Foodies would probably hear of this name before; Chua Lam. A reknown Hong Kong columnist, food critic and occasional television host. Known for hosting several food programmes in Hong Kong, a judge for Japan’s Fuji Series Iron Chef as well as a columinist and author for many food and restaurant guides, many trust Chua Lam for his food reccomendations
When I saw the restaurant created by him, I felt that it would serve good authentic dim sum. The restaurant outlets are located in China only so the only change to try them is when visting China
The restaurant is classified as modern casual dining so the interiors are minimalistic with a tinge of Chinese influence showing in the use of the woodn rattan chairs. As I visited close to Chinese New Year so there are red decorations all over the restaurant
The menu consist of dim sum as well as contemporary Cantonese cusines dishes
For dim sum, we ordered a few of their reccomended dishes like the dim sum mixed platter which included prawn dumpling, vegetable dumpling and custard bun shaped like a chick and a crab meat dumpling shaped like a goldfish. We also had the cripsy char siew bun which is similar to the ones we have at Tim Ho Wan and the usual steamed chicken feet and pork ribs. The dim sum was very authentic in flavours and the way they redesigned some of the dumplings was also very appealing. As a dim sum advocate, I think the dim sum is legit
We ordered rice and congee for sharing and they served the Wuchang rice which is extremely fragrant and delicious; same as the ones served in Hunan restaurant Xiang Xiang here in Singapore. The congee was extremely smooth and packed with flavours and is very similar to the ones in Hong Kong. Served with cripsy fritters which added a nice crunch to the congee
The other dishes we ordered included the tea smoked pigeon, garlic steamed wawa cabbage and griled waxed pork with egg. There was a light tea fragrance in the skin of the pigeon and since it was extremely small, there wasn’t much meat to really bite on. The minmal meat was tender and juicy with a balanced savoury flavour from the marination and smoked cooking technique. I found the waxed pork with egg quite salty but went well with rice and would be a favourite of many Cantonese palates. Personally except waxed sausages, I am not really a fan of waxed meat due to the texture of the skin and meat. The cabbage did not disappoint with its natural sweetness coming through and hint of spice from the garlic and chilli
Last but not least we were giving a free dessert for leaving them rating on the Dianping app. The dessert was soy milk pudding with honey which was light, creamy and refreshing and a perfect ending for the meal
Overall, the food at Chua Lam Dim Sum was great and I did visit them again in another city. Pretty similar to to Crystal Jade in Singapore, their dishes were authentically Cantonese in flavour and style and in fact carry some dishes which is not available in Singapore like pigeon. I would reccomend anyone to give it a try when in China
While this is not the actual address, this is the nearest spot on Google Maps
Address: Changtai Plaza Building 10, 1239弄 Zuchongzhi Rd, 1239, Pudong, Shanghai, China, 201203
The more accurate address on Baidu Maps
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