East Ocean Restaurant

As a dim sum fan, I have been hearing very good reviews about East Ocean Restaurant and in fact, their name gets brought up easily in any conversation about dim sum with the old folks. The reason why I never visited them until now was that their price is higher than the usual restaurants and my mom could not bear for me to spend so much on dim sum

Located on the 5th floor of Takashimaya, East Ocean Restaurant has been serving the best in Teochew Cantonese cuisine and dim sum since 1992. They started the business in Shaw Center before moving to Takashimaya in 2012. They are a regular name in the Teochew restaurant scene in Singapore and you often see them offering their Teochew cakes and mooncakes at food fairs and many Teochew elderly still choose to celebrate their birthdays at East Ocean

East Ocean has chosen to stay traditional in terms of decor and layout of their restaurant and stepping into the restaurant feels like a travel back in time to the 90s when the bright red plush carpet and gold rim seats are a signature look for all Chinese restaurants. The restaurant is extremely spacious with private rooms which are available for booking with a minimum spending

The moment we were seated, we were served this traditional Chinese tea which is very popular with Teochew. Kungfu tea literally means making tea with skill as it involves using smaller brewing clay teapots and cups and a higher leaf-to-water ratio to fully appreciate the taste of the finer tea selection. In ancient times, Teochew families will serve this tea only to their distinguished guests so East Ocean has embraced the traditions of serving this to their customers

To start off, we ordered a selection of steamed dim sum like har gow ( shrimp dumpling), siew mai which is pork and shrimp dumpling, braised chicken feet and steamed custard buns ( liu sha bao) The steamed dim sum were all well made with thin skin and a generous filling of shrimp or meat. The taste was also well-balanced and crunchy which is a trait of good dim sum. The biggest highlight for the steamed dim sum is really the lava custard bun which is perfect as the custard was very smooth and not lumpy and the taste was savoury and salty at the same time with a soft and fluffy bun skin

For fried items, we ordered the fried shrimp dumpling, fried seafood beancurd roll, bolo bun and char siew pastry. While the fried items all tasted good and were perfectly fried, what really shined was the char siew pastry. The pastry was buttery and crumbly and thin enough for generous char siew fillings. The combination of the sweet glazed pork with the buttery savoury pastry was perfect and this is a definitely dish to order from the menu

As we visited during lunch, we ordered a couple of other dishes as well like the jade tofu which was fried egg tofu with seaweed and mushroom, a platter of roast duck and roast pork, Naibai vegetable cooked in scallop broth and pan-fried prawns with scallops and fish on top of braised vermicelli served in a clay pot. All the dishes did not disappoint and will full of umami flavours. The roast pork and duck had crispy skin with succulent meat and the tofu and prawns were all perfect with rice. What surprised me was the bland-looking vegetable dish as the flavours were so refreshing and sweet from the natural flavours of the scallop, garlic and vegetable itself. It was like having a comforting soup which warms the stomach and soul without being too extravagant in ingredients and flavours

Last but not least, we ended the meal with the famous Teochew dessert yam paste. This was a perfect ending to the meal as the yam paste was sweet, creamy and smooth. The flavours of the yam were enhanced naturally without being overly sweet or oily. A small bowl was sufficient to end the meal on a happy note

Overall, I really loved the food and dim sum at the East Ocean and I can fully understand why so many families love visiting them for family meals so their dishes do not disappoint. I will bring my mum to savour their food as I think the food will make anyone eating them happy

Address: 391 Orchard Rd, #05 – 08 / 09, Singapore 238872

Operating hours: 11.30 am to 3 pm and 6 pm to 9 pm