn't and only found out that it is actually Marina Square's basement integrated walkway which connects the mall to Esplanade MRT Station seamlessly. And it turns out that there are actually quite a fair number of dining options at Marina Link too!

One such restaurant is Dim Dim - The Hong Kong Pantry, a local-based dim sum no-frills cafe that serves up 100% handmade dim sum.

And when it comes to dim sum, you can be darn sure that my monkies will among the first in line... and salivating. Okay okay, so even I cannot never resist a bite (or two) of some delectable dim sum.

Not when all the dim sum were laid out so invitingly.

To quench our thirst for dim sum, we first had a round of Hong Kong Milk Tea (S$2.60). It was pretty standard; adequately milky but not overly sweet.

The monkies were crying out in hunger by now, so it was a good thing that our meal started off with one of Dim Dim's arguably best dish of the lot.

The Baked BBQ Honey Pork Bun Coated with Crispy Butter (S$3.90 for 3) is much like the po luo bao, crispy on the outside with melted sugar and cream on top of the bun and savoury inside with char siew meat. Simply put, if there is only one dish you order at Dim Dim, this is it! It was so good that I only manage to snag one miserable morsel before the monkies devoured them in record quick time.

The Deep-fried Shrimp in Beancurd Skin Roll (S$4.60 for 3) is always a must-order whenever we have dim sum, primarily because the dish is one of the wifey's faves. And her verdict? Pretty decent, although I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with the generous serving of shrimps within.

How can one get away without ordering egg tarts at a dim sum restaurant? Not us apparently, as the Mini Egg Tarts (S$3.60 for 3) were too fluffy and yummy for us to pass up!

One interesting dish we sampled was the Fried Prawns with Mango and Mayonnaise which each came stuffed with one prawn and a generous amount of mango and mayonnaise.

Personally, I never fancied the clashing tastes of sweet and salty so this dish did not really appeal to me. And neither did it appeal to the monkies I suspected... thanks to the next dish which was plonked right before them.

Mention chee cheong fun and watch my monkies' eyes light up in delight. Good chee cheong fun is hard to find, even more so for those with youtiao (or dough fritters) within them. The Steamed Cheong Fun with Chinese Dough Fritters (S$3.60) was served with a special peanut and seafood sauce, which made the silky smooth chee cheong fun all the more delectable. Just ask Ash.

The Steamed Prawn Dumpling 'Ha Kau' (S$4.20 for 3) did not exactly wow our socks off, but proved to be of an acceptable standard.

The Cuttlefish and Peanut Congee (S$5.00 per bowl) was totally a different story altogether.

It emerged as one of the monkies' fave of the lot and in particular, Ale's. For some reason, she displayed great affinity with the bowl of congee as she downed her share - and mine! - without any of my or the wifey's prompting.

To round off our meal, we had Steamed Custard Bun (S$4.20 for 3) or 'Liu Sha Bao'.

The moment I sank my teeth into one, I understood why the Steam Custard Bun is such a big deal at Dim Dim. For one, the handmade skin of the bun tasted fluffy enough with the custard filling being neither too watery or too dry but yet flavourful with a tinge of sweetness and saltiness at the same time.

While some of the dishes were a tad standard and average, there were a few that were well executed and stood out, like the Baked BBQ Honey Pork Bun Coated with Crispy Butter, Steamed Cheong Fun with Chinese Dough Fritters and Steamed Custard Bun. At least they brought an immense sense of satisfaction to all of us, especially the kiddos!