East Bistro 東小馆 @Sembawang

We had past by here a few times in the evening, and it was usually very quiet. This time, we decided to come here for dim sum, resolutely walking past the relatively empty white beehoon along the way.

This place was buzzing with activity at 11am! We were warmly welcomed by a staff who spoke excellent Cantonese, and for a moment, we thought we were in Hong Kong! The rest of the staff were also very pleasant and friendly. Despite being rather busy, we could see their smiles whenever they were serving the tables. This place also had an old-school and homely feel to it, with hand-written menu plastered all over the walls, and customers having their meals in a rather leisurely manner.

Prices are nett, without GST or service charge, and in addition to Cantonese dim sum, they also serve fish head steamboat and other zi char items. So many options, but only 2 tummies, so we ordered:

• Chef Special “Pao Fan” 东师傅脆米泡饭 ($6.80 for small): Served with a sizzling pop when the staff poured in the toasted rice, this was a very interesting dish! The toasted rice reminded us of toasted rice tea, and the crispy and soft rice was surprisingly delicious. The chicken soup base was light and yummy.
• Egg Yolk Custard Croissant 流沙牛角酥 ($3.80 for 2): Ooohhh, the lava custard was more on the sweet side, but eaten while hot, it was a great combination with the flaky croissant.
• Steamed Vegetable and Meat Dumpling 菜肉水晶饺 ($3.80 for 3): The skin was very QQ and chewy, together with the crunchy fillings, reminded us of excellent soon kueh.
• Rice Rolls with Fresh Prawn 鲜虾滑肠粉 ($4.50 for 3): While the skin was not silky smooth, it was very QQ and chewy, and we liked the texture very much. The prawns were also very fresh. Hubby’s favourite dish!
• Xiao Long Bao 鲜肉小笼包 ($3.80 for 3): Each xiao long bao was plump with light soup. The meat taste was not strong, and the skin was a tad too thick. But it was not over-steamed, resulting in a better than average xiao long bao.
• Har Kow 水晶鲜虾饺 ($3.60 for 3): The skin was too thick, but the prawns were very fresh.
• Siew Mai 蟹皇滑烧卖 ($3.30 for 3): Hubby said he could taste salted fish in the siew mai 😮 I felt that the siew mai used more fats than meat. Quite disappointing.
• Drunken Chicken in Shao Xing Wine 花雕醉香鸡 ($6): This was rather disappointing. Served lukewarm, we could hardly taste the wine, and it was more of oyster sauce taste.
• Hong Kong Style Hot Yuan Yang 香港式热鸳鸯 ($3.30): Strangely, they do not have kosong option, but there was a less sugar option. Hubby didn’t like it, for it was not well-balanced, and tasted more tea.
• Hong Kong Style Iced Milk Tea 香港式冻奶茶 ($3.30): It probably does not fit the dim sum theme, but I was missing this drink. Unfortunately, it tasted like normal milk tea.