Victor’s Kitchen – The Best Casual HK Dim Sum in Singapore

My first review of Victor’s Kitchen (“Victor”) was way back in 2013. Since then, Victor’s has opened up another branch at Chinatown Point, survived the C-pandemic and even has island-wide delivery with oddle. I guess it is time to review the restaurant again.

Menu / Order Sheet 1

We visited after it pass the busy lunch hour, so we almost have the place to ourselves. Once you step into the shop, you can help yourself to the order sheet, 1 for the food and another A4 size board to order the drink. Once you are done, just submit the order to the counter.

Menu / Order Sheet 2

The drinks are the first to come. I ordered H.K. Summer Iced Ying Yang (Milk Coffee with Tea, $3.80). I decided that I need a bit more kick instead of the usual milk tea. The Ying Yang is silky and smooth with a touch of bitterness and kick from the coffee. Victor is probably the first establishment in Singapore that put ice outside the drink, to ensure the purity of the H.K. Summer Iced milk tea / ying yang. LD ordered the H.K. Summer Iced Milk Tea ($3.80) and they are still as good as before, 100% HK taste.

H.K. Summer Iced Ying Yang (Milk Coffee with Tea)

“Bo Lo” Butter Buns (2pcs, $5.50). It is served warm with Lurpak butter on the side. The fluffy bun is coated with crispy and delicious pineapple crust. It was comforting and yummy. Perfect for any time of the day. The best part is no need to queue or wait very long for the bun to be ready.

“Bo Lo” Butter Buns 

“Bo Lo” Butter Buns 

Victor’s King Prawn Dumpling (3pcs per set, $5.90). The Har Gao is still jumbo in size. It is plump and juicy, while the skin is smooth and a bit sticky, with a bit of bounce to it.

Victor’s King Prawn Dumpling (Har Gao) 

Tasty Queen Size Siew Mai (4pcs per set, $5.50). The diced pork is firm and solid. When I bit into it, I can taste the fatty part of the pork used, to ensure the fillings remain juicy. Yummy.

Tasty Queen Size Siew Mai 

Xiao Long Bao (3pcs per set, $5.50). The skin is soft, while the pork filling is juicy and filled with broth as well. The taste is good, but not to the level of their har gao or siew mai.

Xiao Long Bao

Fish Porridge with Century Egg ($7.80, subject to availability) An unusual combination, but it works. The congee is silky, yet gooey and tasty. The fish is fresh, thickly sliced and firm. I like, that they did not put too many century egg in the porridge therefore not overpowering the fish.

Fish Porridge with Century Egg 

The Sliced Fish

Chicken Feet in Abalone Sauce ($5.50). If chicken feet are not your thing, I suggest you still try the abalone sauce. It is robust and packs with umami flavour. It is so good, I mixed it with the congee and the vegetables that we ordered. The skin on the chicken feet is sticky, as it absorbs the abalone sauce, I enjoy sucking it off the bones.

Chicken Feet in Abalone Sauce

Seasoned Vegetables ($5.20). The kailan is soft, yet it retains the crunchy texture of the vegetables. I don’t know how they do it, but I find the vegetables serve here are sweet.

Seasoned Vegetables

Crispy Golden Shrimp Rolls ($5.30). Crispy and crunchy. It is very tasty and you can enjoy it without the dipping sauce.

Crispy Golden Shrimp Rolls 

King Prawn Cheong Fun ($5). The jumbo size prawns are wrapped in thick yet a smooth rice sheet. Due to the thickness of the cheong fun, the sauce was not absorbed well into the skin.

King Prawn Cheong Fun

Chicken & Sausage in Glutinous Rice ($6.20). It took longer to steam, so the rice only comes when we are almost full. The glutinous rice is soft, yet sticky, while the chicken and sauce fillings flavoured the glutinous rice although it was very light.

Chicken & Sausage in Glutinous Rice 

Chicken & Sausage in Glutinous Rice 

I ate it with the complimentary XO sauce given at the start of the meal. The spicy and solid flavour of the XO sauce provided another dimension to the lighter dishes.

XO Sauce

Golden Egg Yolk Lava Bun (3pcs per set, $5.30). The signature dish that made customers flock down to Victor. They are one of the pioneers and still the standard-setter for Liu Sha Bao in Singapore. The bun is soft and fluffy, and the golden egg yolk lava just oozes out from the centre of the bun. The blend of the golden egg yolk is just superb, thick, rich and packs of punch. Yum Yum!

Golden Egg Yolk Lava Bun 

Golden Egg Yolk Lava Bun 

LD ordered Steam Ginger Egg Custard ($5) for dessert. It is not on the paper menu, but it is displayed on the poster at the restaurant. It is smooth and eggy followed by a slight ginger aroma and taste. I was hoping the ginger taste to be stronger.

Steam Ginger Egg Custard

Steam Ginger Egg Custard

The service staff are friendly, however, don’t expect restaurant standard. No décor in the shop, it is functional and they maximise the seating space in the limited environment

CBK Verdict: The changes at Victor’s have been very minimum. They still served solid dim sum, with minimum fuss. I must say for the quality of the food, Victor still kept their price increase to the minimum. Definitely, a must-visit HK-style Dim Sum in Singapore. Cheers!!

Food & Drink: 8.5/10

Value: 8.5/10

Service: 6/10

Ambiance: 6/10

Budget per Person: $11 - $25

Victor’s Kitchen

91 Bencoolen Street

#01-49, Sunshine Plaza

Singapore 189652

T:+65 9616 6077

W: https://www.victors-kitchen.com/

F: https://www.facebook.com/victorskitchensg

IG: @Victorskitchensg

OH:

Mon – Thu & Sun: 10.30 – 22.00

Fri – Sat: 10.30 – 21.00

Other Location

133 New Bridge Road

#B1-33 Chinatown Point

Singapore 059413

Menu Available Online + Online Order

Legendary Bak Kut Teh – The Old Taste with New Name

Legendary Bak Kut Teh at Rangoon Road

Legendary Bak Kut Teh's first outlet is at 154 Rangoon Road. Before it started using the name Legendary, it is known as a branch of Founder Bak Kut Teh. Helmed by the daughter of Mr. Chua, this branch has established its own characteristic and followers on its own.

The Legendary Team

LD and I have been a regular here for a while, so when we drop by in 2016 we saw the change in name. With a little probing, the second generation Miss Chua, known as Chui Chui (I should call her Auntie Chui Chui) let us know that the original shop is going to a different direction. Therefore, Legendary Bak Kut Teh ('Legendary') is born. She currently managed together with her husband and daughter.

Our Regular Grub Place

Their best Bak Kut Teh here is their long ribs. Legendary Bak Kut Teh ($11.50). The combination of the meat and fats is just perfect. The meat falls off the bone easily, but it retains a good bite to it. The broth is clear, robust, filled with the sweetness of the pork and garlic, plus the most comforting warmth from the pepper. For us, it is just right and absolutely delicious. Yummy!!

Legendary Bak Kut Teh - All Ribs

Hand in Hand – One of The Best Xiao Long Bao and Jiaozi in Singapore

Hand in Hand Beijing Restaurant

In our search for the best Xiao Long Bao in Singapore, we manage to uncover this restaurant. From the review that we looked at, apparently they served pretty solid ('XLB') and Dumplings as well. We have visited this place a few times and we always satisfied with the food here. We are just in awe of the consistency and delicious flavours that they crunch out every time.

Part of the Dining Area

Surprisingly, this restaurant is not located in Geylang or Chinatown. Hand In Hand is located in Jalan Besar, a few shops down opposite the Berseh Food Centre. If you are walking pass, you will notice the restaurant is decked in red with a very traditional Chinese theme decorations.

Xiao Long Bao

Xiao Long Bao ($7.80 for 8 pcs). The white skin of the XLB has the right smoothness, springiness and thickness. When you lift up the XLB, you can see the fillings dangling from your chopstick. Though the skin of the dumpling is thin, the skin and juice of the XLB are not easily break or leaked out, unlike the other popular franchise XLB place. The filling is soft, juicy, but not explosive. I find the proportion is just right and eating it with the julienne ginger and black vinegar just simply enhanced the flavours further.

Xiao Long Bao - Up Close

Xiao Long Bao - Check out the fillings
Hand Model Credit: LittleDevil_98

[CLOSED] Lau Hock Guan Kee Bak Kut Teh – A Taste of Home A Taste of Tradition

Lau Hock Guan Bak Kut Teh

A Taste of Home, A Taste of Tradition; a phrase that I use to describe this historical restaurant. It was one of LD's Akong favourite place and her family as well. It was also one of the first traditional restaurant that I dine in during my first visit in Singapore, before I married LD.

I return countless time to dine here since 2002, as the food here is just sublime. During lunch and dinner, this place will be packed. Don't be surprise if you see lots of a lot of luxury cars parked in front of the shop, and lots of Tow Kays eating here and sipping their gongfu tea. Lau Hock Guan Kee Bak Kut Teh ('LHG') run on two shift, where each of the brothers will helm the kitchen during each shift. Note that each brother has their own signature dish to cater to their own crowd.

The Bak Kut Teh ($12 - $25) is actually nicer in the morning than the evening. It is served in the big claypot for sharing, and you can order the kidney or liver if you want. The soup is the clear and peppery type, infused with the sweetness of the pork bone. The black seaweed and lettuce are added to absorb the robust broth. The ribs are about the length of you fingers, always with the perfect balance between the meat and fats. Yum Yum. Unfortunately, they don't serve youtiao here like other bak kut teh places.

Bak Kut Teh

Macpherson Minced Meat Noodles – Possibly The Best Bak Chor Mee in Singapore

Macpherson Minced Meat Noodle

We got to know this place from a newspaper article earlier this year mentioning this legendary Bak Chor Mee / Minced Meat Noodle will be closing soon as they want to retire and cannot find a successor. In the typical Singapore kiasunism manner LD and I decided to give it a try before this place close down for good.

Like its name, Macpherson Minced Meat Noodle ('MacNoodle') originated from Macpherson before it moves to the current location in Upper Serangoon Road. During the day, this coffee shop only open for MacNoodle and occupying almost the whole coffee shop with the drink stall during the day, the stream of customers will just continuously streaming in all day.

The menu on offer are fishball noodle, minced pork noodle, pig trotter noodle; and “Miniwok” version. Price starting for $3.50 onwards.

The elusive fishballs